Originally Posted on
When other players and coaches think of you as a basketball player what skill or attribute comes to mind first? Hopefully it is tallest player, great shooter, amazing athlete! However, that is probably only 5% of players. Every season you have to choose, commit to and work on what your identity as a player is going to be. This will help you get more playing time and will raise your confidence about your entire game. When the coach is trying to decide who to sub into the basketball game, he will be thinking about your identity. If you are just a guy who is OK at everything, he will probably pass you up for the skill he is looking for. He will insert the best rebounder if that is his current need, best help defender, etc… It is a lot easier to get playing time as a role player than to try to become the star! Every team needs many role players to get the job done! Tristan Thompson of the Cleveland Cavaliers makes over $14 million a year as a role player. He is solely focused on rebounding the basketball!
So put some thought into it and focus on being the best at something. If you are like most – average size, average ability, here are some areas you can focus on.
- Best Defender
- Best Ball-Handler who never turns it over
- Guy who dives and gets every loose ball
- Best Communicator
- Best screener to get teammates open
- Player who gets the ball to our leading scorer every possession
- Toughest competitior
Discuss this with your coach and you will be fixing a need that he currently has. Your reward will be more playing time!!!