Questions about what players do right before tipoff

grip, grip, and grip. i think that pretty much sums it up.

 

Not quite sure about the pad...probably has something to do with getting good grip on the bottom of the shoes.

The powder is talcum powder...helps with grip on the ball, dribbling, catching, etc..

And players wipe the bottom of their feet usually for grip also, so they don't slide when the make quick movements. Sometimes they will lick or spit on their hands and wipe the bottom of their feet. It doesn't sound like it would work, but it really does help.

 

Players are supposed to step on that pad every time they go on the court. It's like a door-mat for them to wipe their feet on. Means they won't take dust on the court with them - but since they all have shoes that are only ever used in games, then it's a tad irrelevant...

 

The pad might actually be a wet towel, to get the dust off your shoes. Wiping the bottoms of your soles serves the same purpose, except not as well.

Powder to eliminate hand moisture. I think the clapping thing is just a ritual though.

 

Clapping removes the excess talc from hands - so you've only got the stuff left on there that is being used.

 

Not wrong by any means, but there's a little bit more to it than that.

The mat is made up of the base and the mat. The base is made of modified Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene Terpolymer, and it is bonded to a ribbed rubber backing which protects the floor and holds the base in place. The mat is the replaceable set of sheets which is attached, as a set, to the base. These sheets are clear and are individually treated with a water based acrylic material, specially formulated for the mat and engineered NOT to transfer adhesive to the shoe. Each used sheet is peeled off from the mat to expose a new, clean sheet.

Basketball is obviously played at high speed and require quick starts, stops and cuts by an athlete. These sports are generally played in indoor arenas on waxed and sometimes dusty floors. The indoor floors are always smooth but can be synthetic, linoleum or hardwood. Wax, dust or dirt usually adheres to the bottom of the athlete's shoes limiting or interfering with his ability to execute these quick and sharp maneuvers. ANYTHING between the sole of the athletic shoe and the floor affects the traction necessary to make their maneuvers. Dust and dirt on shoe soles will reduce traction. Foreign substances, like water, saliva, palm perspiration or chemical additives can increase or decrease traction depending on the amount and location on the shoe sole. It is not unusual to see a player wiping the sole of his shoes with his hands in an attempt to remove wax and dirt buildup.

The principle behind it is deceptively simple yet surprisingly efficient. A stack of specially developed adhesive polyethylene sheets remove dust and dirt from sneaker soles. All a player needs to do is walk across the mat, by doing so, their shoe soles are cleaned by the exposed adhesive on the top sheet. The dust, dirt and wax that normally live on the shoe bottoms is quickly and easily removed by the adhesive. Instead of having more and more dust and dirt accumulate on the shoe soles every-time the athlete starts, stops, turn, cuts, etc., players maintain a clean shoe sole surface by periodically walking on the mat. In essence, athletes are cleaning the floor when they use the mats by picking up dust and dirt from other parts of the court and depositing it on the mat.

I stole this info from here: http://www.slipp-nott.com/V2/FAQs.htm

Hope this helps

 

I've always wiped the soles of my tennies so that I can pick up some dirt on my hands in order to better grip the ball.