Basketball is a game of speed, agility, quickness, power and cardiovascular fitness. Without muscular and cardiovascular endurance all of the other elements will be lacking because the player will be too tired. The game can be very continuous up and down the court with a mix of short bursts of sprints and agility movements. The actions are mainly explosive but the recovery time is very little requiring endurance.
Speed
A player cannot help to grow taller, but he can develop speed. Faster players have a great advantage for offense and defense. Basketball court dimensions in the NBA are largest at 94 feet by 50 feet. That is not a far run from one end to the other. Players should train and be timed in running two lengths of the court and work to increase that time. If a player runs all the way down to score, that player has to run all the way back for defense. Ten sets of two court length sprints with a 60-second recovery will increase overall speed.
Agility
Agility may be more important than speed because it is very rare to run in a straight line for a great distance on the basketball court. There are many changes of direction on offense and defense. That is what really defines the best players. Suicide drills are very common for teams to work on agility. Since there are many lines on the court coaches will have players sprint back and forth touching each line. Practice turning 180 degrees from a sprint and change directions with lateral movements.
Power
Power equals work divided by time. Basketball players need to be explosive. This works hand in hand with speed as well as agility. A short burst of speed requires power to begin the sprint. A quick change of direction requires power to explode in the other direction. To dunk a basketball or to jump in general is created by power. Jumping mainly comes from a short response muscle in basketball. It is rare to see a player squat down before he jumps, there just is no time to do that. Jump rope and tapping the backboard continuously will work power for short response.
Hand Speed
The arms are used consistently in basketball. To dribble a basketball takes hand speed and coordination as well for defense. The hands must move quickly to attempt stealing the ball, pass the ball and to shoot. Playing defense is just like the hand slap game where you try to smack a person's hands before he or she pulls it away from under your hands. Practice offense hand speed by throwing a light medicine ball at the wall continuously for 15 reps. For defense try to catch the agility ball that bounces all over the quart in multiple directions.
Cardiovascular Training
Cardiovascular endurance will allow players to last the entire game and to have effective speed, agility, power and coordination. Training should mainly be conducted for high-intensity intervals because there is no continuous jogging.
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