One of the most underutilized skills in basketball might be the one that hurts the most. Taking a charge isn’t flashy. It won’t show up on a highlight reel like a dunk. It doesn’t have the same appeal as a block or a steal. But it can completely change a game. A charge does more than give your team possession. You just turned an opponent’s advantage into your team’s advantage. They beat their defender. They got downhill. They created an opportunity. And you erased all of it by being willing to step in and take the hit. That’s why taking charges is such an underrated skill. It requires: • Anticipation • Positioning • Timing • Courage • Discipline • A willingness to sacrifice your body for the possession And here’s the thing: Most players aren’t willing to do it. That’s exactly why it can separate you. If you’re trying to earn playing time, don’t overlook the things that don’t require you to score. Be the player who takes the charge. Be the player who gets the 50/50 ball. Be the player who takes the toughest defensive assignment. Be the player who makes the winning play nobody remembers. Because one possession can change a game. And sometimes the biggest play you make… is the one you’re willing to hit the floor for. The little things aren’t little when they happen every possession. Trainer: @Logan Hinton, a former 5 year pro across three countries. Train Like a Pro!

Everybody wants to be in “game shape.” But most players train conditioning like they’re preparing for a 5K. Basketball isn’t a 5K. You sprint. You stop. You change direction. You shuffle. You jump. You jog. You walk. Then you have to do it all again. So your conditioning needs to reflect the game. 1️⃣ BUILD YOUR ENGINE You still need an aerobic base. Your aerobic system helps you recover between high-intensity efforts, which is a HUGE part of being able to maintain your performance throughout a game. Don’t completely eliminate steady-state cardio. Just don’t make it your entire conditioning program. 2️⃣ TRAIN REPEATED SPRINTS This is where basketball conditioning gets specific. Try: 10 × 15–20 yard sprints with short recovery periods. Or: 5–10 rounds of: * Sprint * Change direction * Backpedal * Shuffle * Recover * Repeat The goal isn’t just to run fast once. It’s to stay fast when you’re tired. Research consistently supports repeated-sprint training as a useful way to improve sprint ability, repeated-sprint performance and high-intensity endurance in team-sport athletes. 3️⃣ CONDITION WITH THE BALL One of my favorites. Instead of running suicides for 30 minutes, make your conditioning look like basketball. Example: 3–4 minute continuous drill Attack → finish → sprint back → defensive slide → catch → shoot → sprint → repeat. Now you’re conditioning your body AND your basketball skills. Research has found that basketball-specific ball drills can improve intermittent endurance while simultaneously developing technical skills. 4️⃣ PLAY SMALL-SIDED GAMES 1v1 2v2 3v3 With short rest periods. You’re constantly making decisions while accelerating, decelerating, defending, attacking and recovering. That’s conditioning that actually looks like basketball. Small-sided basketball training has been shown to improve aerobic capacity while also improving basketball-specific qualities. 5️⃣ DON’T FORGET CHANGE OF DIRECTION Being in shape isn’t just being able to run straight.

There is so much info and opinions on sleep on the Internet I don't know how many hours I should aim for. One one hand getting in 7.5 hr allows for that extra workout and extra meal but getting 9 hr allows for complete recovery. When if comes to sleep as a 15 yr old how much should I get every night?

I think one of the biggest differences between being good at something and becoming GREAT at something is how much you genuinely love it. You have to be obsessed. For me, basketball has gotten to the point where I can’t go anywhere without looking for a hoop. Paid to shoot baskets at Kings Island? Absolutely. On a date doing a corn maze, see a hoop sitting off to the side? 50 makes. Picking strawberries at a farm, spot a makeshift goal? You already know I’m getting shots up. These are just a few examples. I’ve shot in parking lots, parks, driveways, gyms, campsites… pretty much anywhere I can find a rim. And that’s what obsession looks like. You don’t always need the perfect gym. You don’t always need a trainer. You don’t always need a workout planned out. Sometimes you just need a basketball and a reason to get better. When you truly love something, you don’t have to convince yourself to work on it. You find a way. The best in the world aren’t great because they worked hard when they felt motivated. They’re great because they fell so deeply in love with the process that getting better became part of who they are. Find something worth obsessing over. Then go all in. 🏀 Trainer: @Logan Hinton, a former 5 year pro across three countries. Train Like a Pro!

This was my response to someone’s post in another community I attached what his question was below but I want to share this to you guys if any of you wanna go far. Advice would be different slightly for WNBA vs NBA especially the hight part. If you’re really committed to even going D2 D1 and you want a chance at the NBA you gotta be LOCKED IN. Like I don’t wanna crush your dreams but what I’m saying is if you want to go pro you can’t be missing workouts. If you wanna go that far you gotta be getting good sleep 7.5-8 hrs, keep your grades up, but basketball wise you gotta be dieting, training 2+ 2 hr sessions a day possibly even more. You gotta have routine and a planned out workout so your not just aimlessly shooting you need intent on what your going to do. You gotta push yourself. Your personal workouts should be INTENSE. You need to push yourself so hard in practice that the game is easy. You should be playing pick up or live games and work on reading situations. Studying film etc. you also need to get I. The gym get some muscle and get crazy conditioned. You gotta hold yourself to a higher standard and resist your body’s preference to sleep in or to eat the cookie or drop out of the workout early but you can’t do that if you wanna go pro. also height really helps you probably will need at least 6 foot to go D1 as a guard and like 6’3” NBA but even then you have to be REALLY GOOD like all star level. If your 6’7” or around there it helps A LOT. You also gotta really take care of your body like stretch and do ISOs ice your knees and all that. It doesn’t take another app or person to tell you to get your workouts done. It takes you having a higher level of commitment than anyone else, being discipline to resist what your body feels like instead of what you need to do, etc. So if you actual want a chance of going pro you need that higher level of commitment. You can’t be missing training. You need to be getting the reps in if you want a chance. most people underestimate how hard it is to go to the nba but it takes A LOT it takes a crazy hard work ethic, mental strength, insane discipline, talent/skill, athleticism, genetics definitely help hight especially, etc.