We all know there are levels to basketball. It's so fascinating to see it happen in real time. Today a former college player (let's call him Z) came to my weekly run. He was the smallest guy on the court but he made all the regulars look silly. When they picked the teams, I didn't know who he was. So our team looked very undersized and I thought they stacked the teams the other way. Boy was I wrong.

The guys who normally cook everyone (let's call them A and J) were matched up with Z and got smoked. A and J were visibly frustrated trying to get shots off. They normally hit shots from anywhere on the court, but they were putting up bricks cause their shots were altered. J is usually yapping the whole game but today he was silent, not a single line of trash talk. Z stole the ball from them several times.

Z outrebounded all the big men. He threw the most accurate yet easy to catch cross court outlet passes I've ever received. He made me look like Randy Moss getting easy layups. If our team was down, it didn't matter. Z would just pull up from NBA 3 point range a couple times and we'd be right back in it. Or he would drive, do some footwork and hit an easy mid range. Best of all, he got all of our teammates involved and everyone was having fun. Needless to say, our team won all 8 games LoL.

So I've been playing ball for quite a while, and the biggest complaint I get is that people think contact on D is a foul. I understand that the rules of the game have changed a bit, but it's extremely annoying to have young cats call fouls all the time for a little physicality. Next thing you know they are calling a flagrant one. I was taught to never allow the easy basket, like ever.

Something I keep coming back to when I’m talking with young players is how they carry
themselves when things aren’t going their way.
You miss a layup. You lose the ball trying your weaker hand. Your teammate makes a bad pass.
What happens next?

I want coaches teaching that part too. Give the kid a simple next action: get back, find your player,
talk on defense, encourage your teammate. Don’t leave them standing there replaying the
mistake.

And we’ve got to give them room to try things. If every failed attempt gets them embarrassed or
immediately pulled out, why would they take a risk the next time?

With an eight-year-old, I’d keep it simple: try the move, make a mistake, try again. With an older
player, we can talk through the decision. What did you see? What could you do differently?

I don’t need every kid to be loud or smiling all practice. Some kids are quiet. I care about whether
they stay involved and how they treat the people around them.

Getting good takes time, effort and a lot of days where you don’t look good yet. Stack those days.

That includes recovery and having a life outside basketball.
Coaches and parents, what helps a kid try again instead of shutting down?

The latest episode of scheduling changes surrounding the Atlanta Dream's WNBA Finals home games has reached a resolution.

State Farm Arena will host the WNBA Finals game on Thursday at 12:30 p.m. (ET) between the Dream and the Golden State Valkyries, the WNBA announced.

The Atlanta Hawks were originally scheduled to occupy State Farm Arena at 7 p.m. (ET) on Thursday to play the Cleveland Cavaliers, but their game will move back to 8 p.m. to accommodate the double-header.

Read more here:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7724536/2026/10/26/wnba-finals-game-6-state-farm-arena/?unlocked_article_code=1.LlE.hAFL.tWbAcA7l_oLX&source=emp_shared_article&smid=url-share-ta

Hi all.

Been a basketball fan a long time, but somehow I just noticed something. Was watching the Timberwolves and saw that Lamelo seemed to be taking quite a few steps between picking up his dribble and throwing lobs.

I know there's not technically an illegal number of steps between dribbles, and sometimes there's hang dribbles...but .... if you don't put the ball down, isn't anything more than 2 steps a travel? Whether its a layup, shot or a pass, you just get your "gather"(now) and 2 steps right?

I know the refs aren't perfect and its part of the game to put on a show, but i am wrong? Also, is this common and im just now noticing it?

Daughter (freshman) has tryouts in a couple weeks for her high school team. Seems there are a million different drills for beginners starting out in the sport. What do you think is the best/most effective drills for beginners you would recommend working on with her to see her game improve over the next couple weeks as she looks to make her HS team.

She’s tall for her age (5’7”) and has only been actively working on her game for the past couple months. Any insight is appreciated.