For some reason, there’s a negative stigma around older players being drilled on the fundamentals of the game, and I’m here to put an end to that.
Quite simply, if you’re coaching basketball, you should never stop teaching and drilling basketball fundamentals, because your players can NEVER be too good at them!
You can turn on a basketball game at any ‘higher’ level, including the NBA, NCAA, or high school, and you’ll see players that are not even close to mastering all of the fundamentals.
Look at two-time MVP Steph Curry. He warms up before every game with basic fundamental drills.
Curry’s warmup consists of:
- Single ball ballhandling – This gets Curry’s hands warmed up and gets a good feel for the ball
- Layups – Curry works on different finishes at the rim.
- Floaters – Curry then moves out from the rim and works on floaters. This is a very important shot for him being undersized .
- Spot-up jumpshots inside the arc – This helps Curry groove his jumper before stepping out to the 3-point line
- Pull-up jumpshots inside the arc – Again, this helps Curry groove his shot
- Spot-up three-pointers – Once Curry has his shot grooved, he takes a few steps back to the 3-point line
- Pull-up three-pointers – A shot that he takes a lot in games
- Shots off of a curl – This simulates Curry curling off of a screen
- Balance shots – This is around 7:15 of the video. Balance is a very important fundamental that often gets neglected.
- Footwork – Throughout Curry’s entire warmup he’s using different footwork techniques, including stepbacks, spins, up-and-unders, and more. Footwork is so important for players of all levels.
- Free throws – Curry incorporates free throws into his pregame workout, too.
This is literally one of the best players in the entire world and the majority of his pregame warmup consists of him mastering the fundamentals, which is refreshing to see.
Next time you have a player talk about how the fundamentals are too basic, just remind them that fundamentals are the foundation of how Steph Curry propelled himself to being one of the best players in the game.
