Kobe need Obama because the Celtics are too much for LA. Lakers need some hope and change, too.
Wouldn’t anyone rather be in the NBA making millions than the President?

Professional basketball isn’t only about who runs faster or jumps higher, it is about making the right decisions on court based on the player’s game intelligence skills. An innovative technology claims to skyrocket the player’s basketball techniques and game intelligence by developing his or her brain-skills.

Acquiring superior basketball techniques requires at least some basic natural born talent and a daily hard work on court and lots of it! No matter how hard you practice, how good you memorize drills, moves and work on your techniques, it all comes to the point where you need to execute it all on court, under intense pressure with minimum court time.

Basketball dribbling, shooting, moving on court while “reading” the game and executing it all precisely and effectively, is about a player’s brain-skills and game intelligence.

A team of cognitive “brain-training” scientists claim to have identified the brain-functions responsible for those skills; together with a team of leading basketball coaches they developed a unique software system that enables any basketball player, at any level, to dramatically improve his or her basketball techniques and game intelligence.

Basketball Coaching Video Game

The system was designed to feel and look like a video game, while the player is shooting spaceships and chasing the “bad guys”, it stimulates the exact brain functions required of a basketball player on court, the system analyzes the player’s performance, it spots weak points or setbacks, finally customizing a training program, tailor-made to fit that individual player.

After 6-8 weeks of “brain-training”, the player unconsciously and surprisingly executes much better on court in the areas of: decision making under pressure, improved shot selection, enhanced movement anticipation, heightened court sense and pattern recognition.

Cristi asked:


Born on December 30, 1984, LeBron James is an Ohio native who graduated from St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Standing 6’8″ and weighing 240 lbs., James has enjoyed a number of career highlights since joining the NBA. Among his recognitions, LeBron James was named the 2003-2004 NBA Rookie of the Year, which made him the first Cavalier and youngest player to ever receive this award. In addition, he is one of only three rookies in the history of the NBA to average a minimum of 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in one season.

During his high school career, LeBron James led St. Vincent-St. Mary to three state championships in only four seasons. It came as no surprised when LeBron gave up his high school football career to concentrate on basketball. His football career was successful, however, as he was named First Team All-State as a wide receiver during his sophomore season and his team progressed to the state semifinals during his junior year.

In 2003, LeBron James was chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. He was the first pick overall and has remained with the team that first introduced him into the NBA. During his rookies season, James started in 79 games and went on to become the youngest player to score 1,000 points in NBA history.

In 2004, LeBron James continued his love of basketball as he became a member of the 2004 United States Olympic Team, which went on to win the Bronze Medal. During the eight games that were played during the competition, LeBron averaged 5.4 points, 1 rebound and 1.6 assists.

During the 2004-2005 NBA season, LeBron James started in 80 games and was named All-NBA Second Team, which earned him the honor of being the youngest player in league history to be given All-NBA honors. His record-breaking streak continued as he surpassed the franchise record for points in a single season, became the youngest and second-fastest player to reach career numbers and became the second All-Star starter in Cavalier history.

As most athletes will tell you, it takes a lot of drive and determination to succeed in any sport. In order to effectively attain their goals, most athletes look up to a role model for guidance and encouragement during both the good and bad times. For LeBron James, that man is Michael Jordan. Admittedly, James chose number 23 in honor of his role model. In addition to sharing talent and greatness, some athletes also share the same birthday. LeBron James and Tiger Woods share a December 30 birth date, which is just another sign that James is destined for greatness.

Fans who would like to request a signed photo or simply send LeBron James their best wishes are urged to do so in care of his NBA franchise team. If you are requesting an autograph, be sure to include a SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) along with your request. Letters and requests should be mailed to:

LeBron James

Cleveland Cavaliers

1 Center Court

Cleveland, OH 44115

elie seckbach reports about dj mbenga how he got into basketball and made it in life.

With so many drills and different ways to practice to improve your game, you could very easily get confused and frustrated trying to compile a perfect practice plan. Some of the main components I have always stressed with all my private basketball clients, whether they are beginners or an NBA veteran, is to try and train smarter and not just harder.

A major component you have to consider 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 guard, your main job is to be able to handle the rock under control and pressure, control the pace of the game, make sure all your teammates are doing their job correctly and be your coaches on the court general.

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

I have outlined a practice plan that I use to structure all of my pro clients workouts,they are very effective and time efficient. The practice 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 vigorous work out ahead. The days of static stretching 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 right and left side. Then, we perform 3 full court layups on each 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 finishwith a couple of dynamic warm up stretches that improve the mobility, stability, and flexibility of certain 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 beginning of practice. Many practices, the exercise or drills will change and vary, but the principles 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 thenmove 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 each 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 Until 10 minutes is up.

As you can see, if you structure your workouts and practices correctly, you can get a very effective practice in a short period of time. The next 10 minutes will solely focus on shooting. I have a simple rule when trying to improve your shooting.

Think of the 5 most common shots and area 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 those 2 minutes from those specific spots.

You will be surprised when you start working on only a couple of shoots how much more you will improve compared to trying to shoot from every where. After you finish working on your shooting, you will then dedicate the next 10 minutes on ball handling. There are millions of drills that will improve your ball handling 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, do not continue to do the same drill, move on to a more challenging drill.

5. Try to incorporate multitasking 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 dramatic improvement in your over all game. Now that you have gotten past those stations, it is time now to move on to the most important aspect of the practice. The last 15 minutes will solely be committed to working on your niche, the most important component of your game.

What Is Your Niche? 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

Dwayne 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 handling, defense, scoring, driving to the basket, 3 point shooting, ect. Work on mastering and improving it. I guarantee 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.

Basketball at the 2008 Olympic Games will be held at Wukesong Indoor Stadium in Beijing from August 9-24, 2008.

Basketball is definitely a global sport that has shown continued growth over recent years. The USA with the NBA and its college basketball system undoubtedly has the toughest competitions in the world that attracts the world’s best players. However, the USA has not always dominated the Olympics and on several occasions they have been embarrassed by some unexpected defeats to lesser known teams.

The USA always enters the Olympics as favourites but their inability to gel and play as a team has brought about some bad losses. The question will be is will they have a team of players who play like individuals or will they put aside their egos and play as a team. If they play as a team then they should win the gold medal.

In 1972 the Soviet Union beat the USA to win the gold in a controversial game. After 1988 the Olympics opened the sport up for professional players to play which saw the greatest basketball team of all time to compete in 1992. The “Dream Team” lead by Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and Larry Bird were just unbeatable and put on a show for all the world to see. Most of the players on the other teams were star struck by playing against these legends of the game.

In 1992 Michael Jordan was the team’s second highest scorer with 14.9 points per game and he had a tournament high 37 steals. The U.S. defeated Croatia 117-85 in the final and as a result Michael Jordan earned his second Olympic gold medal.

David Stern of the NBA has stated a number of times that they wish to expand and promote the game of basketball in China. As a result they have played and will continue to play more exhibition games in China. The presence of China’s greatest player, Yao Ming in the NBA has helped to increase the popularity of basketball in China.

The following teams have already qualified for the Beijing 2008 Olympics: Angola (African Champion), Argentina (Americas runner-up), Australia (Oceania Champion), China (host), Iran (Asian Champion), Lithuania (European Bronze medallist), Russia (European Champion), Spain (World Champion) and USA (Champion of the Americas).

The remaining three positions for the Beijing Olympics will be decided in the twelve team FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament for Men that will take place in Athens, Greece on July 14th. The tournament will involve the following teams: Cameroon and Cape Verde (Africa), Brazil and Canada (Americas), Lebanon, Puerto Rico and the Republic of Korea (Asia), Greece, Germany, Croatia, and Slovenia (Europe) and New Zealand (Oceania). The draw for this tournament will be held on July 20, 2008 in Athens.

The semi finals are scheduled to be played on August 22nd and the finals two days later on August 24th. Although the Americans often underplay the importance of the Olympic Games it is guaranteed that this time they will want to restore their global dominance in basketball by coming out and performing at their best. Anything less than a gold medal will be taken as a failure by many players and supporters in the USA.

Grant Eckert asked:


The NBA’s impact on the world could be considered minimal, if it were not for the advanced technology of global television and the personal outreach both to and from the team members. This is exemplified by the NBA China experience. Chinese citizens are extremely knowledgeable about the players and the game itself and enjoy watching it on television. It is also considered a gesture of friendship that team members are participating on a global scale with other sports minded people. China is just one country that is being reached out to by the NBA Events and Promotions Department.

Even in countries where basketball is behind soccer as a popular sport, the interest shown in the game and the activities surrounding the game are an important commercial message from the United States. Yet, the connection between the international fans and the team members was anything but commercial. The fans knew the team members and their playing style; they knew the colors and jersey numbers of favorite players, and they were enthusiastic in their support both for the team members and for the game.

Perhaps more than any other single factor in the global impact of the NBA is the presence of 7’6″ center Yao Ming from China. Ming currently plays for the Houston Rockets and was their first round draft choice in 2002. Previously he played for the Shanghai Sharks of the Chinese Basketball Association. The tallest player in the NBA, he is also the first draft choice in the NBA to be selected with no American playing experience. Even to allow Yao Ming to play for the NBA required extensive negotiations and agreements about the details of his playing experience. The cooperation between countries is another impact that the NBA has provided globally.

The NBA program known as Basketball Without Borders is another global awareness program. Basketball Without Borders is a program that uses basketball as a method to implement social change. Dozens of present and former NBA team personnel and players act as camp coaches in the program. Young people from many economic, national and cultural backgrounds are united each year on four continents to learn together through playing basketball. The program teaches basketball, but includes a forum for social issues and emphasizes the awareness of healthy living and education.

To date, the program has been presented in nine countries on five continents. More than 250 different NBA team personnel, coaches and players from 30 different NBA teams serve as camp coaches for 1200 youngsters from 100 countries or territories. The volunteers and the campers have racked up more than 85 million travel miles and donated more than one million hours of community service.

Additional people have been reached through the community relations outreach efforts wherever the camps are held. In addition, 37 NBA Cares Legacy Project sites have been created in communities outside the United States and Canada. These sites are places where children and families can come to grow, play and learn. For example, a Learn & Play Center in the desperately poor township of Soweto, South Africa was built in 2003. In 2004, at a Reading and Learning Center, held at Vila Olimpica de Jornalista Ary de Carvalho, the crew held Basketball and Books clinics and conducted Read to Achieve events.

Other events and facilities include those in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Beijing, China, Shanghai, China, Vilnius, Lithuania, San Juan, Puerto Rico, Sao Paulo, Brazil, and Paris, France. The NBA program has built dormitories, basketball courts, clinics, laundry facility and guest house, library and computer center for a school, dining halls, and Habitat for Humanity Homes. In addition to the basketball clinics, the Basketball Without Walls program offers educational and awareness programs such as literacy, HIV/AIDS awareness, Special Olympics clinic, Skills for Life in a Box, Healthy Lifestyle Clinic, Fitness Clinic, and numerous visits to schools, hospitals, clinics and medical facilities.

With this type of personal interaction all over the world it is hardly surprising that the NBA truly has a global impact. The mobilization of money, talent and materials toward specific projects not only means high visibility for the sports organization, but the one-on-one contact with the young people involved in the project is a personal outreach that cannot be matched elsewhere.

In addition to the group projects through the NBA, other projects are being funded directly by NBA players. Given this personal contact, it is not surprising that there are fans of NBA teams all over the world, and widespread support for the principles espoused and demonstrated by the organization.

How do I keep it feeling new and bouncy and full of grip?
Most of the time when I have an outdoor basketball, it looses grip after a few weeks of playing outside.
I keep it inside; I want to know how I can clean it and keep to grip of it.

Basketball players only have two options in moving the ball from one teammate to another, either by passing or by dribbling. Here we will focus on the various types of dribbling typically observed on the court.

Low Dribble As its name suggests, low dribble just means that you must keep the ball bouncing low nearest to the floor. This can effectively ensure the ball from guards. This entails the dribblers to extend his hand so as to limit the space the opponent can penetrate.

Speed Dribble This is typically used when the dribbler is an open court and has to take advantage of time while keeping good control with the ball and his body. Because the player isn’t guarded heavily, he isn’t forced to protect the ball excessively. This gives him a good chance to make faster dribbling while achieving some distance.

Change-Of-Pace Dribble This type of dribble is characterized with the slowing down of motion that may be conceived as stopping. This would effectively make the opponent think that you are stopping to pass the ball. However, once you achieve the reaction from the opponent, you must be keen to explode with speed then drive through the opponent.

Crossover Dribble This type of dribble is used to deflect the guarding player. It is characterized by one-hand dribbling while pushing the ball in front. After which, the offensive player would have to explode right through the opponent. While this is good for achieving distance, it is also prone for steals. To protect the ball, dribbling must be kept low as the ball passes form one hand to another.

Reverse Dribble When you are closely guarded, you can use reverse dribble to prevent the opponent from stealing the ball. However, this offers the main drawback of losing sight of the ball from some moments which could further expose it towards stealing from the back.

Half-Reverse Dribble This is similar to reverse dribbling; only the player must make a 90-degree turn to return to his original position. The movements then must be very quick so as to prevent the ball from not being caught by the other hand from stealing it from the opposing team.

Hockey Dribble This makes use of a head-shoulder fake combination with an abrupt change of pace. This is normally used to divert the defender from close guard.

These are just some of the basic types of dribbling you can use to ward-off hard core defensive moves.

I can’t stream any videos on the NBC olympic website because I live in Canada and I can’t find the highlights to any basketball games anywhere else on the net. Does anyone know where I can watch the highlights other than in a couple days on youtube? I hate youtube, the quality sucks.