How to increase athleticism for basketball

USA Basketball - How to Improve Your Court Speed

All athletes need speed -- particularly in a sport like basketball where the first player up and down the court can mean the difference in winning or losing a game.

In the world of sports, the fastest, quickest athletes are usually the most successful. But exactly what kind of speed and quickness is best for basketball?

Many coaches may place too much emphasis on "straight-ahead" speed by, for example, focusing too much of their attention on getting their athletes to run a faster 40-yard dash. In a sport like basketball, this isn't necessarily going to be the kind of speed that's going to make for a more effective player. Seldom, if ever, does a player run baseline to baseline in a straight line, and even if they did, a fast 40-yard dash might not equate to an effectively fast basketball player.

Having fast top-end speed measured at 40 yards wouldn't necessarily make you as effective as perhaps being a bit slower in the 40, but having the quickness and explosiveness to be faster down the court (which is a shorter distance).

Most sprinting in basketball starts from moving or "rolling" positions, not a stationary one. So, some of your training should be spent with that in mind. Performing your speed training from different starting positions such as turning and sprinting from a backpedal, accelerating from a side-shuffle, or running after getting up from the floor (simulating being knocked down and having to get up and hustle down the court) translates into more "real world" training for basketball players than simply lining up at one baseline and sprinting to the other.

This doesn't mean there is no room in your training for that kind of sprinting. It may have a place in your conditioning program--to build, for example, speed endurance. But, don't confuse this type of training with working on your game speed.

Here are three tips that can help athletes plan a program designed to improve their basketball speed:

Build Strength

Before any speed work is done, an athlete must have adequate strength. Without it, you might as well be trying to get a car to go 100 miles per hour with a go-cart's engine. Studies have shown that weight training to build strength can improve running speed. We're not talking about building big muscles here. We're talking about building strong muscles that can help us produce speed.

A basic strength-building program for speed includes strengthening the legs (calves, hamstrings, and quads) with exercises such as calf raises, squats, leg curls and extensions; strengthening the upper body with exercises such as dumbbell (bench) press, seated row, shoulder raises, bicep curls, and triceps extensions; and the core muscles (abdominals and back) by using regular crunches from the floor, stability ball crunches, oblique rotations, and back extensions. These basic exercises and more can help the basketball athlete begin to develop the strength necessary to build speed.

• 5 Exercises To Improve Power

Work on Acceleration and Quickness

Acceleration is the ability to increase velocity. The key here is how quickly you can increase your speed. This is perhaps more important in basketball than raw speed, because unlike a sport like track where all the athletes take off at the same time, basketball players must be quick to recognize when they must start a sprint--such as a rebound leading to a fast break -- and then be able to accelerate quickly. In basketball, having the ability to accelerate from a stationary position or from a moving position is equally important.

Drills such as learning the proper 45-degree body position to begin acceleration, or using the proper arm action in the sprint can be helpful in this type of training. Each of these seemingly simple, but often overlooked aspects to becoming faster can help athletes improve their acceleration.

Don't Forget Deceleration

Training for speed without including deceleration training is like learning to drive a car very fast without brakes. Athletes need effective speed, and effective speed means being fast, but under control.

When a basketball player dribbles fast down the court for a breakaway lay-up, she'd better be able to effectively slow down as she approaches the basket. Otherwise, she's out of control, and will probably miss the lay-up and perhaps even get injured.

Braking or decelerating is extremely important to speed training -- perhaps the most important skill in basketball speed training. This may seem counter intuitive to some, but in order to have effective speed on the basketball court, the athlete must be able to run fast, decelerate or slow down, and reaccelerate into a sprint, cut, or jump. Slowing down properly actually aids in the athlete's ability to reaccelerate. A fast, out-of-control player is not very effective in a game. So make sure that learning proper deceleration techniques are an integral part of your speed workouts.

An extensive discussion about proper deceleration technique is complex and beyond the scope of this article. However, many experts suggest that two key components to good deceleration is in keeping nice flexed or bent knees, and in lowering the athlete's hips during deceleration--whether from a sprint or from a landing.

Always check with your physician before undertaking any exercise program such as those covered in this article.

Strength, Conditioning, and Agility for Basketball Players

The Internet's #1 Website for Basketball Camps, Resources and Learning Products

|

Member Login

Home > Player > Athletic Development

Athletic development is an important aspect of becoming a great basketball player. This includes your strength, conditioning, coordination, balance, speed, and agility.

Here are a few articles and videos to help improve your athleticism...

Injury Prevention and Warm Ups

Guide to Preventing Basketball Injuries

The 4 Sports Every Youth Player Should Participate In

Jump Rope Training Video - Prevent Injuries & Improve Athleticism In Just 3 Minutes

Dynamic Warm Up

15 Team Warm Up Drills

Increase Vertical Jump

Vertical Jump Test (How to Measure)

How to Increase Your Vertical Jump (Your Complete Step by Step Plan)

Jumping Form Tips That Will Increase Your Vertical and Prevent Injury

How to Dunk a Basketball

5 Explosive Exercises For Your Vertical Jump

How To Jump Higher

8 Best Vertical Jump Exercises

9 Important Plyometric Exercises Top Trainers Swear By

Conditioning / Cardio

Basketball Conditioning Drills & Workouts for the Individual Athlete

20 Min AT-HOME Basketball Conditioning Workout

16 Conditioning Drills for Your Team

Strength & Weight Training

Strength Training Program for Basketball: Are You Doing it Right?

7 Essential Core Exercises for Basketball Players

4 Strength & Conditioning Drills for Basketball Players

11 Upper Body Exercises for Basketball

9 Essential Leg Exercises for Basketball

Speed & Agility Drills

How To Develop An Explosive First Step

5 Best Basketball Speed Drills

6 Essential Basketball Agility Drills

Cone Grab Drill - Develop A Faster First Step

Defense Reaction Drill

Lane Agility Drill

2 Advanced Drills for First Step Speed and Quickness

Chaser Drill to Increase Agility and Improve Ball Handling

Defense Improves Agility, Conditioning, and Athletic Development

One of the best things you can do is commit to become a lockdown defender!

By focusing on defense in your team practices and off-season workouts, not only will you become a more valuable player -- youll also dramatically improve your agility, coordination, and conditioning!

Playing GREAT man to man defense gets in you great shape, improves your foot speed, and improves your agility. This is a very efficient way to become a great basketball player.

Start by developing your on ball defense skills with these 6 Footwork Progressions For Elite Defenders.

Then focus on locking down your opponent in full court situations. One of the simplest and best things you can do to get in shape and improve agility is the 1 on 1 Full Court Defense Drill. And when youre in pick-up game or scrimmages, guard your player full court too.

If you have a few partners to workout out with, try the man in the hole drill... this is one of the best drills to improve your basketball conditioning!

Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter to receive new drills, plays, scoring tips and coaching strategies, plus three free eBooks with over 270 pages of our favorite basketball drills and plays!

Subscribe to our free monthly newsletter to receive three free eBooks with over 270 pages of content!

Basketball athleticism determines the level of the game

Have you seen NBA players who only jump to the backboard?

Have you ever flinched, screamed and wondered at a crazy dunk? Or maybe from the incredible finishes of professional players with the flight and shifting the ball from one hand to the other?

You can refer to genetic predispositions, which obviously one player has more and the other one has less, but every player, regardless of the level of talent and gift, constantly and diligently works on his body.

It is the work on basketball athleticism that allows you to remove all restrictions, go beyond the possible and dominate on both sides of the court. The whole game is tied to the capabilities of our body and if it starts to give up, then at best, thanks to skills, understanding of the game and experience, it will be possible to stay at a high level, but we can say with confidence that it will no longer be possible to dominate.

These words about athleticism are not taken from the air, but are a real fact, which is confirmed by examples.

LeBron James dominates his entire career. His approach to keeping the body in shape was ahead of its time in many ways, because no one had done it in such detail before him. James understands that his body is now his main business asset and invests $1.5 million every year to stay in top shape. There wasn't a moment in his career when his opponent was happy to be defending against LeBron. His physical form has always given him a huge advantage in both attack and defense, as evidenced by championship rings and MVP titles.

LeBron, aged 34, hits overhead during the warm-up before his son's game. Nothing unusual.

Vince Carter's Legendary Olympic Dunk

Vince Carter continues to play in the NBA at 43 thanks to his shooting, game understanding, experience and incredible body. He hasn't had a lot of injuries in his career, but that doesn't detract from his incredible fitness. Thanks to his athleticism, he still handles the frantic pace of the best league in the world and will gladly hit the ball from above. It may seem that 43 years old is not 60 years old and it is not very difficult, but this opinion is absolutely wrong, because most players end their careers before the age of 40.

At 43, Vince also tops the NBA

Giannis Antetokounmpo won his first MVP award in the 2018-19 season, although a few years ago he was far from the star level. He came into the league already with a unique body and huge potential, but Giannis really began to open up by adding first in athleticism, and now developing his skills.

Russell Westbrook... Do you think he would be a star now, with two triple-double seasons and a Hall of Fame contender, if not outrageous athleticism?