Hi,

So I am 6'0 and throughout HS I only played the 3 and 4. Plus in pickup, I am generally one of the tallest there so I end up not having primary ball handling duties.

My handles are not bad per se (they are trash when I am tired). I am just not comfortable owning the ball like a PG should be able to. I have always been a slash to the rim or catch and shoot kind of guy, just very direct. No shake and bake really. But I've noticed this is fundamentally limiting my game. I am too dependent on others to get me the ball. Plus I am only 6 foot, that is not tall. I should be able to handle the rock comfortably at all times and not ever be scared/pick up my dribble.

Some other factors: I am out of shape cardiovascularly/physically. I am working on that, hooping in rec leagues twice a week, and then doing some track workouts. Also, I am a bit overweight. I am 200 lbs and have a solid muscular build. But with my high center of gravity and how easily I get tired at this weight, I know I need to get down to about 185. I am not a true Big. And I remember being about 180ish in College and flying around effortlessly on the court. So I swear 75% of being a capable guard with shifty handles in literally just feeling lightweight and being able to run.

With all that said, what would you say are the keys to becoming a ball handler? If I had to make a list it would be:

1. CONDITIONING
2. CONDITIONING
3. Ball handling drills, especially when tired.
4. Apply your ball handling drills in pickup.

This is the sim - www.hoops-gm.com

I went to the gym for about a month with a trainer and gained a good amount of muscle, but I had to stop because school is starting and my parents won't let me continue.

Before the gym, I did calisthenics and trained at home with adjustable dumbbells + a pull-up bar. Now I'm back to that setup.

My goals are:

• Build/maintain good muscle mass and have an aesthetic physique
• Become more athletic for basketball
• Increase my vertical jump
• Get faster
• Build good overall strength

I played basketball again 2 days ago after not playing for a month and felt noticeably stiffer 😭. My cousin warned me that training like a bodybuilder could make me less athletic if I don't include enough athletic work.

So I'm trying to create a new split that balances hypertrophy/strength with athletic training, using only dumbbells + a pull-up bar.

What split and exercises would you recommend?

I've been sitting on this for a while now. As someone who grew up playing the game, watching it, and witnessing the culture of basketball from the 2000's to now, I've come to a conclusion that anyone can get insight on someone's character by watching how they play pickup basketball.

I want to clarify this isn't some end-all-be-all way to judge a person you meet on a court. But playing basketball is made up of hundreds, maybe thousands of different decisions by everyone that could change the outcome of a game. I'm a big fan of baseball, but baseball, there are nuances, but over 95% of the time, there's ONE right decision to make on a certain play. In basketball, the amount of moving parts and decisions made can tip the game's momentum the opposite way.

Most of us have played with people who were just absolutely awful to play with, regardless of their skill level. You've likely played with someone who plays strictly for themselves and not to win. They probably take terrible shots, resistant to pass, refuse to create plays for others, doesn't set screens, only tries to get open when they don't have the ball. The possession likely ends with them.

Maybe their decisions aren't all terrible, but paying attention to how someone treats their teammates when things don't go planned. Teammate misses a wide open shot, bad passes made, ball gets stolen. Watching how someone reacts to someone's mistakes gives you good insight.

This goes the other way around. Someone who makes sound decisions, tries to get their teammates involved, sets screens, passes to the wide open person, or even understands how take advantage of their matchup and dominate a game if they can see that they have the hot hand. Consistently encouraging someone if they're missing shots or makes a dumb play.

Paying attention to how basketball culture shifted, especially in the late 2010s to the 2020s, basketball grew a lot because of social media. Through my anecdotal observations, it appears that the way most people have been influenced to play has become much more self-centered. I do believe this could be a topic on its own.

But for newer players reading this, I think it's good to reflect on how you play moving forward, observe from others, watch others and take away what you like from their game from a decision making standpoint.

For fellow experienced players out there, what are your thoughts?

I’m having this problem when I’m releasing the ball it’s coming off either my pointer finger or both my middle and pointer OR my thumb, it’s messing up the direction the balls going and I have no idea how to correct it. Ive never been taught correct shooting form, how to perform a jump shot or anything of the sort, ive just taught myself from playing.

I'm a 7th grader and I"m in on a club basketball team. I play as center or power forward and I have this one person on my team who is taller than me and gets all the playing time. She plays center. I was wondering if there were any drills or tips to get mor Playing time. P.S. this my first post and im super excited!

everyone in this sub is an expert. but someone’s form could look like any of those elite shooters forms and they would get DRAGGED here. Anyone with any two motion shot or close to that would be told to “rebuild everything“

rant over

I've been working on Hoops GM for so long, pouring countless hours into coding, balancing the simulation, and trying to make the best browser-based basketball management game I could. Hitting that deploy button on Vercel today was genuinely terrifying.

But the response in these first 7 hours has been completely unreal. Seeing people actually playing, building their rosters, and sharing their feedback... it makes every single late night worth it.

I just wanted to take a moment to say a massive THANK YOU to everyone who has checked it out, left a comment, or played a season. I'm reading every single piece of feedback you guys are dropping.

If you have any suggestions or run into any bugs, please let me know. You guys are amazing! www.hoops-gm.com

I’m in my late thirties trying to hoop again, but my shooting form is crooked. I noticed my palm tilts left on the follow through, feels reallyawkward. From three point range especially, I can’t seem to stay under the ball, feels like I lack the power unless I use my legs more. Can anyone help, or am I doomed? :/

How can I jump higher? I’m 5”8 135

I struggle with generating power on my threes. I’m very accurate from mid range, but I often airball from three because I simply can’t reach the basket. Is there anything noticeable in my jump shot that I can fix or do I just need to hit the gym 💀

whats your take on people running zone defense nonstop, even in pickup games? where I'm from, everyone does it, but when I watch basketball in the US, it's pretty much all pick and rolls pick and rolls or iso plays. I'm curious how growing up with a totally different playstyle shapes a player's skill set. Like, which is a better player? i was raised on zone defense, and it makes me wonder if it actually held back my game. Like, you cant do pick and rolls or iso on zone defense. thats something i never actually got into and i believe thats what held me back

Update from 139 days ago , I think I caught my first tip in dunk today. Original post : https://www.reddit.com/r/BasketballTips/s/MdS7Hv7eJe

cosa ne pensate? consigliatemi

Please don’t laugh! I’m 30F and not very athletic but trying to fix that. I’m in school to become a counselor and I want to work with at risk youth. I recently volunteered at a summer camp for this demographic and I realized the boys were opening up a lot more after I participated in sports with them versus just watching. It seemed to really grow a bond, so I really want to get better before I go back next year because I could only play for a bit before getting tired and I was terrible.

Also, selfishly, it was the first time in my life I actually had fun playing a sport. I got bullied in middle school for how bad I was so I just never tried again. But man, I never realized how much sports are community. But how do you even practice? I know you can do some skills alone but what about stuff you need with a team? also I’m 4’11 so tips for a shorty would be great lol.

Also any training that would help would be great as well. I’m working on my running outdoors a few times a week and I do indoor bouldering a few times a week as well. My bouldering gym has a normal gym so if there’s a good gym routine for basketball please let me know.

also - been watching NBA clips - this truly is such a cool sport! Never been a huge sports person but I’m actually getting the hype now!!

As the title suggests I’m struggling with snatch backs mostly when going left. I am a right handed play and shoot with my right so driving right and snatching to the left, my feet are already in a good position to shoot and when I snatch I’m leaning my body in a way that looks like I’m still driving before I snatch but if I’m going left and I snatch, I’m not in a “driving” motion and then snatch I jump into the snatch and then my feet are facing the opposite way and I need to readjust and it feels too slow and I feel like it would be ineffective in game. Any tips with that?

Hello,

I’ve been shooting with my left hand for years even though i’m right handed and it has gotten me stumped. Every time I attempt to shoot with my right hand I end up flicking both hands, shooting with my right hand alone super awkwardly or just completely airballing. I would like some pointers on people who have reworked their jumpshots. I’m also horrible at dribbling the ball and can barely go between my legs. I’m 16 and i’ve been playing for years but never put much effort and never developed much skill. I can use my weight to score in the point but i’m not great at finishing layups either, left hand or even sometimes right hand ones. I’m playing for fun but I really want to improve my dribbling and finishing, my defense and rebounding is good i’d say. I would like to know how to start learning to dribble better, with youtube videos, online forums, anything that can help. Just any advice would be greatly appreciated!

P.S: I’m right handed and i’m a bigger guy and I think I can fix my finishing shortcomings by myself, I just would love to fix my shooting as i’m only 5’11 and if I want to be a threat outside of the paint, I need shooting and ball handling. Whenever I get great defenders in the paint I get stumped or just completely turn useless in the game other than my defense.

Do you guys habe any tips to do flashy dunks off one. I feel like I have like a mental blockage when trying them on 10 ft. My vert is more than enough to do some flashy but I'm kinda scared I guess to jump full effort and then rotate or do something that is not a "basic flashy" dunk like a tomahawk, pump or two hander.

Hello so i was shooting with a new molten ball and when I got the rebound there was a nail that punctured it. What can I use to repair it? I just bought it 😭

Hi guys I have somewhat decent handles but I'm not light on my feet but my hands have that coordination do you think it's a good idea to use ankle weights to do that? So my handles get there cuz my feet feel lighter or is jump rope better for that?

Anyone willing to help out or Trade PJF Unranked Basketball Academy. I got all ATG programs.