How to be an elite basketball player

The Cognitive Skills That Make a Great Basketball Player

Tall. Fast. Quick. Strong. Explosive. Incredible wingspan. Absurd vertical jump. Basketball players, especially those in the NBA, are absolutely “freak athletes.”

Every player on an NBA roster has exceptional physical attributes. Out of those 15 guys on each team’s roster, only about eight or nine get meaningful playing time. And out of those eight or nine guys, only one or two are considered superstars (e.g., LeBron James and Kyrie Irving).

So, are these superstars great only because they are significantly better athletes/physical specimens than the other guys? Of course not. They are the whole package: They have both physical ability and cognitive skills. If all athletic success was based solely on physical attributes, then Steph Curry, at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, would probably be considered one of the worst players in the league, and we would be awarding MVP trophies to guys who dominate in the dunk contest.

RELATED: Mark Cuban Invests in Cognitive Training Leader Axon Sports

Obviously, this isn’t how it works. Basketball requires more than raw athletic talent and the ability to jump through the roof. Players also need to be able to shoot, pass, dribble, rebound, block shots, get steals, etc. But, there are also plenty of players in the NBA who are freakishly athletic and can shoot lights-out—but they’re good, not great players.

So, what makes a great player? This is where cognitive skills come in. You could be 6-foot-10, have great ball-handling skills, and be able to dunk from the foul line; but if you don’t have great court awareness and you repeatedly turn the ball over, you won’t help your team win and you’ll rarely see the court. It’s no different than a tall, strong-armed quarterback who throws interceptions and can’t read a defense.

The following players have certain cognitive skills that makes them great–and a nightmare for opponents.

Steph Curry

Steph Curry has an unbelievable talent: He can read opponents’ biological motion. This means he has phenomenal anticipation skills and an elite ability to read body language. Having great anticipation skills allows him to know precisely where to pass the ball to a teammate cutting to the basket, or understand how to attack an opponent while in defensive pursuit. As detailed in a New York Magazine article:

“This is what separates great players from good players.” In other words, Curry’s brain is able to read his defender’s positioning—a foot set at an odd angle, a nose edging his weight too far to one side—and use the right ball movement—a head fake, a crossover—to create open looks out of thin air.

The ability to read biological motion is a vital skill for athletic success—not just in basketball, but in other sports as well. A 2015 study out of Montreal found that “athletes who are experts at biological motion perception had superior results in predicting passes in soccer and had quicker reaction times. ”

RELATED: The Athletic Brain: How to Learn to Anticipate

Rajon Rondo

Golf requires intense focus on a single ball that is lying still in the grass. Basketball also requires intense focus–but unlike golfers, basketball players need to focus on nine other players sprinting and cutting on a court, identify who is on offense/defense, and constantly know the whereabouts of the ever-moving ball. Being able to process all of those moving parts, while also anticipating where teammates/opponents will end up, is what makes Rondo an elite point guard with excellent passing abilities. He sees things before anyone else does.

This rare skill is also what makes Rondo a great defender. During the 2009-2010 season, he led the league in steals with 2.3 per game. During the 2015-2016 season, Steph Curry led the league in steals with 2.1 per game. Both players use their abilities to read body motion, anticipation and process dynamic scenes to cause turnovers and wreak havoc. Rondo, especially, uses these skills to bait opponents into making passes that they shouldn’t; and once they do, he’s there to add to his steal total.

Paul Pierce

Clutch. That’s the first word that comes to mind when people think of Paul Pierce. Time and time again, Pierce has gotten the ball in his hands with seconds left in a tie game, and more often than not, he’s won it.

Pierce isn’t the fastest or quickest player in the NBA, but he is one of the smartest. He has always used great moves and technique to get open shots for himself—becoming a 10-time All-Star in the process. But the aspect of his game that truly makes him “The Truth” is his ability to focus and block out distractions in high-pressure situations. He repeatedly gets himself into “The Zone” during these situations, and he’s almost impossible to stop.

RELATED: How Vision Training Is Shaping the Next Generation of Football

There are many great athletes, in every sport, who have had stellar careers but couldn’t seem to capture that elusive championship or perform in crunch time when the lights are the brightest, the crowd’s the loudest and the pressure’s at an all-time high. Pierce isn’t one of those players. He has the cognitive ability to block out distractions and raise his game when it matters most. That’s what has made him an all-time great.

Obviously, physical attributes are important to success on the basketball court. These guys are some of the best basketball players and athletes in the entire world. But what separates the great players from the good ones is their cognitive abilities. Yes, many players are born with these talents, but you can train yourself to become better cognitively.

The same rules of training that apply to the body apply to the brain. Physically, if you’re slow, you train yourself to work on speed and agility. If you’re weak, you hit the weights and improve your strength. It was believed for a long time that, cognitively, you were stuck with the skills you were born with. But with new research supporting the concept of neuroplasticity training (essentially, rewiring the brain), that view has been proven wrong. We now know that if you have poor biological motion perception, sub-par dynamic visual processing, and difficulty focusing in chaotic environments—you can train those skills.

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Tall. Fast. Quick. Strong. Explosive. Incredible wingspan. Absurd vertical jump. Basketball players, especially those in the NBA, are absolutely “freak athletes.”

Every player on an NBA roster has exceptional physical attributes. Out of those 15 guys on each team’s roster, only about eight or nine get meaningful playing time. And out of those eight or nine guys, only one or two are considered superstars (e.g., LeBron James and Kyrie Irving).

So, are these superstars great only because they are significantly better athletes/physical specimens than the other guys? Of course not. They are the whole package: They have both physical ability and cognitive skills. If all athletic success was based solely on physical attributes, then Steph Curry, at 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, would probably be considered one of the worst players in the league, and we would be awarding MVP trophies to guys who dominate in the dunk contest.

RELATED: Mark Cuban Invests in Cognitive Training Leader Axon Sports

Obviously, this isn’t how it works. Basketball requires more than raw athletic talent and the ability to jump through the roof. Players also need to be able to shoot, pass, dribble, rebound, block shots, get steals, etc. But, there are also plenty of players in the NBA who are freakishly athletic and can shoot lights-out—but they’re good, not great players.

So, what makes a great player? This is where cognitive skills come in. You could be 6-foot-10, have great ball-handling skills, and be able to dunk from the foul line; but if you don’t have great court awareness and you repeatedly turn the ball over, you won’t help your team win and you’ll rarely see the court. It’s no different than a tall, strong-armed quarterback who throws interceptions and can’t read a defense.

The following players have certain cognitive skills that makes them great–and a nightmare for opponents.

Steph Curry

Steph Curry has an unbelievable talent: He can read opponents’ biological motion. This means he has phenomenal anticipation skills and an elite ability to read body language. Having great anticipation skills allows him to know precisely where to pass the ball to a teammate cutting to the basket, or understand how to attack an opponent while in defensive pursuit. As detailed in a New York Magazine article:

“This is what separates great players from good players.” In other words, Curry’s brain is able to read his defender’s positioning—a foot set at an odd angle, a nose edging his weight too far to one side—and use the right ball movement—a head fake, a crossover—to create open looks out of thin air.

The ability to read biological motion is a vital skill for athletic success—not just in basketball, but in other sports as well. A 2015 study out of Montreal found that “athletes who are experts at biological motion perception had superior results in predicting passes in soccer and had quicker reaction times. ”

RELATED: The Athletic Brain: How to Learn to Anticipate

Rajon Rondo

Golf requires intense focus on a single ball that is lying still in the grass. Basketball also requires intense focus–but unlike golfers, basketball players need to focus on nine other players sprinting and cutting on a court, identify who is on offense/defense, and constantly know the whereabouts of the ever-moving ball. Being able to process all of those moving parts, while also anticipating where teammates/opponents will end up, is what makes Rondo an elite point guard with excellent passing abilities. He sees things before anyone else does.

This rare skill is also what makes Rondo a great defender. During the 2009-2010 season, he led the league in steals with 2.3 per game. During the 2015-2016 season, Steph Curry led the league in steals with 2.1 per game. Both players use their abilities to read body motion, anticipation and process dynamic scenes to cause turnovers and wreak havoc. Rondo, especially, uses these skills to bait opponents into making passes that they shouldn’t; and once they do, he’s there to add to his steal total.

Paul Pierce

Clutch. That’s the first word that comes to mind when people think of Paul Pierce. Time and time again, Pierce has gotten the ball in his hands with seconds left in a tie game, and more often than not, he’s won it.

Pierce isn’t the fastest or quickest player in the NBA, but he is one of the smartest. He has always used great moves and technique to get open shots for himself—becoming a 10-time All-Star in the process. But the aspect of his game that truly makes him “The Truth” is his ability to focus and block out distractions in high-pressure situations. He repeatedly gets himself into “The Zone” during these situations, and he’s almost impossible to stop.

RELATED: How Vision Training Is Shaping the Next Generation of Football

There are many great athletes, in every sport, who have had stellar careers but couldn’t seem to capture that elusive championship or perform in crunch time when the lights are the brightest, the crowd’s the loudest and the pressure’s at an all-time high. Pierce isn’t one of those players. He has the cognitive ability to block out distractions and raise his game when it matters most. That’s what has made him an all-time great.

Obviously, physical attributes are important to success on the basketball court. These guys are some of the best basketball players and athletes in the entire world. But what separates the great players from the good ones is their cognitive abilities. Yes, many players are born with these talents, but you can train yourself to become better cognitively.

The same rules of training that apply to the body apply to the brain. Physically, if you’re slow, you train yourself to work on speed and agility. If you’re weak, you hit the weights and improve your strength. It was believed for a long time that, cognitively, you were stuck with the skills you were born with. But with new research supporting the concept of neuroplasticity training (essentially, rewiring the brain), that view has been proven wrong. We now know that if you have poor biological motion perception, sub-par dynamic visual processing, and difficulty focusing in chaotic environments—you can train those skills.

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How To Be an Elite Athlete — Swish House

Which helps exponentially with being a better basketball player

Before I retired and found out being an athlete never actually stops

My 14 pro athlete tips on how to be a better athlete AND basketball player

1. Never stop training and learning how to move your body more efficiently. And then, once you can learn to do that, continue to progress moving your body in ways that keep you athletic (fast, flexible, coordinated, stable, injury-proofed, and strong) as you get older.

2. If you are 10% more athletic because of athletic training, what will that do for your statistics on the court? Why not try a human habit experiment and hire a sports performance trainer or personal basketball strength/conditioning coach three days a week for a month and see what it does for your game!?!?

3. Fight the urge to take the path of least resistance. Being a better athlete is about making body movement, fitness, and sports performance training a priority habit in your life (learn about RFD squats, knees over toes lunges, pushup plyos, planks, single leg bounding to elevated squats, tempo running, T-tests, sprinting, Raptor tests, K-box, ViPR training, etc).

4. Inspiration is never as important as the discipline of maintaining a positive habit.

5. Motivation is never as powerful as the accountability of the fitness team or coach that pushes you outside your comfort zone every day.

6. Do basketball athlete training that challenges your mindset, your fitness, and your athletic body simultaneously, so you can reward yourself with stuff that isn’t good for you from time to time (and not worry about the Oreos, dark chocolate, gummy bears, a night out, etc).

7. Lift weights with an eccentric, isometric, and concentric focus. Try a ViPR lift at home or come to Swish House. Concentrate on different tempos of pushing weight (i. e. pushing the bench press up), resist the downward force of weight slowly and under tension (i.e. slowly lowering the bench press to your chest), and then see how long you can hold weight under tension and in suspension for a certain amount of time (holding the bench press halfway up over your chest).

8. Stop lifting weights with always having two feet on the ground. Basketball athletes rarely move, jump, push, pull, run, sprint, play, or balance with two feet on the ground, so why would we only train with two feet on the ground?

9. In the off-season, sprint as fast as you can two to three times a week at different lengths or times. I usually like to do pyramids starting at 20 meters, going up to 1000 meters with different lengths, sets, or times I have to run.

10. Hang your running/cycling/basketball/soccer shoes on your front doorknob, or put them on your car seat, or in your bathroom sink. Make it impossible to not pick them up and put them on every day.

11. Periodize your workouts by increasing either intensity, tempo, volume, velocity, or strength by 5–10 percent every week for four weeks before taking a light week, and then starting that cycle over.

12. Doing even one set to failure (like you can’t get one more rep or go any longer) can make you a better athlete. So if you can’t get in the basketball gym, or don’t have a lot of time to lift, pick five bodyweight exercises you can do to failure: aka… pushups, single-leg rear elevated squats, planks, single-leg wall sits, handstand pushups, or single leg glute bridge isometric holds).

13. Talk to your doctor or medical professional before doing anything. Make sure your body and health are ready to be an athlete before you hurt yourself.

14. Make sports performance training, HB Elite Basketball Training, or if you’re an adult, Swish House, a hybrid sport and fitness company, your new habit.

Thanks for reading! Sincerely,

Trevor Huffman

Guest UserFebruary 16, 2022swish house

where to study, salary, pros and cons

Author: Professional Guide

Updated by November 16, 2022

Basketball player is a professional basketball player. Such a team game is popular, first of all, in the USA. In Russia, it is somewhat inferior to football and hockey, but still quite in demand. By the way, the ProfGid career guidance center has recently developed an accurate career guidance test that will tell you which professions suit you, give an opinion about your personality type and intelligence.

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Brief description: who is a basketball player?

The basic rules of the game of basketball are usually known to everyone: two teams enter the field, the one that scores more points wins. Points are given for hitting the ball into a basket hanging at a height of 3.05 meters from the floor. The number of points that is counted for each hit depends on the distance from which the throw was made. In the process of moving around the field, players must dribble the ball, beating it off the floor, and not hold it in their hands.

Features of the profession

A professional sports career requires a lot of energy, effort, time and dedication. A basketball player must always be in good shape, his salary and popularity largely depend on the effectiveness of his performances on the field, and he must work closely with other team members. The main duties of a basketball player are as follows:

• Daily attendance at training.
• Compliance with the regime of the day and nutrition.
• Participation in matches.
• Participation in non-match events of the club.
• Regular medical examination, following the recommendations of the doctor and trainer.

A basketball player must be prepared for the fact that he will periodically have to change the clubs he plays for, participate in international competitions from his country, and even during the match, cooperate with different groups of players (frequent substitutions are very common in this game).

Pros and cons of the basketball profession

Pros

1. Prestigious profession with a decent salary.
2. Opportunity to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
3. Opportunity to travel, communicate with representatives of different countries and peoples.
4. The joy of victories and the support of the fans.

See also:

Cons

1. The need for talent or extensive experience to gain recognition and sign expensive contracts.
2. Negative emotions from defeats.
3. Occupational diseases (herniated disc, knee problems, Schlatter's disease).
4. Age restrictions on career length.

Important Personal Qualities

In order to successfully fill the position of a basketball player and succeed in this field, an athlete must be in very good physical shape, he must not have serious chronic diseases, he needs excellent endurance, concentration, speed of movement and reactions, perfect coordination. Most often, very tall athletes become successful basketball players. Analytical thinking, the ability to follow the strategy developed by the coach, make decisions quickly, and work together with the rest of the team will also not interfere.

Basketball training

Russian universities and colleges do not offer basketball training as such. You can learn how to play basketball in sports schools, and then improve your skills in basketball clubs. In parallel, you can get a sports education (including to successfully work as a coach after completing a career in big-time sports). In this context, the specialty "Physical Education" in colleges (code 49.02.01) or the same name in universities (code 49.03.01). A certificate is sufficient for admission to a secondary school, in addition to it, the results of the Unified State Examination in the Russian language, biology and physics are required for admission to the university.

Courses

Stremlenie Basketball Club

It is necessary to think about where to get the profession of a basketball player, if you have the appropriate inclinations, from childhood. Therefore, most basketball schools offer training for children and teenagers. One of these schools is the Stremlenie basketball club, where individual and team trainings are held. Members of the club also take part in competitions.

The best universities for basketball players

1. MSPU
2. RGSU
3. MGOU
4. RGUFKSMiT
5. RGUFK them. P.F. Lesgafta
6. RSPU im. A.I. Herzen

Read also:

Place of work

Basketball players play for basketball clubs, national teams. At the end of their careers, they work as coaches (both in adult clubs and in children's sports schools).

Salary of a basketball player

The level of income of such an athlete directly depends on his talent, experience, professionalism and fame. The more useful a basketball player can bring to the club, the higher the salary will be offered to him.

Basketball player salary for November 2022

Salary information provided by hh. ru portal.

Russia 100000-250000₽

Career growth

Building a career for a professional athlete is about improving your skills and getting more and more lucrative offers from clubs. With age, it may also involve a change from activity to coaching.

Professional knowledge

1. Human anatomy, physiology and biochemistry.
2. History of physical culture.
3. Psychology of physical culture.
4. Management of physical culture and sports.
5. Biomechanics of motor activity.
6. Rules of the game of basketball.
7. Team strategies when playing basketball.

Famous basketball players

1. Michael Jordan, one of the Chicago Bulls' most popular players, was on the club's winning streak six times in the NBA.
2. Shaquille O'Neal, recognized as one of the best players in the history of the NBA, also known for releasing rap albums and starring in several films.
3. Clyde Drexler, one of the best basketball players in the NBA, Olympian with 20,000 points in his entire career.

See also:

Examples of companies with vacancies for a basketball player

Why now is not the best time to dream of becoming a basketball player - With basketball for life - Blogs

If you dream of becoming a professional basketball player, then this is of course not bad, but rather cool, but still you need to have a backup option in life. And it’s better to just go to get a higher education, play ASB for students, love basketball and think about where to realize yourself after receiving a diploma. Now I will try to explain why.

1. The number of clubs is decreasing

This issue has had negative dynamics for the third consecutive season. The first sharp decline occurred after the 08/09 season, when there was one major league instead of the major leagues A and B. It will be easier to visually assess the change in the number of teams from season to season according to the schedule (the total number also takes into account teams from the youth championship, which exists in different types from season 08/09. Before this season, farm clubs played together with other teams in the major league, sometimes in Super League B. It also includes foreign teams playing in one of the Russian leagues, with the exception of the VTB United League):

10 years ago, in the 06/07 season, the maximum number of teams in history played. In the championship 16/17 plays 26 teams less. Even if we consider an average of 12 people in the application of each team, the number of vacant places for players decreased by 312 from the maximum in less than the average length of a player's career.

It was at that time that the league structure was as logical as possible: richer clubs were offered Super League A and B and Major League A, teams with more modest financial resources had the opportunity to participate in competitions in Major League B, which was divided into several zones according to the territorial principle . Now even the teams with the most limited budget in Superleague-3 are forced to go to Yekaterinburg and Tobolsk at least once a season. There is a vicious circle here: there is no way to divide into zones because there are no teams, there are no teams because not everyone can take part in competitions with such geography. And it is necessary for the federation to break this circle.

Even if you play in one of the teams, every summer you will be in uncertainty: most contracts the club and the player sign for one year. The season ends in April, and even if the contract is still valid for several months, it’s hard to imagine where it will take you further: due to the uncertainty with financing, a very small number of clubs think about forming a squad before August. And there are fewer and fewer jobs for basketball players: over the past three seasons, the number of clubs has decreased by 8, which is about a hundred jobs.

2. You will have to change clubs often

There are two reasons for this:

- a small number of clubs with a history longer than your career lasts, practically none.