NBA basketball: a skill sport?

Of course you need skills but you can have a nice career if you are very good at one thing. To make up for skills you have to be an athletic freak of nature that hustles, plays D, and fights for the ball all the time. Eventually you'll be great at grabbing boards, blocking shots, and playing defense. I don't think there is much skill involved in playing defense, it's all about hustle, sacrifice, and wanting the ball more. A great example would be Ben Wallace. The guy has no offensive skill and has developed into a great defensive player.

 

imo, Basketball defines skill team sport more than any other team sport.

as for no skill required for defense. I think that is seriously underestimating footwork, eye-hand coordination, timing/smarts to react. It's like saying a cornerback as no skill...when football calls that a "skill position." It takes a lot of coordination, balance and speed...to go with wits.

You aren't just born with coordination...you have to practice it, and you do lose it without practice.

 

Is this a serious question?

Basketball and Tennis are two sports that require the most skills.

 

Basketball does require skill, but the game has changed so much, and in the NBA its not really a team game anymore, all other levels are still team sports, but the NBA is one on one bull****.

 

Basketball is definitely a skill sport. If it weren't, why are there so man athletic freaks(Leon Smith, Korleone Young, and many, many more) and giants(There are plenty of 7-footers in Europe, Asia) that have not been able to make it?

It is also one of the most physically-demanding sports(I say 2nd, behinds soccer).

 

Rugby is more physically demanding than soccer.

Basketball is definitely a skills sport though.

 

Of course you need skills. Is this a trick question? Seriously. Of course these guys have skills- in today's game, you have to be athletic. And you have to have atleast two or three skills at which you're above-average- whether it be shooting, rebounding, passing, defense, ball-handling, etc. So skills in the NBA is a must.

I mean, think that most teams have around 40-50 plays and different variations if those plays. So that means you have to be able to grasp concepts real easily. So you have to have sense in order to suvive. You also have to be aware of different game situations- clock management, react to the defense, adjust accordingly to the opponent. So sense is also a must to survive in the NBA.

I can't believe I spent this much time on a topic like this.

 

Ditto.

 

Yes and No.
Yes, it is a skill sport......what real sport isn't?
No, you don't need too much skill to play now.

As far as team sports go, IMO football and soccer are easily above basketball.
One individual doesn't make nearly as much a difference in those sports as does in basketball.

 

I thought I heard somewhere that soccer was the most physically demanding team sport because it requires constant running in varying speed for ninety minutes with only one break at half time. The most physically demanding individual sport was cross-country skiing.

And yes, basketball is a skill team sport, on any level of competition. I do agree that the NBA has lost quite a bit of the "team" in "team sport."

Football is not as much a skill sport other than the QB position. You can see that many gifted athletes can pick up football at a fairly late age and be fairly successful. You can't do that with sports like basketball or soccer. If you don't start it when you are young, you have almost zero chance of making it to the pro level. This makes Olajuwon's achievement all the more special.

 

uh...what do u think

 

I think that yes, basketball does require talent, but there are ways to make up for not having talent too. For example, if you're 7'6" and have no talent *cough*Bradley*cough* then teams are still gonna want to pick you up because you're tall, but if you're short then yeah, you need to be talented.

 

Actually, the major sport that requires the most applied motor skills is baseball. Part of the reason why they have a developmental system.

 

If you look at some of the guys in the league now, I don't think you can say that it requires a tremendous amount of skill to be in the NBA. Just look at Darius Miles, for example. He has no shot, and is really no more than mediocre in any other skill. What he does have is freakish athleticism. Now, you will be much more successful if you are highly skilled, but there is room in the NBA for you if you can run fast, jump high, and palm the ball.

 

Think i said that above.

 

I would say that it is just as much a skill sport as any of the other 3 major sports(Which, for me and most of the US, are football, baseball, and soccer...you could substitute golf or hockey).

I've had experience in just about every sport there is...You name it, and I have probably played it, and I consider basketball(Combining skill and physical obstacles) one of the two hardest sports there are.

 

WOW. Athleticism is a skill...the ability to jump high or run fast is a skill. Eddie Griffin??? The man is 6'10", can shoot threes, block shots and runs the court very well. The same can be said for Miles, with the exception of the 3s. I mean, really. Even Mark Madson...he can rebound (skill), plays solid defense (skill, cuz not everyone does) and hustles (again, a skill, because not everyone does it).

As far as the "team" aspect of it, notice that all the teams in the playoffs play a team style of basketball. Their offenses emphasize passing and moving without the ball. There are only about 5 teams tops that play an "iso" style, and Houston is one of them .

So maybe height is not a "skill", but athleticism surely is, and I don't think any one of us can judge what is and isnt a skill when it comes to professional sports, IMO.

 

Traditionally, the big 4 are considered to be Baseball, Football, Basketball, and Hockey.