Professional Tips & Hacks on How to Train Basketball at Home
Bad weather keeping you inside? Maybe the local park has terrible double rims. Look, we get it – sometimes you would rather learn how to train basketball at home than get out on the court.
We searched far and wide to assemble the best resources to help basketball athletes train at home. Work on your ball handling, shooting and strength with expert-selected workout equipment and workouts created by professional NBA trainers.
Let’s take a deep dive into how to train basketball at home.
How to Train Basketball at Home
Before we breakdown some of the better tools and resources available for training at home it is always best to set some ideology. After all, some of the most effective basketball players started with the killer mentality.
Here are four tips to help you understand how to train basketball at home:
1. Focus on Fundamentals
Fancy workouts are great for small pieces of your game – but most of your advancements will come by training the absolute fundamentals of basketball.
Working on balance, ball control with the head up, footwork when shooting and limiting your dribble. Basketball is a sport about efficiency – and efficiency will come by training your fundamental skills.
2. Improve Lateral Quickness
How quickly can you take advantage of a mismatch? How quickly can you slide to cover space in the paint?
Lateral quickness is an essential skill in basketball and although it isn’t as glorious as a massive vertical jump – it is just as important on defence and offence.
Working on lateral quickness will help any basketball athlete to stand out on defence – and defence wins games.
3. Build Translatable Strength
Bench press and squats are great fundamental movement patterns for developing strength but they are not exactly translatable strength for basketball.
Instead of getting stuck on a barbell, try using workout tools and devices that allow you to move through simulated basketball patterns with resistance.
Medicine balls, slam balls, and resistance bands are a great way to train translatable strength patterns for basketball at a much chapter cost that a barbell and rack setup.
4. Train Consistently
Getting hyped up about training is good, but consistency is always the name of the game. Training your body over the course of many months and dozens of workouts will lead to the best results.
Set yourself up on a schedule that allows you to be accountable for your development and proud of your accomplishments.
Depending on your skill level you can train basketball skills at a moderate-high intensity 3-5x/week.
Now that you have an idea for how to train basketball at home – and how you can shape your workout program, let’s take a look at some of the essential equipment that you can use.
Tools to Train Basketball at Home
Check out this list of six cheap and effective workout tools you can use to train basketball at home on any budget.
Basketball
The most obvious tool for development is a basketball. Two is better than one as you can use two balls to work on coordination dribbling and advanced ball control drills.
If your budget only affords one basketball then grab yourself a tennis ball and work on control/catching drills while you dribble.
We’d recommend grabbing an indoor-outdoor basketball as they tend to be more versatile, reliable and generally much cheaper than the indoor leather balls.
Here is a great video to help you find some simple and effective control/catching drills to improve coordination and ball control.
Agility Set
Training your lateral quickness, speed on your first step and overall balance can be done using simple agility tools like cones, ladders and steps.
A complete agility set is a useful tool that is lightweight, features easy setup and is perfect for a morning workout in the basement of your house.
Advanced basketball athletes looking for a challenge can use a basketball during some of the agility drills to further reinforce ball control. Here is a great video that demonstrates drills you can do with cones and a basketball (they’re harder than they look).
Medicine Ball
Although not as glorious as a heavy barbell lift, training with a medicine ball or slam ball will help you to move through basketball movements efficiently.
You can use the medicine ball to recreate movements like a euro-step, rebound attempt, chest pass and others with resistance.
The likes of James Harden uses medicine balls and resistance bands to train his infamous euro step faster and more effectively.
Check out this video for a simple demonstration of 3 basketball moves you can do to strengthen the core using a medicine ball.
Strength Band
A personal favourite for many professional basketball players and trainers – lateral restrictor bands, or strength bands are perfect for adding slight resistance to movement patterns.
Lateral restrictors are placed around the thigh and allow minimal resistance on lateral movements. This is great for training dynamic movements like closeouts, defensive slides, rebounding to catch and many other basketball movements.
The strength bands will actively train the gluteal muscles to develop strength and balance without using heavy and expensive barbells.
TRX/Suspension Trainer
The simple and fast setup allows suspension trainers to be a versatile tool for developing balance and strength at home.
The TRX trainer comes with a door anchor or a traditional top anchor that can be used on anything that supports your weight.
Attach to a basketball rim, football goals, door frame or pull-up bar and move through hundreds of TRX exercises and develop strength for the physical demands of basketball.
TRX trainers are used for more exercises than just rows and curls. Here is a video from Lakers Head Strength and Conditioning Coach with 4 exercises for basketball players.
If you’re not sure how to train basketball at home using a TRX – this video is for you.
TRIGGER POINT Foam Roller
Generic foam rollers are great for massaging your muscles but the TRIGGER POINT system is used by pro’s globally for its patented design. Channel blood and oxygen to the muscle to help with repair and recovery.
Foam rollers can also be used for workouts. Check out this video showing creative exercises using a foam roller. Recover, strengthen and add variability into your training program with a foam roller.
Video Resources: How to Train Basketball at Home
Need some extra assistance getting started? Maybe you just want to follow along with a workout at home. Our team has assembled three of the very best and highest rated training videos online.
Effective Dribbling Routine
Most coaches will agree that passing the ball is better than dribbling the ball, but ball control is still an essential skill for all basketball players. Imagine, for a moment, your entire team being able to dribble.
Every basketball player should have the ball control ability to grab a rebound and push in transition.
This will only become a reality if you have the confidence to dribble around, over, and through defenders. If you’re looking for a complete ball control workout for how to train basketball at home this is it.
Pro Trainer Tyler Relph with Dribble Combinations
NBA pro basketball trainer Tyler Relph leads you through a no-excuse basketball control workout for those who have very little space in their house.
We like this workout routine because it isn’t just basic control drills but advanced drills to get by defenders. Coach Tyler also explains why you are doing each dribble combination.
Watch the speed of each combo and the depth that he drops to during each specific sequence. This is a great routine you can do to help fool your defenders and push your game to the next level.
Shooting Drills WITHOUT a Hoop
No hoop ‒ No worries. This video demonstrates a variety of shooting drills you can do anywhere, anytime. Sometimes shooting isn’t about getting reps on the net. Instead, Collin from shotmechanics walks you through a variety of drills intended to make your shooting more automatic.
Remember ‒ in basketball, you will never be more open than the moment you catch the ball. Use these drills to make your jump shot faster and more efficient without needing a hoop.
Basketball Development is No Secret
Although any athlete can go out and buy a program or a workout device there is no substitute for hard work and there is no secret in basketball development.
If you’re looking for great resources for how to train basketball at home this is the guide for you – but be sure to put your effort into direct action.
Work consistently, train hard, recover harder and enjoy the results.
Like this article and want to share some funny pictures with your basketball team? Check out 50 basketball memes to download and share.
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