What are basketball fundamentals?
The fundamentals of basketball are the foundational skills in the sport that are needed to play basketball at any level. Whether you play street ball or organized official games and practices on a team, you need these listed baseline skills. Gaining the appreciation, the work, creativity, and fun that goes into the fundamentals of the sport will improve your skills and experience with the game. When first participating in basketball it can feel difficult to do some of these skills at first. However, in order to build a house of skills you need to start with a foundation like dribbling and shooting, before you can add a roof of 3 pointers and fade away’s.
In basketball we consider the fundamentals to be dribbling, passing, shooting at the beginner levels. When those skills are later mastered and feel more comfortable other fundamentals like footwork, and defense should be added. Again, if you’re an athlete that wishes to be successful in this game, learning those listed skills and working towards continuous mastery is crucial. No matter your age group you play in or the skill level you feel like you’re at, no one is above working on those 5 fundamental skills. No, not even the professionals like Steph Curry or LeBron James are above continuously working on the fundamentals of basketball. Finding your sweet spot for how you do those skills will create confidence in yourself. Overall, it will help you feel like any court you choose to step on you have the chance to rock the house!
What can working towards mastery of each Fundamental skill look like?
Dribbling – Strength and comfort in your hands with dribbling and handling the ball. Having cross overs, between the legs, and behind the back moves.
Passing – Being accurate, precise, and intentional in making your passes, as well as hand eye coordination to catch passes
Shooting – Achieving proper shot form. The difference between throwing the ball and shooting the ball is that shot form your coach teaches you. Therefore, that shot technique is important, and can make the difference in making shots. Try shooting closer to the net before shooting far away.
Footwork – Understanding triple threat and squaring up to the net and the player that’s defending you so you can see the floor. Add pivoting, jab steps, and ripping the ball through the jab steps and being strong with the ball to your wheelhouse.
Defense – Use your feet to take quick steps, move and stay in front of the person you’re guarding the best you can. Try to have the self-discipline to not reach with your hands. Optimal defense is played by moving your feet and containing the play so the player your guarding can have a smaller impact on the game.
Why learning the fundamental skills in basketball is important?
As I said above, learning the fundamental skills in this sport will create chances of success no matter who you play with. Whether you’re an athlete that’s on a club team to achieve tournament wins or want to just play recreational for fun, fundamentals should be worked on. Making space to learn the fundamentals will help you in several different ways. Firstly, consistently working on these fundamentals will create confidence in yourself. One thing youth athlete’s in particular don’t realize is that, working towards mastery in these types of skills can create a sense of confidence and competence for themselves that they’ll see later on in life. Those types of abilities can lead over to empowerment in their other abilities and interests in life.
Secondly, in choosing basketball and finding joy in those smaller fundamentals it gives you room to create a growth mindset. A growth mindset is having the capacity to learn from your mistakes constructively and not getting down on yourself because you made those mistakes. Not only will you gain more confidence, but you’ll see the importance of making mistakes in life and how you can learn from them. For example, If you choose to work on dribbling and you continuously drop the ball, it doesn’t matter. You run, pick up the ball and keep dribbling! If you’re working towards mastery, making those mistakes are crucial so you can continue to get back up every time they happen. Let it go, keep dribbling, and understand how you can continue to get better and eventually not drop the ball as much!
In conclusion, giving yourself the space to grow and learn those fundamental skills of dribbling, passing, shooting, footwork and defense even through mistakes, confidence and competence will be gained in yourself! So don’t neglect working on those smaller skills, because there is something to be gained in the long run of the process of learning the fundamentals of basketball!
Tips for working on the Fundamentals at home:
Dribbling
Take your basketball for a walk in your neighborhood
Dribble a tennis ball in your basement, garage, or outside
Shooting;
Just shoot the basketball! Find an outdoor court in your neighborhood and go shoot! Or if you lucky enough to have net in your driveway, just shoot the basketball!
Lay down on your floor or bed and shoot the ball in the air. Make sure your supporting hand stays still and only supports the basketball, while flicking your wrist of your shooting hand to get rotation on the ball when throwing it up
Passing:
Find a buddy to pass a basketball with
Play catch with baseball mitt and ball, or football with a buddy
Practice passing a basketball off a wall. – Combination dribbles can be added to this.
Footwork
Find a buddy to play 1on1 with – play 1 on 1 with a friend for fun! Try out different jab steps, dribbling moves, floaters, fade aways. The best way to improve is playing with some kind of pressure! Don’t be afraid to experiment and fail while doing so!
Simply practice jab steps and ripping the basketball from your triple threat position breathing with the movements
Squaring up towards the net when you practice shooting
Defense
Doing exercises to help your back and lower body get stronger to tolerate being in defensive stance for longer
Wall sits
Squats
Planks
Other tips and tricks for enhancing your fundamental skills and knowledge
Find a player you like their style of play, study their moves and mimic their play
When watching a basketball game pick 1 fundamental skill and watch how players perform that fundamental skill on the court. Later on, work on those skills you’ve seen so you can apply them to your game.