Everyone seems to love basketball. The sport is easy to love, but mastering it is not quite so simple. While genetics and being athletic may help you to do a little better, anyone can be good at basketball. The article below will give you some valuable tips to make playing this sport more fun.

Watch your form while you dribble the ball. Proper dribbling technique involves use of the fingertips, not the palm of the hand. This way you’ll have a lot more control over the ball. Avoid dribbling in front of you and only dribble to the sides of your body. Don’t look at the ground, always keep your eyes focused forward.

TIP! If there’s no one around to play with, it is okay to play a basketball game by yourself. Basketball is usually a team sport, but just because you can’t find others, doesn’t mean you have to just stop thinking about it.

Know your strengths and they’ll help you become a better player. Your strengths might not make you a star player, but you’ll be contributing a lot to your team. Know your strengths and keep practicing to get even better.

Never practice only against the zone. Most of the basketball game will probably be played in this zone, but the other team might decide to surprise you and do some man-to-man coverage. If you haven’t trained yourself to counter this, you could lose any control you have over the game.

When posting up, solid footwork is essential to getting yourself into position to shoot. You do, of course, need to be near the basket, but finding the right spot without getting blocked is essential. After grabbing the position, you need to hold the area. Each of these skills is reliant on good footwork.

TIP! If you have a child that is strength training for basketball, their core muscles should be properly developed. The core muscles are the hips, lower back muscles and the abdominal muscles.

Ask teammates what they admire about your playing skills? What areas are your strong points? Perhaps you have an excellent understanding of defensive strategies or you are the fastest player on your team. You can learn a lot about your skills by knowing how others see you on the court.

A great way to stay prepared at all times is to always face the ball. You develop a good feel for the game around you, making it much easier to quickly react to your opponent. Also, you need to stay aware of areas which might open up and give you an easy basket.

Figuring out the opponent is a great way to do well against a tight defense. Review videotapes and monitor scouting reports. Learn which of the opposing players are left-dominant and which are right-dominant. Once you understand the opposition, you will now how to mount your defense. When you are prepared, you play better defense.

TIP! Proper handling of the ball requires that your fingers be spread apart. This will help prevent the ball from getting away from you while dribbling.

Are you now ready to show off your skills? You better learn those moves first. Go crazy and get the motivation you need to rule the court. Soon you’ll start to see how much you’ve improved because you put the advice you were given here into practice.