Basketball is loved around the world. Whether you’re watching it on TV, playing it with friends, or just playing it on your own in the driveway, basketball isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Nearly everyone that plays wishes to become a great player and win the game. The following tips will help you take your interest in basketball to a whole new level.

Correct dribbling is key. Proper dribbling technique involves use of the fingertips, not the palm of the hand. This provides you with much more ball control. Be sure to dribble beside your body instead of in front of yourself. Bounce the ball at a level even with your waist. You should always be looking up instead of at the ground.

Bounce Pass

Teach yourself how a bounce pass can be properly thrown. A useful bounce pass will hit the receiving player at waist level. Bounce the ball so that it lands near your teammate. At the same time, take into account any other extraneous factors that may affect the pass.

Practice your pass catching often. You need to be able to retrieve perfect passes and not so perfect passes. During a real game, many of the passes that come your way will be off-target and tougher to handle. Help your teammates by learning what you need to haul in those imperfect passes.

TIP! When avoiding errant passes, use hand signals. Passing is tough, especially if you and your teammate are not in sync with one another.

One of the keys to becoming a great basketball player is developing core muscles. The core muscles include the lower back, hips and abdonimals. Without a strong core, a player’s performance may not be as good as it could be. A strong core helps the legs move better, like jumping higher and running faster.

During your workouts, concentrate on improving your footwork as well as your core strength. Your body will retain balance and move quicker when you have strong core muscles. Work your ab, back, hip and buttocks muscles. Similar to boxers, jumping rope can better your speed and footwork.

If you’ve developed somewhat of a shooting slump, focus on your shoulders. You won’t be able to make a shot if your shoulders aren’t in the right position. Be sure to keep the shoulders squared up to the hoop. Line up your shooting shoulder with the rim as well.

TIP! If you’re on the offense, you footwork needs to be excellent to stay open for passes and shots. You always want to beat your opponent to the open spot.

Speed is everything in basketball. Try playing faster than the opponents for a better advantage. To increase your quickness, you must practice playing fast while running drills. However, don’t try to be faster than you’re physically able to be. When you play too fast, you can lose control and that means turnovers.

As you now know, there exist many methods to which you can up your game. It is important to understand the fundamentals of the game if you plan on being a great player. It’s important to practice to become the best you can be at basketball. Take what you have learned here to make the most out of your next basketball game.