The Science of Basketball

In December of 1891, a PE instructor needed something for his kids to play indoors during the cold months. 

The PE instructor, James Naismith, decided to nail two peach baskets to two railings opposite of each other, with a soccer-like ball to throw in the two, accompanied by a set of thirteen rules. Little did this PE instructor know, he had fabricated the prototype for a sport that would garner 825 million views a year, from a fanbase consisting of millions worldwide, that 129 years after its conception, would be known as one name – basketball.

The original basketball game that Naismith had made has undergone rule changes and has developed in cities worldwide through parks and gyms. The most noticeable change was the advent of dribbling. In the original game, once you got the ball, you’d have to stay there. Today, players can freely dribble through the legs, behind the back, and across their bodies all over the court. However, Naismith knowingly left dribbling out because he had one problem- the ball could not dribble. The ball originally used was a soccer ball with low air pressure. Today’s basketballs are wildly different and incorporate Newton’s Laws of Motion to help them bounce. When a player dribbles, their hand and Earth’s gravity push the ball down, which is Newton’s first law stating that an object will stay at rest unless an external force is applied to it, in this case, your hand. In the small space the ball has between your hand and the ground, the ball speeds up accordingly to how much force you put in, which is Newton’s second law stating that the more mass an object has, the more force required to accelerate it. When the ball hits the ground, the ground (usually a hardwood floor to improve force transfer) responds back with an equal but opposite amount of force resulting in the compressed air inside the ball pushing up on the ball, pushing it up back to your hand. This is Newton’s third and final law stating that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The amount of air inside the ball also determines how much force you need to bounce it. Naismith’s original ball had little air pressure, meaning that an insane amount of force would be needed for you to successfully bounce it consecutively. Today’s balls are recommended to be inflated with 7.5PSI-8.5PSI of air, making it easier to dribble. Basketballs today are also made of leather and have little bumps covering the surface, increasing their surface area and making them easier to control.

Aside from game equipment, the athletes playing basketball have to be some of the quickest and strongest in the world to compete at the professional level. For example, we’ll use perhaps one of the most athletic players today: LeBron James. Standing at 6’9” and weighing 250 pounds, James has had one of the most dominant careers of all time, even in his 17th season at the age of 35 he is regarded as the best player on the planet. But how? Lebron James as well as other athletes in general follow a strict diet and workout regimen that allows them to maximize their efficiency, growth, and recovery. Before all the working out, the real battle starts in the kitchen where most NBA players opt for a paleo-like diet. This diet named after the Paleolithic Era limits the food that one eats to vegetables, tart fruits, and wild meats. Things like carbohydrates and sugars are completely eliminated. This diet is considered extreme, however, players experience more balanced energy levels throughout the day, along with more efficient workouts, and on top of that have reduced inflammation and swelling post-workout.

Again just as an example, we’ll talk about Lebron’s workout. All players have different workout schedules but all fundamentally work towards building and improving muscle strength. If you keep wondering, “Why him?” I chose him specifically because his body is one of the best examples of lean, yet muscular. Big shoulders, sculpted chest, and arms, and a strong, defined core help him go through, jump over, and speed past any defender. While his workout always changes week to week, they all inherently focus on the same principles. When weightlifting, James opts to go for a higher weight but done for lower reps (done a less amount). The idea here is that higher weight and lower repetitions build more muscle mass, although James’ trainer has had him alternate between high weight and low reps and low weight and high reps, which builds endurance in muscles. Lebron lifts at least 3x a week, and opts to focus on bodyweight exercises 5-6x a week. Surprisingly, Lebron’s trainer, Mike Mancias, makes him do yoga at least 30 minutes a week. Many NBA players actually started adopting yoga into their routines, citing its mental benefits and improvements on flexibility as a big bonus.

With all this being said, the gap between an average joe and a professional basketball player is huge. But can anyone be a pro? The link between genetics and athleticness is one that is not black and white defined. There are genetic markers that improve athletic performance, for example, the muscle fibers that primarily compose an individual, whether they are slow twitch (better for endurance) or fast-twitch (better for sprinting, bursts of speed). That being said, your environment also plays a huge factor in performance. Are people supporting you? Are you able to access sports fields, proper equipment, etc? For example, Kenyans and Ethiopians dominate long-distance running, so one can cite a genetic advantage in their children. However what holds them back is their environment; their socioeconomic status, their challenges in daily life. Wayne Gretzky once famously said “Maybe it wasn’t the talent the lord gave me, but the passion.” The athletes, the basketball players who make it to the next level tend to be these people, the ones who enjoy working out and investing time and energy to this endeavour. Is this genetic? Is this innate? Possibly. Regardless, citing genetics as a setback is considered silly. There is not super-athletic genetic profile, becoming a top athlete requires hard work, time and effort, and surely all people can invest themselves in this pursuit of greatness.