Any tips on how I should go about improving my build/game before highschool. Like is it possible for me to gain atleast 30 pounds and 20+ inches om my vert. Lmk if you have any suggestions/tips. Like what I should be eating and working out.

i've been looking into ways to improve my vertical without jumping, and one that doesn't come up as much as plyos or squats is sleep

• stanford had 11 players from their men's basketball team spend at least 10 hours in bed a night for 5-7 weeks, and their timed sprint went from 16.2s to 15.5s while free throw and 3 point accuracy both went up about 9% (study)
• a review of sleep loss studies found that 6 hours or less cut anaerobic power, the short all out efforts, by about 6.3% on average (review)
• what neither one measured is jump height, so i'm not going to tell you sleep adds inches, but it's hard to see how being slower and weaker on short efforts helps you jump

i track sleep with my watch for my dunk training, and the week before i started my program i averaged 6.3 h a night, with 4 of 7 nights under 6 h and one night at 3.8 h

so my rule now is under 6 hours of sleep means no max jumps that day, but the rest of the session stays

anyone notice they jump better on good sleep, or is that just me?

I want to dunk better at 30 yo than I ever have. Looking for some tips/feedback. I've shed ~20 lbs and am back to dunking in 2026.

I want to do an off drop dunk and a 360 within the next 12 months. How much harder is a 360 and a windmill vs an off drop dunk for those than can do all of them?

I'm 6 ft 3 inches and 215 lbs currently. I'm closer to 220-225 lbs in the 2019 and 2021 clips.I'm trying to lose around another 25 lbs to make up for some lost athleticism with age.

Right now working on getting the cock back and off drop dunk back but afterwards trying to figure out if I need to be practicing technique/coordination for the more difficult dunks or need even more raw vertical before moving that direction.

I have a 16-year-old on my team with real potential, already called up to several national youth team camps. I believe a high school experience abroad would benefit him, both personally and as an athlete.
His family can't cover the costs, so a scholarship is the only realistic way to make it happen. What's the best way to increase his chances? Any help or suggestions appreciated.

For context, im relatively new to basketball, and i was specifically wondering if i could learn a post playstyle as someone who is 5 11.

Most people might think this is a joke (idk why, I dont plan on going to the nba), but i genuinely love the post and really like contact play. My favorite player of all time is Dirk, and he was the one who made my favorite shot the post fade, fadeaway in general, and post spin fade.

I have really broad shoulders and im a pretty beefy guy too. At the very least, is it possible to be a bump and score type of guy with less dribbling? Or to be efficient, do i have to go the antman route or curry root and focus on making space and getting speed? If Im strong and fast enough, wouldn't posting up work? ​Again, im new, so let me know if im missing anything crucial yall.

How have you guys dealt with bigger defenders on offense? I'm 16, about 5'9 and 131 lbs, So it's very common that I'll stumble myself with someone bigger. The season in my school starts in about a month and I want to prepare myself. I want know from your guys's experience on how you dealt with this. Any go-to moves, techniques, tips, that worked for y'all I would love to hear!

Just wanted to share a few highlights from our game last night. We lost but it was a fun and competitive game the whole way.

I’m a 32 year old dad with another baby on the way and beyond grateful I’m still out here playin the sport I love.

Hey everyone. I'm coaching my nephews high school team and they're looking to get a shooting machine. I'm trying to look into it as well since I don't know too much about them tbh. If anyone has used them before, I'd greatly appreciate any feedback you can give.

I'd like to hear about the durability of the two and also just the overall benefits you like about them. Any pros or cons you've noticed after using them?

Thanks so much to anyone who responds!

I’ve always shot like that since i started playing basketball, and idk maybe it’s a bad way to do it, i struggle to be consistent on my shooting. If you got any advice i’ll take em, it seems weird when i look at it on the video but when i shoot it like this it seems very natural to me

https://reddit.com/link/1x5xiv9/video/sz277z48xgvh1/player

I recently bought a silent basketball to try to improve my handles. I wanted to be able to dribble in the house because we do not have free courts nearby where I live. Has anyone bought a silent basketball before and has it helped you in developing your handles?

Jab + fake shot + pumpfake + pull up. (except for the shot)

So ive started playing basketball in u15 and i was always one of the tallest kid in the team so i always played (in practice cuz i got no playing time) as a big

now im in u17 and im like 6'1 or something and i realized that i need to transition from a big to a guard

what skills do i improve and how should i do it (i also dont have access to indoor courts because im in europe)

TL;DR: 6'0, 170, 29.5" off one foot and 28.5" off two, about 5" short of dunking. if you're trying to dunk, test both takeoffs and test the same way every time

where i'm at

• never dunked
• standing reach 7'7.5", best touch 10'1" off my left foot and 10'0" off two feet, best of up to 8 max approach jumps on video. outdoor rim but i checked it's actually 10 ft with a tape measure
• dunked a tennis ball at the end, real ball tries are still short

what i'm doing

• 2 leg days a week, heavy squats (top set 245x5) then 24-27 low effort jumps (countermovement jumps, squat jumps, low rebounds)
• 1 max jump day and 1 upper day
• trying to cut to 160 but i don't actually know my maintenance yet, i was "cutting" and went from 169 to 170 lol. gotta figure that out first, and if my squat or touch drops 2 weeks in a row i'll stop

what 29 of you said on my plan post

• power cleans (7 of you): not yet, no coach and about 11 weeks left, and hackett 2016 (bjsm meta-analysis) had cleans about even with plyos, which i already do
• don't cut (6 of you): still cutting but slow. athletes losing about 0.7% of bodyweight a week kept or gained strength (garthe 2011), and 160 at 6'0 is still a bmi of 21.7
• jump more and practice dunking (about 10 of you): best advice in the thread. my knee limits how many jumps i can add so i'll hold a tennis ball on some max jumps to practice the finish
• changing: every squat rep as fast as i can and aiming at something above the rim on max jumps
• ignoring: "stop back squats" (2025 jssm meta-analysis found weight training added about 10 cm to vertical compared to just regular training) and 45 min of jump rope a day, way too many contacts for my knee

from here it's the same method, shoes, warm-up and time of day, and i tape measure the rim every time, so a "gain" isn't just a better day or a different hoop

goal is dec 31, about 11 weeks out. what would you prioritize?

I don't think this is an athleticism / first step problem as I consider myself not crazy athletic but not out of shape / slow.

It just seems that everytime I try to just blow by my defender I get cutoff, yet it seems so easy for everyone else - I essentially get cutoff easy , and even when I "counter" (try a BTB or BTL) it seems like they;re still in front of me.

This happens in both 5s ans 1s and not sure how to fix it.

i play basketball for fun ig but commit to volleyball

standing reach 7"2 in shoes

I've been playing in a somewhat men's league where it's common for things to get hot. It's practically expected to exchange elbows and shoves from the start. I was wondering if these padded compression tops helps with that? Do they really help mitigate the bumps?

Hi, I am 27 yo, I never had the chance to play organized basketball when I was young. I played street basketball from time to time.

Last year, I had the chance to play for six months a team newly created. We played in the lowest league against old dudes and sometimes young teams.

This year I did tryouts for a new team. Still playing in the lowest league.

In the 3 sessions of tryouts, i showed leadership, some perimeter dribbling and passing, good mid range.

I was accepted.

I did now 10 trainings and 2 games with this new team.

Each time I regress.

Coach asked me relentlessly to stop dribbling. Just pass.

My shot got worse since I don't feel the ball that much in my hands.

Each training I lose more confidence.

Dribble less, shoot less, bad positioning.

A negative spiral.

Negative thoughts in my head.

Teammates looking at me badly.

Hate it.

I usually love to train basics. Shooting midrange with different variations. From dribbling, spinning, stepping forward, sideways...

Feels bad. Stuck.

I play in the university team. So, most of my teammates are 20 yo, youngster who played since young age.

Now, I regret I was chosen in the tryouts. Was not easy. I was last one chosen between remaining 20 persons.

Was able to show glimpses of good. Of a dog.

Now, I am getting cooked. Embarrassed. Like a sorry motherf#$&$)..

Writing this after a training, where coach used me as a sand bag. Played me in 4 vs 4 as a defender on 2 big dudes. To let them train and improve their game. 10cm less than them, 20kg of muscle less, 7 years younger.

It's 1 am, can't sleep. Headache. Demons whispering in my head. How sorry and pathetic i am.

Feeling regret for being chosen to be in the team is worse than wanting to quit.

I am not a quitter. I usually embarrass myself and show up the next day. Whether at work or at ski or anywhere.

I feel like I have two left feet on the court and super uncoordinated can someone give me drills to get more coordinated with my footwork and movement