Don’t worry about becoming Michael Jordan or LeBron James, focus on becoming the best player you can be. Work on your technique, practice your skills and perfect your ball handling skills. This article will give you some helpful tips to improve your game.

Balance is essential to shooting. While some NBA players are able to launch a ball to the net mid-fall, this is not appropriate for most people. They improvise to do that. Keep your balance so you can consistently win points.

TIP! Make sure you learn how to shoot free throws. It looks simple to do, but it isn’t that easy.

If you want to improve your game, concentrate on your strengths. Your skills might not make you an all-start every time out, but playing up your strengths makes you a great contributor. Learn what your strengths are, then practice to perfection!

Teach yourself how a bounce pass can be properly thrown. This means your pass should be aimed towards the receiving player at the level of his waist. A useful tip is to have the ball bounce roughly 3/4 of the distance to the recipient. Many other factors will affect it, too.

Free throws require both mental and physical abilities. You must be mentally strong to be a consistent free throw shooter. Relax and concentrate on your basket to increase your free throws.

Zone Defense

You need to practice more than defeating a zone defense. Learn how to play a man-to-man defense and a zone defense to get the best understanding of how the game works. Practice with each type of defense so you will know what to expect.

One of the keys to becoming a great basketball player is developing core muscles. Core muscles are comprised of the hips, lower back, and abdominal muscles. The core connects the lower and upper extremities, and if a person has a weak core, they will fail to excel in athletic pursuits. Building strong core muscles will allow your to jump higher, run faster and maintain your balance.

TIP! Learn how to block out movement, noise and other distractions when taking a free throw. Training your body is important, but you also have to be mentally ready for the shot.

Quality footwork will help you get better shots. Although it’s important to have a physical presence underneath the basket, it’s more important that you get in a good place before your opponent can. Once you find a spot, you need to know how to defend it. Good solid footwork will help you develop the skills you need for success.

Seek advice from your teammates about how you play the game. Is there something that you excel at? Perhaps you are quick footed, or you are always ready to lend a hand on the court. Discover what other people feel are your strongest skills and then set about perfecting them.

Good footwork will help you get rebounds off your teammates’ foul shots. The defender in your path will be moving at you, so be sure you’re thinking of how to get past that defender. This will allow you to score a rebound without getting penalized for a foul.

TIP! You can improve your skills by paying attention to how the pros play. Go to a bunch of professional games in person, watch them on television, or just get online to search for basketball videos.

These tips should give plenty of things to work on to improve your game. You must be self confident, and you must practice regularly. Show others that you have skills and keep the things that you went over here in mind at all times.