4/ When 1st learning to read, you sound out the letters until you get the word down.
It’s hard, improvement is slow & you get easily frustrated.
Then, over time, you don’t have to think so hard. It becomes automatic.
Shooting is similar. Enjoy the journey to automatic.
5/ Plan workouts. Chart results. Measure improvement.
Scientists collect data, analyze it, then make adjustments.
Many shooters shoot shots, don’t count makes & misses, and wonder if they're improving.
A scientist doesn’t base their work on wonder.
Shooters shouldn’t either.
6/ Remove bad shots.
Bad shots, probably more than anything else, lose basketball games.
7/ Play low.
Have you ever watched a boxer box?
Have you ever seen a third baseman prepare for a pitch?
Have you ever noticed a tennis player's stance before receiving a serve?
Play low to react quickly!
8/ Forget Fadeaways.
They don’t help you win games.
In fact, they help the other team beat you.
Get balanced. Balance is better.
Balance helps you make more shots.
Balance communicates to your teammates you care about them, because you care about the best shot for the team.
9/ Be kind. Say thank you. Look people in the eye.
10/ You have magic in your hands.
A portal to the world. A time machine to learn from past legends & present stars.
Don’t just use your phone to consume, use your phone to connect, learn & do.
Use your phone to become smarter.
11/ Unnecessary dribbles are devastating to your team. They:
- Kill your explosiveness
- Slow down your team movement
- Often trigger traps
Use dribbles to go somewhere.
Get someplace. Make something happen.
If you do, you’ll stand out!
12/ On defense, be irritating.
Like a little brother seeking attention.
Like a fly in your face at a night campfire.
Like your friend who eats the last cookie & leaves the container.
Play D in the bubble & force the opponent to think, not about their offense, but about YOU.
13/ Max Out Your Body.
- More greens
- More water
- Less sugar
- Less processed foods
- Own the weight room
- Get more sleep
The result? Higher-level performance.
14/ To become great, pay the price.
The hours required, sacrifices made, and failures experienced must be expended to get the thing you want.
If you don’t get what you want, you either didn’t want it or bargained over the price. (Rudyard Kipling)
15/ Fake more.
Most players fail to fake...enough, or ever.
"When should I fake?"
Before you catch. After you catch. Before you dribble. After you dribble. Before you shoot. After you shoot 😉 (got ya)
The point is, fakes are under-taught, undervalued & underused.
Fake more
16/ On Consistency
The ability to be consistent is what separates good from mediocre. Good players expect to perform tasks over & over again.
Develop a ridiculous attention to detail. Make every practice count.
That’s what “good” is.
17/ On Playing 1 on 1
Next time you play one on one,
Don't hold the ball. Don't take your time.
You’re getting worse.
Instead, try this:
5 seconds to score. 3 dribbles. 1 shot.
Watch your game improve dramatically… and fast!
18/ HOW to communicate more effectively
1.) Use names
2.) Make eye contact
3.) Offer relevant information.
Do this consistently in practice & games and your teammates will more likely listen to what you have to say.
19/ Study the best.
Basketball is an incredible sport. One where new talent can emerge, old talent can be restored, and the spurs play beautiful basketball.
This video will forever change how you look at the game (in a good way)
20/ Move your defender
A real offensive threat moves their defender. Force them to go here. Then there. Then recover. Then get back.
Does your defender casually glide from place to place, or do you force them to scramble, and scramble often.
Like eggs, scrambling is better!
21/ Be Ready.
When you step on the court, you’re ready... for anything.
The unforeseen, unpredictable & unexpected.
And when something happens (and it will happen), you react — because you didn't stand around waiting.
You prepared & came ready!
Internalize these 21 things and you'll be well on your way to become a smarter basketball mind.
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On deep states of attention, awareness and being "in the zone."
A THREAD
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Bill Russell, the key player on the most successful basketball team ever (the Boston Celtics, who won 11 championships in 13 years), described his experience of playing "in the zone" as follows: “Every so often a Celtics game would heat up so that it became...
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...more than a physical or even mental game, and would be magical. That feeling is difficult to describe, and I certainly never talked about it when I was playing. When it happened, I could feel my play rise to a new level.