Basketball: A Reflection of Nature
Basketball is a lifelong game. You continue to learn from the game day in and day out, and all along the way, you get better.
— Scottie Pippen
We are all wired to play games. It’s how we learn. Starting with the toddler games of tag and hide and go seek and up to the very own sports we play throughout our lives. Why do we all contain this innate desire to play games? Because through playing games we come to better understand ourselves, others, and the world around us. This understanding helps us to develop skill sets and grow as people by better engaging in relationships and healthy patterns of life.
Basketball is Special
Games require our mental, physical, and emotional efforts to develop a particular set of skills through our work to achieve some objective. For example, the objective of the game of basketball is to put the ball in the hoop more than the other team. Though the game sounds simple, it incorporates a complex variety of human skills to achieve the desired outcome. This objective requires each player to develop their mental (focus, decision making, court awareness, etc.), physical (running, jumping, sliding, etc.), and emotional (self-awareness, regulation, understanding, etc.) abilities. These human abilities help players to hone their basketball skills (dribbling, shooting, defending, etc.), which allow them to play the game at a higher level. Through playing basketball, we learn a lot about life because it mimics the nature of our environments and the systems around us. The fast-paced movements, the unpredictability of each given moment, battling against opponents, connecting with allies to achieve a shared goal, and many more factors in the game of basketball mimic what we experience off the court.
Don’t Act Like You Know Everything
Basketball is an unpredictable game on both sides of the floor. Players are constantly reacting to other people’s movements, actions, and plays. It is a game that requires each player to be ready to act and react when called. This vigilance is key. A player on offense must be ready to move into the open space before it closes, or make the pass before their teammate is guarded again, or shoot before it gets blocked. Without the readiness to move and act, one cannot be an effective player. However, most of the time players are reacting to what is thrown at them at the moment. A defender must react to getting screened, or a player must react when the ball is passed on the court, or a player must react when someone shoots the ball. This constant reaction to changes in their environment on the court mimics the nature of environments off the court. As players and people, we are constantly needing to be vigilant in our movements and reactions. The game of basketball and daily life both require this need for flexibility and adjustment because no one truly knows what will happen one moment to the next. Each player on the court needs to be open to uncertainty because they one does not know for sure if their move will work or how the other nine players will react to their decision. There is constant uncertainty that breaks players out of their fixed, rigid mindset and opens them up to the freedom of adjusting to what is happening in the moment.
Feel the Rhythm! Feel the Rhyme! … It’s Basketball Time
Basketball is a rhythm sport. Without entering into the rhythm of its movement patterns, dribbling, and team chemistry, the game is hard to play. Rhythm helps us learn because it is natural. Part of human development and daily living is learning to move throughout life with rhythm. Whether it is something as basic as walking and the rhythm of our gait, or the rhythm of learning to play an instrument, or the rhythm of the year with its seasonal patterns, rhythms are inherent to our lives. They are patterns of movements that bring us along. That is why when you enter into a rhythm, there is effortless movement as if you are being carried forward like a dance. It is not forced or clunky, but there is flow to it like a river. This is experienced individually and collectively in the game of basketball. The rhythm of an individual as they make a series of dribbling moves with ease to get past the defender. Or the rhythm of a shooter as they do not even feel the ball leave their hands before it goes through the net. These rhythms are also experienced when a team works together through their movements with proper spacing and timing. This chemistry is seen on a fast break where passes are thrown in stride, cuts are perfectly angled, and finishes are smooth. These rhythms experienced in basketball offer opportunities for players to tap into the gracefulness of life and its harmonies, which can be experienced individually and with others.
Final Thoughts
The game of basketball is a vehicle by which we discover ourselves. The game teaches us how to read a situation, make decisions, and work together with teammates. The nature of basketball mimics the nature of our everyday lives. The reactions and adjustments we must make due to the unpredictability of our environments, the rhythms and flow of our movements and systems, and need for connection and togetherness to achieve our goals.
