Is this article really about how to play basketball? You be the judge. Call this article motivational. Call it philosophical. Say it’s more about putting psychological pieces together than learning how to play basketball.
You may be right! But the deeper you think about it, the more you understand about the drive of what makes an outstanding basketball player.
I think when people discuss about improving in basketball and the ways to get better, they talk too much about the physical aspect. They neglect the mental part which is equally important. We’ve all read about how important beliefs are. And they are. Beliefs are super important.
But what good they are when you don’t have the right instructions and the drills and tips and someone to guide you? No matter how hard you believe in something you’ve been told, you won’t get far if you’ve been given bad advice.
But wait a minute, maybe you have that “guide” who’ll be your coach day and night. He’ll be there for you and push you to be the best player you can be. He’ll be there for you to remind you how hard you need to practice and encourage you when things don’t go well.
You realize and say.. “”Yeah! That’s it”. Having the best coach is the way. But hold your horses right there…
…What if you don’t have a clear focus? It’s a fair question. You love basketball but you also love other things. You like to party and chill out with your friends. You don’t have the motivation to get up early and practice, or hell, just practice at all. So you say, having a coach and focus is the way. Nooo!
What if I don’t LOVE the game. It just won’t last. If I love the game I’ll have a passion for the game, you might say. That’ll last big time. I’d be constantly committed. Damn, this thing never ends does it?:)
Which one is the one you need? The thing is, in my mind, you need them all. In fact, you need to be able to combine those things. When you take a look at some basketball legends, you realize they were able to deliver those qualities which are vital. They were able to balance those things.
So, to make it even easier for you, I’ll list some characteristics you must have, if you wanna be a very special basketball player and learn how to really play basketball.
Action. You have to 
. And what I mean by that is avoid procrastinating things you darn well know you should do.
Desire. Have a 
burning desire to excel. Get inspired if you’re not. Rent a good movie. Play against someone who’s better. Or just watch him. Or find something that excites you about this game. Maybe you want to amaze someone? Find anything.
Focus. 
Clarity is power. When you know what area you wanna improve, when you know exactly how much time you need to spend about ANYTHING, basketball-related, you have an advantage.
Habit. Develop a routine. Everyday. Be constant. Eliminate bad habits like activities that are pointless and take time and replace them with new, useful, powerful habits. Over a long period of time, you’ll be fascinated about how much you can do.
Purpose. Players who got far in the world of basketball were on a mission. They knew WHY there were working their tail off. They knew the meaning of not giving up and when things got ugly and when the ordinary man would just say.. “Forget it! I’m giving up”.
Coach/Parent. We all need someone to show us the way. Sure, we have to walk it, but the learning experience they have can save us great amount of time.
There’re many other qualities like, persistence, determination, self-confidence, ability to work in a team and put collective interest first and individual, second, love and passion for the game. But the better we learn to combine those, the better basketball players we’ll become.
Just think about these stuff here. Contemplate how you’d feel if you had these qualities. If you think you have them all, you’re not realistic. Work on them. Learn more effectively how to play basketball. Become a better player.