When you watch sports like football and baseball, you may realize a lot of players are bulked up with a whole lot of muscle mass. On the other hand, while watching basketball, you may be wondering why basketball players are so skinny. Let’s dive into a quick answer: Basketball players are skinny for a couple of different reasons. The first reason is because they do a lot of running. Burning off hundreds of calories per day playing basketball and then proceeding to put on a whole lot of muscle mass is not very realistic (unless you have a strict diet down pat). Secondly, basketball players are often stronger than they appear. Because of their height, their limbs are much longer than most human beings, making them appear skinnier and weaker than most people, when in reality, that isn’t the truth.

Is It Better To Be Skinny As A Basketball Player Than Bulked Up?

There are a few different factors you want to take into consideration when deciding how much muscle mass you should have as a basketball player. Let’s dive into them.

Your Position

If you’re a big man, and you’re about to be going against a 280 pound Joelle Embiid, chances are you want to be as big and strong as possible. However, if you’re a point guard, you want to aim to put on as much lean muscle as possible, but stay in great shape when it comes to your stamina and speed so you could keep up with other guards.

One player who comes to mind when it comes to putting on a lot of muscle mass is Giannis Antetokoumpo, who according to ESPN put on 50 pounds of muscle since he came into the NBA. This extra muscle mass has helped Giannis become the dominant player he is today.

Are You Undersized

Players who are undersized need to make up with it in strength. That’s why if you’ve been watching basketball for a long time, you’ll realize all the shorter players in NBA history usually have a little bit more muscle mass to make up for the fact that they’re smaller. Putting on this strength helps smaller players from getting taken advantage of in the post, and getting bodied easily on defense.

In most cases, it’s good to be in between and not have too much muscle mass.

How Come A Lot Of Basketball Players Put On Significant Muscle Mass Once They Hit The NBA?

You may realize that many players who hit the NBA bulk up significantly over the span of the first few years they are in the league. There are a couple of different reasons for this.

The First Reason Is Age

A lot of the basketball players we pay attention to are young. Think about how you looked when you were 18 years old, and how much muscle mass you had. Now keep in mind that most NBA rookies are usually only a year or two older than that. 

Most males experience the most muscle growth between the ages of 17 and 25, so it’s not fair to judge how skinny a player is at such a young age. 

The Second Reason Is Dieticians and Strength and Conditioning Coaches

Strength and conditioning coaches at the NBA level are the best at what they do. Despite all the calorie burning NBA players do during practice, the dieticians and strength and conditioning coaches are able to put together a diet for these players that enables them to put on a lot of muscle mass quickly. This is something that most players don’t have access to until they hit that level. 

A lot of colleges have good strength and conditioning programs, but it’s not as hyper focused as an NBA diet and training regimen. Take Lebron James for instance (who has put on significant size and muscle over the years). He spends one million dollars per year on his body, and it shows.

Why Is Too Much Size Not Good For Basketball?

You may think the bigger the better when it comes to size and basketball, but this isn’t the truth in most cases. Below I’ll go over the reasons why size isn’t necessarily the greatest thing for basketball and why you should take a balanced approach.

Muscle Doesn’t Necessarily Mean Functional Strength

For basketball you want to be able to build functional strength, rather than build muscle in a traditional bodybuilding fashion. Functional strength is being able to get stronger in a way that you could use it in everyday life (and in this scenario basketball).

Throughout my years of playing basketball, I’ve seen many people who were very muscular, but weren’t able to use that muscle on the court due to uncoordinated movements.

Take a look at these exercises by Men’s Journal that go over some exercises and why they are good for basketball. These exercises will give you a good idea of how to build strength that carries over into basketball.

You also don’t even have to lift weights to get stronger in the game of basketball. You could also do dribbling drills with resistance bands, driving drills with people hitting you with pads (to get stronger through contact etc.).

Too Much Muscle Could Possibly Affect Your Ability To Shoot

I mentioned Giannis Antetokoumpo above and how he put on so much muscle. Although this has been a great decision for his overall game because he’s able to dominate more now, it actually hurt his jump shot. 

Take a look at this video showing Giannis’ jumpshot before he bulked up, combined with a video of his jump shot now. The video only shows him making shots, however, his jump shot has become worse as the years have gone on and many people attribute it to the fact that he put on too much muscle mass.

Why Have Basketball Players Become Skinnier Over The Last Couple Of Years?

The jump shot in basketball has taken leaps and bounds over the last couple of years, meaning almost every player is able to shoot the ball pretty efficiently. When you have big men who can’t move their feet as fast, this style of play becomes very hard to guard. In the early 2000’s big men were the ones who ran the league, but now teams play small ball lineups just to be able to switch effectively and get out and guard the three point shot.

Players who are 6’9” and can go out and play every position, and guard every position may just be the most valuable players in the league because of this.

How To Build Muscle As a Skinny Basketball Player

If you’re a skinny basketball player yourself, and you feel as if putting on some muscle mass/functional strength may help your game, you’re in luck. I looked around to find a good resource on how to put on muscle as a basketball player. Although I’ve done this myself I wanted to get some expertise on the topic. I came across an article on the USA Basketball website that had a guide and here are the takeaways from it. 

• Teenage basketball players often feel like they’re too underweight to play to their highest ability
• The energy expended in growing taller often leaves little left over to grow out
• Becci Twombley, nutritionist for the UCLA athletic department, suggests starting the day with a big breakfast and setting up an eating schedule that consumes calories every three hours, instead of just three meals a day
• Eating often is important, but eating good food is also crucial
• Young players should focus on high-calorie foods that are healthy, such as trail mix, granola, cereals like Raisin Bran, dried fruit, and avocados
• It’s important to build muscle mass through strength training in addition to proper nutrition
• Tips for strength training include: progressively adding resistance, focusing on multi-joint exercises that work several muscle groups at once, and remembering that strength training is a means to an end, not an end itself.