Best Basketball Mindset
As we all know basketball is just as much a mental game as it is a physical game. You can do all the drills and practice you want but at the end of the day if you do not get your head and mind right your game will suffer overall.
In this article, I will be going over some of the best qualities and strategies you can use to have a successful and great basketball mindset.
1. Hunger
Hunger is a mindset that basically means you have an obsession and a drive for the game of basketball.
This can come down to your love of the game and your drive to strive and get better each and every day. Hunger is the cornerstone or foundation you can use when things inevitably get tough or hard in the game of basketball.
Without hunger and drive it makes it much harder to do what it takes to become the best basketball player you can possibly be.
A great example of this would be Kobe Bryant. Even though he came into the league with a struggling jumper he had so much drive and passion to get better he eventually ended his career being one of the most skilled players to ever play this game.
If you look at all the best players who ever played this game they all shared this common attribute. Whether it is Kobe Bryant or Micheal Jordan they all shared this stronger hunger and desire to improve and get better day by day.
2. Calmness
A lot of players when they think of calmness think of being passive or lazy. But calmness is the ability to trust your skills and not let the outer noise of a game or situation affect your play.
It is the ability to look at a play or situation objectively and not let your emotions cloud your judgment of a situation.
Ways To Work On Your Calmness
-Meditation
Meditation is a great way to work on your calmness because it allows you to separate your thoughts from the actual situation at hand.
If you can have the ability to focus on a situation and block out all the noise whether it be in your own head or voices outside then your overall game and calmness will improve.
3. Objective
Being objective comes down to looking at what needs to get done and not letting your pride get in the way.
It means to move up from a state of pridefulness and looking at your game from a neutral observing perspective.
By looking at a situation more neutrally you can then see what you might need to improve on to become a better basketball player as a whole.
A great example of this was with Micheal Jordan and the bulls in their first championship run. Even though Micheal Jordan wanted the ball in his hands he knew that by getting his teammates involved then ultimately the bulls would be a better team overall.
4. Confidence
Confidence is the ability to trust your skills and feel comfortable in the game of basketball.
A player with confidence can elevate their game and get the most out of themselves.
Ways To Work On Confidence
-Preparation
Preparation means to go into a game or practice knowing you did the work required to give yourself the best chance of success on the court.
For more information on preparation check out the article here.
-Practice
It's hard to have confidence in your skills and abilities if you didn't do the working order to be a good player in the first place. A lot of times the best players have that confidence because they have already done it time and time again.
5. Being Selfless
At the end of the day, all hoopers have some sort of ego in one way or another. Being selfless basically means doing what is best for the team instead of doing what is best for yourself.
Many players think of this and think this means being passive or not doing anything for themselves. But what this really means is making the right play for your team given the certain situation.
So if you are the team's scorer then you have to take shots, if you're the team's rebounder then you have to get rebounds.
Being selfless like this helps your mindset because it allows you to take a look at the bigger picture and play for someone besides yourself.
And besides that at the end of the day if your teammates and coaches like playing with you it will make the game easier and more enjoyable as a whole.
6. Effort
While effort might not seem like a mindset it really is one of the few things you can control on a basketball court.
By learning to control what you can control you then allow yourself to let the game come toward you instead of forcing it.
Because at the end of the day, in the game of basketball you might not be missing shots, or your body might not even feel that great, but the effort is one of those things you can always control and contribute to their team.
In a sense, you are then putting less pressure on yourself to perform because you know by giving it your all your doing the best you can. And almost every player can live with the results if they know they did the best they could.
Below is a great video of the great John Wooden talking about the importance of getting the most out of yourself and how that differentiates winning and succeeding.
Conclusion
As you can see basketball is a sport that can not only be won in your body but also in your mind as well.
Please comment below on any questions you might have. I'm also curious to know what mindset you have used to improve your game as a whole.
Thank you for reading and as always keep hooping my friends.
