Does physical fitness matter in basketball

Watch a game of high level basketball, and you can be shocked at how the players look. The vast majority of basketball players look, to the exterior, like they aren’t as athletic as those in other sports. Once you remember that most players, even at NBA level, are well in excess of 6ft tall, though, it becomes easier to see why that is. These are athletes trying to fill a frame that is far bigger than the normal athlete. This can remove their ‘buff’ look. Make no mistake, though, basketball players are super-athletes!

If you were to ever take seriously the idea of being a professional basketballer, you might think all you need is a game. No, try and catch a shot of your favourite NBA team in the locker room and you’ll see first hand the work they do in the gym. If you intend to ever play basketball in Dubai, you should focus on trying to improve fitness as well as on-court technique.

You can have all of the ball handling and defensive reads in the world; if someone can blow past you physically, you will never make it as a professional. That is why you should look to focus on improving your physical endurance as much as you can.

Building your stamina is key

Work with a UAE basketball coach, and you’ll find the first thing they want you to do is become more conditioned. Get used to running ‘suicides’; running from one side of the court to the next, touching the line at the end and doing the same again. Basketball is a game that forces you to go up and down the court hundreds of times per game; getting used to being able to handle that constant motion is essential to your growth.

As such, you should spend as much time working on your stamina as you can. You are no use to your team if you cannot build the endurance to play for a prolonged period of minutes without rest!

You might not think that fitness matters, but you need to get into the weight room and build physical endurance. Make sure you don’t go the other way, though, and add too much bulk to the point where you cannot move up the court with any kind of speed.

The most important thing you can have is stamina and endurance. You need to have the cardio to move around without losing your focus. You also need to have the physical power to take a charge, to hold someone off in the post, and to work around a screen.

Take more time to focus on the ability that you have physically, as it can play an absolutely massive role in your long-term future as a basketball player. Implementing these exercises will go a long way to making sure you can build up more on-court stamina.

Add this to the fact that you will feel better over time for the work done, and you can see why physicality is a big part of basketball. Ignore the myths that basketball does not need you to be strong; it is a myth!