1. Nobody wants to be known as a defensive specialist
Any serious basketball player wants to be good at defense. Some players make it a mission to be a lock down defender. But everybody wants to score. Even guys who can’t hit unguarded layups and know their role still wish they could dominate the scoring column. So when you see that guy on TV who always sets the right pick and passes to the star player like he’s supposed to, remember that he’s giving up a lot to make the team win – because everybody, deep down, wants to be a scorer.
2. Jammed fingers are a way of life
If you play basketball as a passion, your knuckles may constantly seem to be in a state of swelling and discomfort from jammed fingers. It’s so much a way of life that most of the time you don’t even think about it, but if the swelling from that missed dunk doesn’t go down within a few hours or a day, you should probably have it checked out. At the very least, use the RICE method (rest, ice, compression and elevation).
3. Basketball is a year-round sport
Most people think basketball starts sometime in January and ends sometime in March, except for the NBA playoffs, which last for-ev-ah. But for the players, it’s nonstop, whether you are playing high school, college, semi pro, rec league, AAU, summer league or even on a national team, the only month where very little organized basketball happens is August, but even then you can find a game somewhere. Unlike baseball or football, basketball can be played year round and technically only requires 2 people, a portable basketball hoop, and a basketball to have a game. Even soccer, which only requires a ball, can’t compete with a real 1-on-1 game anytime of the year, making this sport very appealing to many people such as those in High-5 Basketball.
4. The crowd has less effect than the fans think
Most players are only rattled by big crowds when they first play in front of them. The situational blindness of playing generally means you see what’s happening on the court, and not much else. Players can tune out almost everything else, and it’s not even something that you have to work at – but that’s also why coaches can be yelling from the sidelines and none of the players react. It’s like their in their own hoop bubble, and it stops at the edges of the courts.
5. Music matters. A lot.
Hoopers may listen to a lot of types of music, but the reality is that hip-hop (or just called ‘rap’ if you’ve been balling since the 70s or 80s) is the music of basketball. The hard driving rhymes and looped joints of great hip-hop melds perfectly into the mindset of how you have to move and play on the court. Basketball might have been born under peach baskets in Massachusetts, but it grew up on the blacktop of the urban centers of the United States, just like hip hop.
6. Kobe Bryant’s Not A Ball Hog
Kobe Bryant isn’t really a ball hog because he’s one of the purest jump shooters that’s ever played in the NBA. Neither was Michael Jordan, Julius Erving or even Allen Iverson. You know what a real ball hog is? It’s that guy that takes the inbounds pass, races up the floor, never even looks at his teammates and launches the ugliest air ball that has ever been seen on a basketball court – and you know the very next time he touches the ball, he’s going to do it again.
7. Just because a guy is tall, doesn’t mean he can play
Being tall certainly helps playing basketball, but just because a player is 6’7″ or 6’9″ doesn’t make him an automatic NBA player. There are thousands of people who are 6’6″ or taller who aren’t anywhere near the talent level to play in the NBA, but there are just as many who aren’t really talented enough to play sports in general. Sometimes they do want to play and improve, but many times taller people are guided into basketball just because of their height, when they are possibly better suited to be flower arrangers or market analysts.
8. Choosing the adequate Basketball Hoop is not an easy task.
If you are a basketball player just like me, you’ll know that all basketball hoops are not the same. There are various factors to consider before you spend your money on purchasing the best in-ground basketball hoop. It seems like an easy task but basketball hoops also come with their features and to make sure that it lasts you a lifetime you need to evaluate the pros cons and all features before you end up buying it. Check Out In Ground Basketball hoop guide to learn more about!.
9. Refs get a lot of calls completely wrong
NBA players have taken to complaining about fouls that they obviously committed to an art form, but ignoring the pros, every player has been hit with bad calls. You do have to play through the bad calls, but every player has had calls go against them that they knew they didn’t commit – as in, ‘not even on that side of the court’ to commit the foul that was called.
10. A lot of basketball sneakers are just for show
Sneakerheads have new models to choose from all of the time, and many hoopers are sneakerheads. However, just because a pair of shoes looks good means they are meant to play in, since there are different shoes for different kind of feet, so Let’s discuss few top rated Basketball Shoes for Wide Feet and how you can find the perfect shoe for you in this case. Who remembers Dada shoes? Some say they were some of the ugliest sneakers ever made. However, they are still a collectors item. John Wooden, the legendary UCLA coach, constantly preached to players to take care of their feet – from the way they tied their laces to the types of shoes they wore.