Basketball is a fun sport that a lot of people enjoy playing all over the world. But in order to play it well you need to practice. If you’re in search of different tips to learn so you can improve your basketball playing skills you have come to the right place. Read on for expert basketball tips.

For lightening fast dribbling, just like the pros, only use your finger tips on the ball. When you use all of your fingers, your dribbling will be much slower. Make this a part of your daily practice sessions until it becomes second nature to dribble with only the tips of your fingers.

When shooting the basketball, it is important to maintain good balance. Jumping and leaning to the right or the left can result in a missed goal. Learn to jump straight up while maintaining your balance for best results. You can practice this by running and shooting the ball during your practice time.

Don’t force your jumps in basketball. Try to jump as naturally as possible. When jumping and shooting, practice releasing the ball at the top of the jump. Your fingers should simply slide off of the ball and carry it to the basket. Make sure you do not release while going up or down in the jump. Only release at the top.

When playing basketball, remember that you are playing on a team. Don’t be a “ball hog.” A team is like a support system and your teammates are there to help you and you should be there to help them. The objective of the game is to work together to beat the opponent.

If you are trying to create a charging foul against the other team, make sure you plant your feet to the ground. Don’t shuffle them or lean into the dribbler coming at you. If you do either of these things, you’ll actually be called for a blocking foul instead of getting a charge.

Improve your passing abilities by challenging yourself to perform drills without actually dribbling. Playing basketball without dribbling is very challenging, but your entire team will quickly improve their passing skills. Try not to lose yourself in frustration if you do not master it immediately, with the more time that passes with you and your team practicing, the more accurate they will become.

Learn how to be patient and trust your teammates during games. Many players fall into the trap of not passing the ball and trying to do it all themselves. You need to trust them and pass the ball. This is a team sport and passing is part of what helps your team win games.

If you play organized basketball, keep track of your average fouls per minutes played. If you are not a starter who sees a lot of minutes, you want to know this just in case. You might get called on to put in a lot of minutes one game, or play repeated overtimes. The last thing you want to do is foul out because you aren’t used to playing so long.

Pay close attention to your shoulders if you’ve suddenly developed a shooting slump. If your shoulders are in a bad position, no matter how good you are, you won’t make the shot. One area of focus should be to keep your shoulders aligned straight toward the hoop. The shoulder that is dominant should be perfectly aligned with the hoop rim.

As you can see from the above article anyone can improve their basketball playing skills with a few simple tips. All you need to do is practice as much as possible and you too, can master the skills that the pros possess. Hopefully what you learned here has provided you incentive to practice these tips.