There are many vital physical skills that could help basketball players. Size and strength (Giannis and Lebron), agility (Russell Westbrook), and speed are three of the most important characteristics. One common question ball players want to know is whether or not being fast could give you an advantage in basketball. So, what’s the answer?
The answer is yes it can. It can help you in many different aspects of your game including fast breaks, driving past your opponent in the half court, getting rebounds, playing off the ball, and playing defense. However, being fast could also hurt players in certain ways, and we’re going to go over how to avoid letting your strengths become your weaknesses.
First we’re going to dive into the advantages, then we’ll go over how being fast could hurt your game.
Advantages Of Being a Fast Basketball Player
We mentioned the advantages above, but we didn’t dive deep into the specific ways being fast can help you in basketball. Let’s take a look at some of the biggest ways:
Fast Breaks
Being good on fast breaks gives the defense so much to worry about. If you could get the ball off of a rebound and take it coast to coast, you can get an easy transition bucket. This is one of the biggest benefits of being a fast player, and these fast break buckets could really add up over the span of a game.
Driving past your opponent in the half court
If you have great speed you’re always a threat to get to the basket. This results in the other team have to help more defensively, leaving the shooters more available for open shots.
This is the sole reason why people like Russel Westbrook get so many easy assists. He’s been so explosive throughout his career that every time he puts the ball down to drive, the defense helps which allows him to get all of those assists.
Getting Rebounds
When you’re a faster player, it’s hard for your opponent to track you down and box you out. Ja Morant is only 6’2″, and he’s not very big, but he’s able to get a lot of rebounds for his size because of his speed and jumping ability. It’s hard to keep him from exploding towards the rim when a shot goes up.
Playing Off The Ball
Playing off the ball requires a bit of basketball knowledge. To know when to cut is important, but the speed at which you cut also matters. Being fast will allow you to beat your defender to the spot and get open for an easy layup or dunk.
Playing Defense
Speed also plays a role in defense. If you’re able to beat the offensive player to the spot, it makes it much more difficult for the offensive player to score. There are many other attributes you need to be a good defender but having speed on your side is a great start.
How Can Being a Fast Player Become a Weakness?
All the strengths above are great, but you don’t want those strengths to become your weaknesses. below we will go over some ways being a fast player could become a weakness and what you could do to avoid it.
You Don’t Work On Your Jump Shot As Much
Being faster than your peers from an early age in basketball isn’t as much of a benefit as you think. When you could just run by everyone it gives you no incentive to work on your jump shot. It’s important to know that as you get older and the competition gets stronger, teams will game plan around your speed, leaving you open.
If you’re not able to shoot because you’ve relied on your speed, you’re letting your team down and now your biggest strength has become your weakness.
Your Basketball IQ Could Lack
Another way your speed could effect you is by not learning the game as much as someone else who is much slower than you. A lot is said about Luka Doncic and how it looks like he’s moving at 2 miles per hour, however, he knows the game so well from a fundamental and IQ standpoint that he’s one step ahead of others.
Don’t let your speed keep you from learning the game as a whole. In certain situations the game needs to slow down, and you need to know how to take advantage of it.
I’m not telling you to not use your speed, always use it as a threat, however, don’t be on dimensional.
How To Improve Your Speed As a Basketball Player
It’s one thing to have speed, and then have good speed while playing basketball. Many players once they pick up a ball, become much slower because of the fact that they have to dribble. So what can you do to improve your speed and quickness?
Work On Fast Break Layups
One way I was able to improve my speed over time was by doing a full court layup drill. This is how it’s done:
- Start on one side of the court (underneath the hoop)
- Dribble the ball all the way to the other end of the court with regular dribbles (as fast as you possibly can).
- Don’t throw the ball ahead of you to get a speed advantage (this will help with ball control)
- Make the layup on the other end get the rebound and immediately sprint down the other end, and make another layup.
I would usually do 5-10 layups on the right side, take a slight break, and then do 5-10 on the left side. The trick is to push your limit when it comes to speed with the ball. This also helps you get equal speed with your right and left hand.
Work On Exploding To The Hoop
Working on your first step is important when it comes to speed. Being able to explode toward the hoop may be your best bet against a defender. This is just like the above drill, but you’re working from the top of the three point line.
You want to do right hand layups and left hand layups from the top of the key, while exploding to the hoop as fast as you possibly can.
The key is to establish your pivot foot and explode with your available leg as fast as you can. Make sure you dribble before you lift your pivot foot on every single rep, because if you don’t it’ll be considered a travel in a real game.
Just like the fast break layup drill, you want to do 5-10 on each side.
These two drills above are perfect to pair together, they will also give you tons of conditioning work due to the all the explosive movements you’re doing.
In Summary
Being a fast basketball player definitely has its pros, but it also has its cons if you let it be your only strength. Focus on every aspect of the game and your speed will never become a weakness to your game.
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