13 asked:


I’m not basing it solely on his NBA career which sports one all-star berth and a below 15 point scoring average. The Basketball Hall of Fame has broad requirements and Manu has a broad resume. Manu has won something in every year from 2001 up until Argentina’s defeat at the hands of Team USA Saturday morning.

2001 - Italian League Championship
2001 - Italian Cup champion
2001 - Euroleague champion (won MVP)
2001 - 2001 FIBA Americas Championship
2002 - FIBA World Championships (silver medal)
2002 - Italian Cup champion
2003 - NBA title
2004 - Olympic gold medal
2005 - NBA title

Ginobili is the only player in basketball history to win the Euroleague, an Olympic gold medal, and an NBA Championship ring. Now, if Lebron James and Kenny Anderson are in the Basketball Hall of Fame because of their high school achievements, I think Manu should make it in based on his global achievements.
The Basketball Hall of Fame isn’t just for Americans. It is for anyone in the world. “Contributors” to the game, like Jerry Colangelo, are admitted. An Italian coach is going in with the class of 2006 inductees.
Also, I wasn’t saying Kenny Anderson and Lebron ‘might’ get in b/c of their high school careers. Lebron and Anderson are in ALREADY.

bestkeptsecret asked:


NBA champion vs South American club champion vs Euroleague champs vs African club champion vs Asian club champion vs Australian champion in a tournament for the World Championship.DO YOU AGREE?

if these happens, NBA champs would not automatically be the World Champions.

One of the first skills taught to budding basketball players is how to shoot the basketball. Every kid goes into their first practice wanting to learn how to sink a shot and good coaches realize this. In order to keep players from learning the wrong way and thus picking up habits that may be hard to break, coaches should begin teaching the proper way to shoot a basketball.

Form is important to having a shot that is accurate. Without good form control of the ball is next to impossible. A good shooting technique embodies the following four steps.

Step One: Balance

Players should practice jumping up and down and landing each and every time in the same spot. It is important that a player can jump straight up and land from the spot he has jumped from. Having good balance is essential to the set up for the shot. If a player jumps up and to the side instead of straight, the path of the ball will be off.

Step Two: Elbow Position

The elbow needs to always be in towards the body. Players should be taught that the elbow is held in to the body and after the shot should be pointed at the basket. This is part of the whole shot set up. If the elbow is off then the shot will be off.

Step Three: Eyes on Target

Being focused is important to the game of basketball. A player has to learn to always keep their eyes focused on the ball and where the ball is going. When shooting that focus has to be on the basket.

A player needs to keep their eyes on the basket. When practicing balance it is a good idea to also practice keeping an eye on the target. This is important and players should constantly be reminded.

When a player is focused on the target they tend to focus their whole body and movement to the target which in the end helps to land the basket.

Step Four: Follow Through

The final step of shooting a basketball is after the ball leaves the players hand. The follow though allows the final contact with the ball to be focused as the rest of the shot.

Following through involves dropping the wrist with the finger straight down to the floor. This prevents the player from doing any weird movement with their fingers that can send the ball off balance.

These four steps are all essential to the process of shooting a basketball accurately. Players will begin by focusing more on just throwing the ball than anything else, so it is important to take the focus off the power and put it on the technique.

After all, a ball flying through the air will not reach the basket just through shear force - there has to be technique to guide it there. Without technique the player is just hurling the ball through the air with no rhyme or reason and the chances of making a basketball are all left to chance.

Ally White asked:


The New York Knicks’ superstar Allan Houston who played for NY during nine complete seasons will try to come back again to the NBA after his retirement in October 2005 due to a chronic knee injury. Along Houston’s accomplishments we can mention the period when he took the Knicks to the 1999 NBA Finals. He tried to reincorporate himself to the sport last year, but at the end he decided to put it off as it was only 10 days before the start of the regular season.  But now things look different for Houston as he has been preparing to play with the Knicks and battle for a spot in the 2008-09 Knicks training camp and a possible regular season roster.

Back in 2002, Houston was one of the highest paid players in the NBA; he played for the Knicks with an extension contract of $20.7 million. Unfortunately, Houston was out for a total of 32 games during the following season and there were no trading opportunities for him to transfer to another team and he was not able to get his surgery and began the following season but the pain was too strong to continue like that and he was forced to retire by the end of 2005. 

At this point, many are not very sure on whether Houston would be ready to play after almost three years of absence in the NBA, an arthritic knee and 37 years on his shoulders. We will find that out during the training camp of the Knicks as well as the results this could have at the NBA with Houston’s come back. He has signed a contract with the Knicks of a minimum NBA salary of $1.26 million for a player of his status.

Houston is the fourth leading scorer in the history of the Knicks with 11,165 points in a regular season and a career average of 17.3 points per game in 12 years of professional play.  Houston’s best performance was during the season 2002-2003 scoring an average of 22.5 points. Additionally, during the first round of the 1999 Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Miami Heat Houston had a memorable play, a jumper in the lane with 0.8 seconds left to win the game 78-77 as well as the series for the Knicks and a final NBA championship game against the San Antonio Spurs.

There is no doubt Houston will always be a great player and someone to remember in the history of the NBA and the New York Knicks as his experience and his love for the game are remarkable. We believe that his determination will be once again be shown on the court along side with his team mates and his team. For this season, Houston will wear the number 14 in order to honor of his father, Wade, and the deep love he felt for the sport. He was one of the first African-American basketball players to play for the University of Louisville.

Defense is a key in basketball. A team that shoots hoops can only win if it has a great defense in place. Every basketball team needs to create a working defense system. And a team needs to be a well rounded one so that it can play even at high intensity.

Read how great defenders in basketball perfected their dense moves. Make notes of what will work for you and what will not. Get your mind to function like that of a soldier who is all set to defend his nation. Only in the case of basketball the nation is the ball and team position.

Here are a few defense tips:

1. Learn all about ball and man line. This is an imaginary line between the player you are defending and the man with the ball. Learn to position yourself on the basket side of the ball man line and form a defensive triangle.

2. Master the art of “cover down defense”. Position yourself to the level of the ball so that you can stop the ball before it reaches the lane.

3. Use double down strategy when a low post player gets the ball. Learn how to double team the post player.

4. Jump to the ball and be quick to make adjustments to your stance and position. Be in position and jump this will help you avoid front cutters and screens. This will make you a strong team player.

5. Use the strategy of strongside closure when your team member passes the ball and cuts to the basket. Jump to the ball side and slide along the lane.

Remember defense is what ensures that your team gets control of the ball so include in the basketball training aspects of team defense moves, post defense moves, on the ball defense moves, and off the ball defense moves.

A great basketball defense player is one who:

1. Moves quickly.

2. Has strength and stamina.

3. Trains throughout the year.

4. Has an in depth understanding of the game.

5. Is a communicator and team leader.

6. Studies the strengths and weaknesses of the opponent team before every game.

7. Is able to think on his feet and change strategy even mid-game should the need arise.

8. Is a listener and picks up clues as well as moves from others.

9. Plays strong-side and weak –side defense well

The World Wide Web is an information highway for basketball players. There are websites exclusively devoted to the game and these are full of coaching tips, articles on training, records of history of basketball, winning teams, great players, and on sports management. Use the in depth expertise of the internet and perfect your basketball plays to create a championship winning team.

With so many drills and different ways to pratice to

improve your game, you could very easily get confused and frustrated

trying to compile a perfect pratice plan. One of the main components I have

always stressed with all my private basketball clients, whether they are bigginers

or a NBA Veterain, is to try and train smarter and not just harder.

A major component you have to consieder when trying to design a Basketball Improvement system

is to leverage your time wisely and work on the areas that are most important to you and your game.

To use an example, if you are a point gurad, your main job is to be able to handle the rock under control

and pressure, contol the pace of the game, make sure all your teamates are doing their job correctly and be

your coaches on the court general.

Why it would be great if you were a great rebounder, it is not something that you should spend alot of time ptacticing.

You should focus the majority of your time practicing and improving the areas that are most required. Try not to get caught up

in trying to work on every aspect of basketball, there just is not enough time to work on every thing in one pratice.

I have outlind a Pratice plan that I use to structure all of my Pro Clients workouts,

thye are very effective and time efficent.

The partice will last approximately 1 hour and will begin with a Sports Warm-Up.

Sports Warm Up ( 15 minutes)

It is very essential you participate in an active warm up that will prepare you for a vigourious work out ahead.

The days of static strething as a team are long over,due to the fact that you want to prepare your self for moving,

running, and explosive burst, you want to prepare your body to handle certain movements and game situations.

I normally have all my players run 4 to 5 times around the court at about 50%, and then follow that up with 4

half court layups from both the righ and left side.Then, we perform 3 fullcourt layups on ecah side, right and left.

Then we move onto two ball dribbling, full court and back 3 times, two ball alternating dribbling full court and back, 3 times,

and then finish with a couple of dynamic warm up stretches that improve the mobility, stability, and flexibility of cetain muscle groups.

Basketball conditioning ( 10 minutes)

I have always like jumping right into some conditioning drills as my players perform better when we get conditioning done

at the begining of pratice.Many pratices, the exercise or drills will change and vary, but the priciples remain the same.

I usually compile 6 conditioning drills that we will perform only once, but at 100% intensity. I will then give them a 30-45 second

break and then move onto the next conditioning drill.

We do not perform the drills for certain amount of reps, but rather for a duration of time.

Usually lasting 30-45 seconds.

Hers is a sample Conditioning workout:

Exercise # 1 suicide ( 30 seconds)

Rest(45seconds)

Exercise # 2 ( machine guns while dribbling a basketball) 30 seconds

Rest (45 seconds)

Exercise # 3 Basketball Pushups with a basketball( 20 seconds on ecah side)

Rest(45 seconds)

Exercise #4 Full court Defensive slides( 35 seconds)

Rest ( 45 seconds)

Exercise # 5 Net or rim touches ( 30 seconds)

Rest ( 45 Seconds)

Exercise # 6 Push Up Holds ( 45 seconds)

Rest Untill 10 minutes is up

As you can see, if you strusture your workouts and pratices correctly, you can get a very effective

pratice in a short period of time.

The next 10 minutes will soley focus on shooting.

I have a simple rule when trying to improve your shooting. Think of the 5 most common shots

and aresa that you are most likely to shoot in a game and work on those 5 shots the most.

It is almost a waste of time if you are a center trying to improve your 3 point shooting.

Once you have figured out your 5 most common shots, spend 2 minutes each working on

them and getting up as many shots as you can in thoes 2 minutes from those specific spots.

You will be suprised when you start workin on only a couple of shoots how much more you will

improve compared to trying to shoot from every where.

After yoe finish working on your shooting, you will then dedicate the next 10 minutes on ball handiling.

There are millions of drills that will improve your ball handiling skills and you can pick

which ever ones you like, but follow these rules when you do so.

1. Try not to ever look down at the ball.

2. Try your hardest not to mess up.

3. Involve as much running and movement as you can.

4.When you have mastered a drill, don’t continue to do the same drill,

move on to a more challenging drill.

5. Try to incorperate mult tasking drills as much as possible, like 2 ball dribbling,

the more you can do at the same time the better.

Follow those rules and you will see a dramastic improvement in your over all game.

Now that you have gottent past those stations, it is time now to move on to the most important aspect of the pratice.

The last 15 minutes will soley be commited to working on your niche, the most important component of your gam.

What Is Your Niche?

Im Glad You Asked.

This is by far the most over looked aspect in basketball.

A niche is what you do best, it is the one thing that you do great,

the thing that separates you form the baller next to you.

The One thing you can provide the team, and what the coach can

count on you for.

Without a Niche, you have no identity on the court.

If you look at all the Kings in the NBA, you will easily discover

their Niche.

Steve Nash- passing

Ben Wallace- Rebounding

Dwane Wade- attacking the basket

Mike Miller- Shooting

Kobe - Scoring

And the list goes on….

Spend the last 15 minutes working and mastering your niche.

Whatever it is, whether it be shooting, rebounding, ball handiling, defense,

scoring, driving tot he basket, 3 point shooting, ect…

Work on mastering and improving it.

I gurantee you that if you take this outline and use it to structure your workouts and practices,

you will have more improvement in a couple of weeks then you probably have had your whole career.

Improving your game is easy when you do it the right way.

Your # 1 Fan

Rali Todd

Pro Basketball Perfromance Coach

Go Basketball Pro

Since you have read this entire article, I would like to reward you a with a special FREE gift.

You can get a FREE Subscription to my 12 keys To Basketball Greatness Email Course.( A $19.95 Value).

Just simple visit www.gobasketballpro.com to get the 12 Keys To Basketball Greatness and Unlock

your full potential.

aimer_4 asked:


I’m no where good enough to be on a pro euro league team (yet) but I am wondering what steps I need to take to get there? I play college basketball, but I am wondering how you get there (ie is there a draft or something?) thanks
I play college ball in Alberta Canada for the Kings University College (going down to California to try out next week…wish me luck!)

Wouldn’t it be nice to buy a rare basketball item at a discount rate and sell it more much more? Before you can do that realize that basketball memorabilia is expansive but a well preserved piece can fetch a lot more. Consider the 100 point basketball and baskets used in the earlier era’s can be sold for thousands of dollars. Remember that the condition of a memorabilia determines the final price. According to eBay and Beckett sources, an authentic Chicago Bulls Jersey signed by Michael Jordan is worth between $1500 and may claim a price of one Grand. Here are just a few tips to get you started on a journey that may keep you busy for times to come:

If you ever get lucky to get a basketball memorabilia signed by an NBA player, make sure to take a picture. It is so because unauthenticated items sell at almost less than half the prices demanded by the authenticated basketball memorabilia. One of the best techniques to get your item signed by an NBA star is to visit the websites of different retailers and check the schedules of celebrity appearance. Visit these shows and you will have a chance to get the item signed.

Similarly, you can also check the price of one of your basketball cards from a reputable online memorabilia website. The basketball card collections and memorabilia is new and smaller than baseball and football souvenir industry but rare pieces commands much more than its counterparts, in the open market. The official Beckett guide is the bible of basketball memorabilia which enlist the average prices for most collections.

For basketball, it is often hard o locate a ball in pristine condition due to the constant drubbing. Therefore, it is prudent to visit an auction where rare basketballs in excellent conditions are sold by the owners who are themselves avid collectors. You can also contact the Basketball organizations and ask them to assist you in signing with the retired NBA players.

Most quality basketball team uniforms come in adult, women, girls and youth sizes and are made in the USA. Most quality basketball jerseys and matching basketball shorts are available in mens womens and youth sizes and a large selection of colors. You may also need basketball tear away pants in a variety of adult sizes and colors. Preferably you want the merchandise priced individually at excellent discount prices and have discounted the quality basketball uniforms even further when purchased in team quantities. The above should and may be your goal and you should settle for no less.

The youth basketball uniforms have been designed keeping in mind that basketball is an indoor game, and the players sweat heavily in closed environments. The basketball jerseys are therefore sleeveless and loose fitting with large armholes. They are made of top quality mock mesh, dazzle, tricot mesh or pro mesh material, which is light and thin to wear. The shorts are baggy with elastic waistbands and drawstrings. This helps the players to run and jump freely. All basketball players are required to wear sneakers.

In the early days, the male uniform consisted of a pair of long pants and a T-shirt while the female players dressed in frilly skirts and flat-bottomed sneakers. Today the women’s uniforms are better designed, and more suitable for play.

The team’s name is printed across the upper chest area. It also carries the player’s number. Several teams’ print the player’s number on the back of the jersey for the player to be identified by the officials, coach or referee. The NBA players especially are required to wear jerseys with numbers printed on the back.

There is great importance attached to the jersey number. The number varies from 4 to 15 at international tournaments. At the high school and college levels, the numbers range from 1-5, 10-15, 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, and 50-55, plus 0 and 00. Some states require the high school teams to wear even-numbered jerseys when playing at home, and odd-numbered jerseys if they’re playing at other colleges. Also, teams can choose either 0 or 00; they can’t have both.

All teams can come up with their own color schemes for uniforms. But the basketball tournament committees regulate the placement of logos, numbers, players’ names etc. Any addition to the uniform needs to be cleared by the tournament committee. This regulation ensures that there is uniformity in the way basketball uniforms are designed.

Marcus Robbins asked:


10 Tallest Players in NBA History



1.) Manute Bol

Height: 7′7”   Weight: 225 Pounds

Manute Bol played 10 seasons in the NBA (1985-1995). He played for four different teams: Washington Bullets, Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat, and Philadelphia 76ers. He averaged 18.7 minutes played per game over his career, but only 4.2 rebounds and 2.6 points per game. Considering all he has to do is catch the ball and lay it into the basketball without jumping, how come he only averaged 2.6 points per game? He was known for his blocked-shot ability. He set a rookie record in his 1985-1986 rookie season blocking 397 shots. He is also tied for the most blocked shots in one-half with eleven and is tied for the most blocked shots for one quarter with eight, in which he accomplished twice. He still holds the record for most blocked shots per minute with (.176). He also played with Muggsy Bogues during the Bogues 1987 rookie season pairing the tallest and shortest players in NBA history in one season. He is also the only player in NBA history to block more shots then he has scored.





2.) Gheorghe Muresan

Height: 7′7”   Weight: 303 Pounds

Gheorghe Muresan played only 6 seasons in the NBA (1993-2000). He played for two different teams, the Washington Bullets and New Jersey Nets. He averaged 21.9 minutes per game over his career, but only 6.4 rebounds and 9.8 points per game. Another big man, yet a fairy low rebounds/per game average. Some of you might remember Gheorghe Muresan from the movie “My Giant” (1998), where he starred with Billy Crystal and Kathleen Quinlan.                                         





3.) Yao Ming

Height: 7′6”   Weight: 310 Pounds

Yao Ming played 6 full seasons and is still currently in his 7th season in the NBA (2002-Present). He has played for the Houston Rockets his whole career in the NBA. He averaged 32.6 minutes per game, while ripping down 9.2 rebounds and scoring 19 points per game till this day. Unlike the 2 tallest centers in the NBA, Yao Ming has been a workhorse and knows how to tally a stat sheet and is the only player in the top 10 tallest NBA players that is still playing.                                                                     





4.) Shawn Bradley

Height: 7′6”   Weight: 275 Pounds

Shawn Bradley played 12 seasons (1993-2005). He has played for three different teams:Philadelphia 76ers, New Jersey Nets, and Dallas Mavericks, where he spent the majority of his career. He averaged 23.5 minutes, 6.3 rebounds and 8.1 points per game during his career. Although he did average 2.5 blocks per game over his career, he has been known for a “Giant” who got dunked on many time.



5.) Chuck Nevitt

Height: 7′5”   Weight:250 Pounds

Chuck Nevitt played 9 seasons in the NBA (1982-1994). He did not play in 3 seasons over the 12 years of his career. He played for five teams throughout his career: Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, Detroit Pistons, Chicago Bulls, and San Antonio Spurs. He did not play more then 45 games in any season and just averaged 5.3 minutes, 1.5 rebounds, and 1.6 points per game throughout his career. Throughout his career he basically got play time during garbage minutes meaning his team usually had a big lead or was down to much to make a comeback, especially in Detroit. While in Detroit, the fans called Detroit’s blow-outs, when Nevitt was able to get his minutes, “Nevitt Time”. His nine seasons of minutes played totaled up to be about the length of 18 full NBA games.                  





6.) Slavko Vranes

Height: 7′5”   Weight: 275 Pounds

Slavko Vranes only played three minutes in one game with the Portland Trailblazers during his entire NBA career (2003-2004). He was drafted by the New York Knicks in 2003, but was released during the season, not playing one minute of any Knicks game. The Portland Trailblazers signed him a month after his release from the New York Knicks to a 10-day contract, where he played his only three minutes in the NBA.



7.) Mark Eaton

Height: 7′4”   Weight: 290 Pounds

Mark Eaton played 11 seasons in the NBA (1982-1993) and spent his whole career with the Utah Jazz. He averaged 28.8 minutes, 7.9 rebounds, and 6.0 points per game throughout his career. Mark Eaton was known for being a monster on defense averaging 3.5 blocks per game over his career and during his third season in the NBA he averaged a whopping 5.6 blocks per game.



8.) Rik Smits

Height: 7′4”   Weight: 265 Pounds

Rik Smits played 12 seasons in the NBA (1988-2000). Just like Mark Eaton, Rik Smits played his NBA career with one team, the Indiana Pacers. He averaged 26.6 minutes played, 6.1 rebounds, and 14.8 points scored per game during his career. Similar to Ralph Sampson and Mark Eaton, Rik Smits has had very a productive career.                                            





9.) Ralph Sampson

Height: 7′4”   Weight: 235 Pounds

Ralph Simpson played 9 seasons in the NBA (1983-1992). He played for four different teams: Houston Rockets, (where he spent the first half of his career), Golden State Warriors, Sacramento Kings, and Washington Bullets. He averaged 29.8 minutes played, 8.8 rebounds, and 15.4 points per game throughout his NBA career. He was teammates with another 7-foot player ,Hakeem Olajuwon, they were nicknamed the “Twin Towers”.Throughout the middle of his career he battled knee injuries because of his big frame and when he was traded for the Rockets he was never able to stay healthy for a full season of games battling with knee and back injuries.                       





10.) Priest Lauderdale

Height: 7′4”   Weight: 325 Pounds

Priest Lauderdale only played 2 seasons in the NBA (1996-1998). He played one season with the Atlanta Hawks and one season with the Denver Nuggets. During his two-year career in the NBA, he averaged 7.1 minutes, 1.9 rebounds, and 3.4 points. After he left the NBA, he went to play basketball in Bulgaria.