Ok, this article might be a reality check for some and possibly catch people off side making them close this window and leave the site. It’s ok to have a dream of playing professional basketball, and you shouldn’t allow anyone to destroy that dream. But this article is a basketball checklist to see if you are ready to play professional basketball. You need to be honest with yourself when you answer these questions below.
Are you good enough to play pro basketball checklist
- Do you have basic grasp of fundamental skills? Can you dribble with both hands? Are you able to shoot and consistently make jump shots? What are you like defensively?
- Will your level of fitness allow you to last a full game at three quarter pace? What’s your recovery time after a full court sprint?
- Have you consistently been playing basketball?
- What level of basketball have you been playing?
- What’s your stats in this competition?
- What’s your attitude like towards your team mates? Do you cheer them on whilst on the bench? Do you motivate?
- What is your defensive intensity like?
- How easy is it for you to follow instructions?
- What is your goal or dream? What is your plans in the next 2 years? Where do you see yourself with basketball?
- What have you been doing in the offseason and spare time? What extra training? Gym?
- How is your body? Injuries? Overweight? Underweight?
Luke Sunderland’s take on seeing if you are good enough to play pro basketball
To get another angle on this, I spoke to a long time friend and coach of the Elite Edge academy, Luke Sunderland. Below is what he said:
What’s your resume like? Have you performed at a reputable level with evidence, film/stats etc, It’s like going for a job, need the best resume, most appropriate for the level.
In other words if you are playing domestic basketball at your local stadium don’t expect to play professionally for a big club in Europe. Which is a great intro to why I wrote this article in the first place.
Background behind the building of the “Are you good enough to play pro basketball checklist”
Recently I had an agent contact me about a basketball team in the Danish top league looking for a point guard and a small forward. To see if any of the connections I have on Facebook might be interested I posted the ad on my wall. Instead of the advertisement only attracting those on my friends list good enough to play pro. It also attracted those that don’t even play structured basketball. I had kids that only play junk church and domestic basketball contact me.
It’s crazy how delusional some people are! Hence why I wrote this article and came up with this basketball checklist.
No matter where your level of basketball is currently at, after going through the checklist if the results are tending towards the negative I strongly suggest you change your routine. Get into shape, do the extra work and work your ass off. This checklist is more of a reality check to where you are now. Not where you will be in the future. It doesn’t have to be a dream killer unless you chose it to be. Make the changes necessary to get your basketball dream on track.
Best of luck!
