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Contents
Introduction 4

Part 1: Before the Game

The game is about to start. Are you ready to play?
1. Eliminating Inside Factors 8
2. Basketball Meditation 14
3. Visualizing Success 20
4. Famous Quotes 28

Part 2: During the Game

The game has started. How are you going to react?
5. Importance of Confidence 34
6. Short Term Memory 44
7. Positive Attitude 52
8. Famous Quotes 62

Part 3: After the Game

The game has ended. What happens next?
9. Handling Winning 67
10. Bad Games 74
11. Dealing with a Loss 80
12. Famous Quotes 88

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Interviews with basketball players 93
Conclusion 102
Appendix 106

3
Introduction
My name is Andrei Arion and I am
sixteen years old. I have been playing
basketball for more than 11 years and I
was fortunate enough to represent
Romania on the international stage for
three years already. I am truly in love in love with the game
and I believe that one day I will get t play in the NBA.

When I am on the court, I get really competitive. My whole

life, I have been this way. When I was younger, I couldn’t
deal with a loss. I could not stand to witness someone better
than me. I was affected by referees that would simply get into
my head and disturb my play. I wasn’t that good at dealing
with adversity.

Years have passed since then and I am starting to master my

mental side. I am nowhere near perfect, but I am proud of
my development through all these years. I have learned how
to deal with losing and I am successful at preparing myself for
a game. I still have work to do on controlling my
competitiveness and I do not shy away from the fact that I
might still get called for technical fouls. But who doesn’t?
Perfection is not a word we can use when we are talking

4
about the mental side of a basketball player, but we can train
to be excellent at it.

You want to be the best that you can possibly be. You
want to be great. You want to help your team win every single
time. Consequently, you realize that there is no way to
achieve it if you are not training. So, you start training hard.
You are working hard every day with suicides, pushups,
squats and all of that good stuff. You never miss trainings.
Always working to the limit. The big question is: Do you
think you will be ready to survive the game?

The answer is a brutal NO. Even though you are in the

best shape of your life, you are missing a crucial element:
THE MENTAL PART. Your mind governs every single
one of your actions. Your game is controlled entirely by your
mind. It is scary to realize that your performance is based on
the one aspect you are probably not working on.

The purpose of this booklet is to prepare you mentally by

looking at how basketball players can react to different
scenarios and how their mental side can have an impact on
their performance.

My research was based on the following questions:

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1. What are the psychological factors that are present in the
life of a basketball player?

2. What outcome does every single factor have? Positive or

negative?

3. When does the factor occur-before, during or after the

game?

In order to support the process of analyzing information, the

booklet has provided special spaces that require your input
and remember:What you will put into the process is
exactly what you will gain in the end.

6
PART 1

Before the game

Are you ready to play?

7
 1
Eliminating Inside Factors

Before a game, successful basketball players

want to enter a zone where they feel relaxed
and prepared for the game. They want to have
a clear mind that is focused only on the game.
In order to achieve that, they try to eliminate
the thought of future actions or past actions
and they try to connect to the present.

The first thing you will have to eliminate from

your mind are thoughts about future actions.
While preparing for your game, you should not
be thinking about the English essay that is due
tomorrow or the upcoming Math test that you

8
did not study for. Don’t get me wrong,
academics come first and the school work that
you will be doing is vital for your success.
However, do not think about school before
a game. All the tests and all the homework
you have does not mean a thing for you when
are about to step on the floor. Even the
smallest thought about a future action can
negatively impact performance. Your brain will
be remembering facts that are not needed in
the game of basketball. Your mind will deviate
from a clear state and you will lose
concentration to what is important at that
moment: the game.
My suggestion is that you start writing a list
with everything you will need to do after
the game. Your list will include a plan to help
you remember your school work. This way, you
will not remember it in the game which relaxes

9
the mind. A simple organizational tool can
easily improve your pre-game concentration.

Unfortunately, the same cannot be done for

eliminating the thoughts of actions that
happened in the past. Nerves that come from
past experiences like fearing the opponents
after they have beat you last time are thoughts
that cannot be easily removed from your mind.
One method does not fit all. It is impossible
to predict what will work for you due to the
complex nature of the mind, but there are a
few options that are used by the majority of
players and that you can try to implement.
All of these options have the same purpose:
mental relaxation. Relaxing your mind will
relax your body and your movements will be
less tense.

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One easy way to relax is to listen to music.
Your favorite music. Create your own
playlist. Include your favorite songs that do
not have a low tempo. Up tempo songs will
keep you alert and relax you at the same time.
NBA players have adopted this technique and
they are listening to music in their warm-up.

Image 1- Kevin Durant does not enter the court without

his headphones

Kevin Durant Music

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Another way you can eliminate the past is
through meditation and visualization, two
topics that will be covered in the following
chapters. Meditation and visualization can clear
your mind of negative and stressful thoughts.
Also, there are other ways to prepare for the
game which follow superstitious beliefs. For
example, NBA player Rajon Rondo takes five
showers before a game. Find something that
relaxes you, implement it and asses the results.
Please, try to be eco-friendly and not deplete
Earth’s water resources if you can.

Summary of Eliminating Inside Factors

1. Eliminate the future by organizing your
plans with a list
2. Eliminate the past by finding a way to
relax your mind

12
Reflection TIME

Can you remember a game where you

could not concentrate because of
schoolwork?

How do you fight pre game nerves and do

you have your own way of getting relaxed?

If you do not have your own way, what are

the strategies you will try out for the next
game?

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 2
Basketball Meditation

Under any circumstances, I urge you to not

reject the idea of meditation because you have
heard previous definitions that associated this
practice with Zen-Buddhist chakra and other
stuff that seems more like fiction.
It has been proven that meditation can help a
basketball player before a game. The area
where meditation plays the biggest role is in
stress reduction. A study called Brief
mindfulness meditation training alters psychological and
neuroendocrine responses to social evaluative stress
provides an initial indication that brief
mindfulness meditation session buffers self-

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reported psychological stress ("Brief
Mindfulness").Quick translation: Being relaxed
increases your ability to concentrate and
play with a clear mind. By practicing
meditation, your mind will learn how to
balance being relaxed in stressful conditions.
Distractions are no longer present, and the only
thing you will have to do is to enjoy the game.

When your mind is relaxed, your body is relaxed,

and when this happens, your basketball skills will
flourish. Your shots will be looser and more
accurate. Your passes will reach their target and you
will not rush into risky decision that could lead to
turnovers. You will be able to position yourself
better and you will get more rebounds. Your
defensive position will be more balanced and getting
into foul trouble will be a thing of the past as you
will not force unnecessary fouls.

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Also, meditation can help you perform through
tough conditions. Through the use of
magnetoencephalography (MEG), researchers
have shown that meditation plays a key role in
controlling the cortical alpha rhythms, which
determines what senses our body and mind pay
attention to. Gaining control of alpha rhythm
helps an athlete overcome persistent stimuli
such as negative thoughts or pain (Effects of
Mindful-attention).The multitude of benefits has
encouraged NBA players to meditate. One of
the first to do it was the greatest player himself:
Michael Jordan. Meditation has helped MJ to
eliminate distractions when taking game
winning jumpers just like The Shot from the
1989 playoffs. Nowadays, every single team
from the NBA has understood the importance
of meditation and has hired mental coaches to
work with their players.

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Image 2 - Michael Jordan's consistency was maintained
by meditation

Chicago Bulls Michael Jordan 1998

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To meditate, sit in a comfortable
position in a quiet place. Close your
eyes, relax your mind, and just focus
on breathing in and out. Breathe
in… Breathe out… As thoughts
come into your head, acknowledge
them and then let them pass. If
there is a negative thought,
acknowledge its presence and as you
breathe out imagine that your
negative thought is removed. At
first, keeping all of your thoughts
will be a difficult task, but continue
to practice 10 minutes every day and
you will feel the improvement.
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Summary of Basketball Motivation
1. Meditation will improve your game
2. Simple meditation technique

Reflection TIME
Have you ever tried meditating before a
game? How did you do it?

Do you think that the benefits of meditation

will come out immediately?

Is it difficult to meditate? If it is not, why are

not more basketball players doing it?

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 3
Visualizing Success

If we oversimplify the game, we can say that

basketball is about buckets. The team with
more points on the scoreboard will win the
game. To a large extent, the ability to score the
ball has a decisive importance is achieving
success on the basketball court.
Putting the ball through the hoop seems to be
a skill that can be mastered only with a lot of
hours of practice. Shooters are not born, they
are made. Thousands of shots in the gym is the
only way you know of that would improve your
percentage. However, it is not the only method
that will improve your shot. Let me introduce
you to VISUALIZATION.

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Visualization is the process of creating a mental
image of a specific action that you want to
replicate with success in reality. Your mind
generates images, sounds and feelings
surrounding an activity with the purpose of
practicing and mastering it. Even though it is
just in your mind, you are preparing to live
that feeling, and you will be able to actually
perform the skill you visualized.

Mental rehearsal will improve you game even

if you are not on the court.

The effects of visualization have been backed

up by science and different experiments were
set out for each sport. For basketball,
improving free throw percentage was the
example used for testing visualization.

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All of the experiments regarding free throw
percentage were laid out this way:

Basketball players were divided 3 groups and

each group would try to improve their shooting
percentage in a different way:

 The first group would practice 20-30

minutes every day.
 The second would only visualize
themselves making free throws, but no
real practice was allowed.
 The third one would not practice or
visualize.
What were the results?
Mental practice was found to be nearly
as effective as physical practice, the
improvement in percentages being
slightly smaller for the visualization
group.

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Visualization improves performance and this
technique is used by NBA players to improve
different aspects of their game. Going back to
the free throw experiment, former NBA player
Steve Nash has maintained the highest free
throw percentages in the NBA with the help of
visualization.
Every time Steve Nash goes to the foul line, he
shoots two or three imaginary free throws.
Before getting the ball, he repeats his shooting
form while rehearsing how the shot goes in.
Nash says it helps him not only visualize the
ball going through the net but also gets his
brain and body prepared for the upcoming
action. After almost 3,400 regular season
attempts, his 90.4% success rate is a
statement of visualization power.

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Image 3- Steve Nash's ritual was to visualize himself
making a free throw

Combining regular practice with visualization

will improve your basketball skills just like
Steve Nash has improved his free throw
percentage. 5 min per day is more than enough
for mental rehearsal. However, it is not about
how much time you spend on it, but the
amount of detail you put into it. Try the next
exercise before every single game and you will
feel the difference at the line.

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Effective visualization includes a wide variety of
senses, the most basic involving sight, sound, and
feel. Sensations should be visualized from a first
person view. Watching yourself shoot free throws as if
watching a movie is similar to watching someone else
shoot. You have to visualize everything out of your
eyes. You have to be there at the free throw line,
placing your feet carefully without touching the
line, feeling the wooden court under your feet and
the leather of the basketball. Seeing the red rim
with a dusty long white net that you only want to hear
swishing. You hear the crowd cheering. As you
shoot, you feel the ball roll off your index finger.
You see the ball traveling through the air with
perfect backspin and arc. You see your hands out in
front of your forehead with a perfect follow through.
You see the ball swishing through the net and you can
hear the ultimate reward: SWWWISHHH!

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Summary of Visualizing Success

1. Although it seems strange, mental

practice can be almost as effective as
physical practice. Combining the two
has helped basketball players like Steve
Nash maintain one of the best free
throw percentages in the history of the
NBA

2. Effective visualization includes a wide

variety of senses. Make it as detailed as
you can and the benefits will come.

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Reflection TIME
Have you ever practiced visualization
before?

Why do you think visualization works?

What other aspects of your game are you

willing to visualize?

In what other aspects of your life is

visualization worth trying? Why?

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Famous Quotes

“Most people have the

will to win, few have
the will to prepare to
win.”
Bobby Knight

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“I always listen to music before a
game...it’s like yoga or
meditation—it calms me and puts
me in a better place.”- Kevin
Garnett

“Jay Z. His lyrics, his flow, his

music, his inspiration get me ready
to go out and do whatever it takes
to win.”- LeBron James

“The important thing is to not

allow any of those things … to
affect your play, to affect your
psyche. Because it’s irrelevant. You
just stay in the moment. And you
just be”- Kobe Bryant

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“I try to have at least 15 minutes of
still time and just kind of sit in my
thoughts in the morning and just
kind of meditate. And normally
what happens with me is my mind
would always drift to the game.
Always, and then I found myself
sitting there. My mind wouldn’t
drift towards the game all the time
anymore. And that’s when I started
realizing, ‘You know what? It’s
getting close. It’s getting close.’
Because now I’m not obsessively
thinking about the game anymore.
It’s not wired into my
subconscious the way it used to
be.”- Kobe Bryant

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“As much as we pump iron and we
run to build our strength up, we
need to build our mental strength
up so we can focus … and so we
can be in concert with one another
in times of need.” - Phil Jackson

“I was everything. Player, coach,

announcer, even the time-keeper.
It was amazing to me how many
times in those imaginary games
there would be one second left, my
team one point down and me with
the ball.”- Jerry West

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“I visualized myself being and having
what it was I wanted. Mentally I
never had any doubts about it. The
mind is really so incredible. Before I
won my first Mr. Universe title, I
walked around the tournament like I
owned it. The title was already mine.
I had won it so many times in my
mind that there was no doubt I would
win it. Then when I moved on to the
movies, the same thing. I visualized
myself being a famous actor and
earning big money. I could feel and
taste success. I just knew it would all
happen.”- Arnold Schwarzenegger
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PART 2

During the game

LET’S PLAY!

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 5
Importance of Confidence

The game of basketball is entertaining to watch

because you never know who is going to win.
The audience is delighted by momentum shifts
and scoring streaks, but players are negatively
impacted. Frequently, teams are not able to
cope with momentum changes and they can
never get back in the game. The downfall of a
team is not caused by a lack of skill or training.
It’s caused by a lack of confidence.

The team that is going to win the game has

players that possess solid basketball confidence.
They continue to play through tough times
and they never give up. They believe

34
throughout the entire game that they will
win. They are confident in their abilities and
they will play until the referee blows the final
whistle.

Confidence is vital for a basketball player as it’s

the only key to unlocking their full potential.
Confidence allows players to take risks during
the game. Confident players will not be afraid
to shoot when they are wide open even though
they have missed the previous 4 attempts.
Confident players will not be afraid to execute
a bullet pass even though their last pass has hit
someone in the stands.
The moment you start doubting yourself,
you stop playing as good as you can. You
start questioning your moves and you are afraid
to play the game. Moves that you were

35
comfortable with seem impossible to recreate
in a game scenario. Your mind is flooded with
questions like: What if I make a mistake? What if I
miss this shot...ENOUGH!

Doubting yourself will only lead to negative

thoughts which will materialize into
mistakes! You will become what you think.
Thinking about making mistakes will only lead
to actually making them.

It is called the Law of Attraction. When

focusing on positive or negative thoughts, a
person brings positive or negative experiences
into their life.
This concept is based upon the idea that people
and their thoughts are made from energy, and
negative thoughts attracts negative energy.

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It’s incredible to notice how a simple lack of
confidence causes a chain reaction that will
lead to negative consequences. It’s even more
incredible to see the effects of confidence.

Confidence is the only key to playing your best.

The Law of Attraction will reward you and if
you are lucky enough, you will enter The
Zone. The Zone is a moment in the game
where a player has supreme confidence. Every
single shots that he/she shoots will go in and
every single pass will reach its target. It’s a rare
moment of basketball perfection as a player is
fully immersed in the game itself. No
thoughts are present in his/her mind as the
player is going with the flow of the game. It’s
similar to a dream. The player is no longer

37
questioning what is happening on the court.
It’s all about the game that we all love so much.
Supreme confidence.

Getting in The Zone is a moment that

happens rarely in the life of a basketball player.
However, there are lots of times when players
are close to being fully immersed, when they
are on fire. Keeping confidence levels up is the
only way to enter The Zone.

The best shooters in the NBA are arguably the

most confident players in the world. Shooting
step-back 3 pointers every game shows the
degree of confidence in Stephen Curry’s game.
He has understood the importance of
confidence and the results are there to prove it.

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Image 4- Stephen Curry’s shooting prowess is based on
confidence

Every Time

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How do you get confidence?

Practice – by practicing your shots regularly,

you will develop muscle memory for your shot
and you will gain confidence, when you are
making more shots. Confidence gained from
practice will be tested during the game. To
develop confidence in your basketball shooting,
you need to perform a structured practice
routine.
As you practice shooting, chart your
percentages from each spot and write them
in a notebook. Consider the type of shot you
took and write it down in the notebook. This
way you can assess your strengths and
weaknesses. Your chart continually reminds
you of how great of a shooter you are. If you
can see on paper that you shot 90% from the

40
right corner three, in the game, you start
believing both at a conscious and
subconscious level that you are a great
shooter and that spot is simply cash!
The proof is right there on paper. It shows you
that you've made thousands of shots and you
can knock 'em down.
Another way you can improve confidence is
through short term memory and positive
attitude, two topics that will be covered in the
following chapters. Short memory and a
positive attitude can clear your mind of
negative thoughts and boost your confidence
levels.

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Summary of Eliminating Inside Factors

1. Confidence is the key to unlocking your

full potential as it uses the power of the
Law of Attraction

2. Practice, practice and practice. Chart

your shots and be ready to make it in
the game

42
Reflection TIME

Are you a confident player? Why or why

not?

Have you ever been in the zone? How was

it like?

How are you going to chart your shots?

What kind of shots are you going to take?

43
 6
Short Term Memory

You have missed three open shots in a row.

You know from past experiences that coach is
on the verge of subbing you out. You have one
more chance to prove that the bench is not
your place. You are afraid that you will make a
mistake, so you hide in the corner. Just when
you thought you were safe, your teammate
penetrates, draws two defenders and passes the
ball to you. You are surprised to see that you
are wide open. The ball is in your hands and
you are wide open! You have to shoot it. Stop
for a second... What is going through your
mind right now?

44
If you are thinking about any of your previous
shots, the game is over for you.

When you cannot let go of failures and you are

constantly remembering them, there is only
one option: You are afraid to fail and you do
not have a short memory.

After missing a few shots, players without a

short memory will hesitate to shoot the ball
because they are afraid they will miss. Fear of
failure prevents them from shooting. How are
you going to score if you are not shooting?
Players with short memory accept failure
during the game because it is supposed to
happen. There is no way you are going to
make all of your three pointers, actually it is
almost impossible to score more than half.
The best 3 point career percentage in the NBA
was obtained by Steve Kerr with 45 percent.

45
He has missed more than half of the shots he
took in his career and he still goes down as one
of the most efficient shooters in the NBA.
When you are feeling bad about your misses,
remember that it will happen. It is supposed to
happen. On the date of Dec 11, 2004, Ray
Allen missed 10 3pointers in a loss. Is he not
the player you consider to be one of the best
3point shooters ever?
Failure is part of the game. Understanding
this concept will improve your confidence
during the game. You will not be affected by
previous plays. When the game is on the line
and you have the ball, you have to believe the
game winning shot even though your
percentage is not really encouraging.
Stay in the present until the game is over.
The importance of staying the present has been
explained in the first part of the book.
However, when you are in the game, there is
no time for meditation. Sometimes, successful
basketball players use breathing techniques

46
to get back in the present. There are a lot of
breathing techniques out there, but from my
personal experience, remembering how many
seconds you exhale and inhale is difficult to
accomplish. Instead of remembering
complicated techniques, a cue word as simple
as BREATHE will remind you to focus on
breathing normally. Remembering to breathe
will oxygenize the brain and will decrease your
heart rate. You will be comfortable making
plays when you are relaxed.
Another factor that destroys confidence is
focusing on elements that are not 100% about
the game of basketball and that cannot be
controlled. The way the opponent looks or
plays, the referees, the ball and the rim or the
level of fatigue are all factors that cannot be
controlled. These factors can be called The
Uncontrollables. The benefits of having a
short memory is that players are driven away
from these factors that kill confidence.

47
Successful basketball players accept the
fact that referees will not always make the
right decision or that the opponent is
making all of their shots. There is no point in
concentrating on the past because you simply
cannot go back there and change the outcome.
Short memory will lead you to realizing that the
next play is the most important because you
have control over it. Also, your confidence
levels are not affected by negative
consequences from the past and you can
continue to play at a high level.

48
Image 5- Great shooters like Dell Curry have short
memories

To Be a Great

49
Summary of Short Memory

1. Stop thinking about past actions,

especially those that did not turn out as
expected. Doing it will only kill your
confidence and will harm future actions.

2. Be aware of your breathing during

tough times as it will reconnect you in
the present

50
Reflection TIME

Do you have a short memory when you

play?

Are you capable of accepting failure during

the game?

Have you ever been affected negatively by

previous plays from the game? How?

51
 7
Positive Attitude

When talking about the importance of

confidence, the concept of the Law of
Attraction still applies. High levels of
confidence is deeply linked with a positive
attitude. True basketball confidence starts
within your thoughts. The great Henry Ford
once said: “Whether you think you can, or you
think you can’t, you’re right.”

Once again, the Law of Attraction is simple:

You attract what you think about.

Great basketball players embrace a positive

attitude at all times. When great shooters are

52
facing a shooting slump, they maintain their
confidence by using positive self-talk.
Negative players are fueled by negative self-
talk.
CAN YOU EVER GET IT RIGHT? YOU
SUCK! THAT PASS WAS LAME!
ANOTHER AIR BALL! 10 GAMES
WITHOUT A 3 POINTER! 10 GAMES!
I’M JUST A BAD PLAYER!
I will repeat this one more time: True
confidence starts within your thoughts. You
have to believe in your abilities or no one else
will. No matter how much praise and support
you get from coaches and teammates, none of
that will overcome the negative self-talk that
destroys your game.
Also, swearing out loud counts as negative self-
talk, so if someone has told you in the past to
watch your language that means you certainly
do not maintain a positive attitude at all times.

53
Sometimes coaches will try to help by yelling:
Be positive! The question is: How do you do
that?
Try to use positive self-talk when facing a
tough situation.
After missing an open jump shot:
CAN YOU EVER GET IT RIGHT will turn
into YOU WILL DO IT NEXT TIME! I’M
GONNA SPLASH IT!
ANOTHER AIR BALL will turn into
ALRIGHT! MORE LEGS NEXT SHOT
AND I WILL LET IT SWISH!
I’M JUST A BAD PLAYER will turn into
EVEN THE GREATS MISS
SOMETIMES, IT’S OK, I WILL MAKE
THE NEXT SHOT BECAUSE I’M A
GREAT PLAYER!
Anytime you feel negativity flooding your
mind, then you should choose a positive
affirmation to repeat in your mind, and replace

54
the negative self-talk. It is only your choice and
it will be difficult at first, especially for players
that are accustomed to self-criticism.

If it is really difficult to come up with positive

affirmations about yourself, there is something
else you can do:
Choose a phrase that you will repeat to
yourself when facing negativism. You have
to come up with something that will simply
take you out from there. A phrase that will
remind you how good you are and that you are
ready for challenges. A phrase that will
motivate you on the spot because it has
meaning behind it.

It is similar to a Star Wars movie and the some

characters repeat the phrase, “The Force is
with me.”, and then they proceed to do
unimaginable things.

If you are a player that is all about hard work,

you should consider that when you come up

55
with your phrase. The work that you put in
before the game should motivate you when
you are feeling down in the game.
Image 6 - Attitude is a choice you make

Patt Summit

56
A positive attitude is not all about positive self-
talk. Everyone has a positive attitude when
things are going well. What about games that
are straight up bad? How do you maintain a
positive attitude when a player’s team is losing,
the coach is yelling at them just for the sake of
yelling, or their teammates are hogging the ball?
In this situation, it is much more difficult to
exhibit a positive attitude. Below, a few
examples were given in order to guide you
through the principles of a great attitude that
are used by successful players.

1. A player with a positive attitude encourages

his/her teammates even when things are not
going great on the personal stat sheet. Attitude
should remain the same no matter if you are

57
lighting it up with 30 points or warming up the
bench.

2. A positive player is gives his/her maximum

effort under any circumstances and against any
type of team.

3. A positive player compliments his/her

teammate after a great play, even if they do not
get along well.

4. A positive player is accountable for his/her

actions. No excuses! Accept mistakes without
blaming teammates or the coach.

58
5. A positive player does not focus on The
Uncontrollables!

6. A positive player maintains good body

language during games. No swearing or talking
back to refs, teammates, or coaches.

After reading this examples, do you resemble a

positive basketball player by acting the right
way in every situation? Of course not. Even the
best players have problems in certain aspects.
Perfection can not be reached but you can get
close by practicing. Practice having a positive
attitude!

59
Summary of Positive Attitude

1. Positive self-talk will get you out of

trouble because it is based on the Law
of Attraction

2. Having a perfect attitude is impossible,

but you can practice to be as perfect as
you can possibly be.

60
Reflection TIME

Have you ever been affected by negative

self-talk? How?

Do you have you own motivational phrase?

What does it stand for?

Which one of the positive attitude

principles is the most difficult to fulfill?

61
Famous Quotes

“Learn to observe
situations rather than
automatically reacting
to them.”
Diane Reibel

62
“Confidence comes naturally with
success, but success comes only
with those who are confident” -
Unknown

“I never looked at the

consequences of missing a big
shot. Why? Because when you
think about the consequences, you
always think of a negative
result." – Michael Jordan

“When you get in that zone, it’s

just supreme confidence that you
know it’s going in. Things just
slow down, everything just slows
down as you just have supreme
confidence. Everything becomes

63
one noise, you don’t hear this and
that. Everything is just one thing.”-
Kobe Bryant

“You miss 100% of the shots you

don't take.” - Wayne Gretzky
“I treated it like every day was my
last day with a basketball.”-
LeBron James

“To control your nerves, you must

have a positive thought in your
mind.”- Byron Nelson

“The greatest discovery of our

generation is that human beings
can alter their lives by altering their

64
attitudes of mind. As you think, so
shall you be.” – William James

“You cannot control what happens

to you, but you can control your
attitude toward what happens to
you, and in that, you will be
mastering change rather than
allowing it to master you.” - Brian
Tracy

“Your attitude affects your

altitude.” – Unknown

65
PART 3

After the game

What happens next?

66
 8
Handling Winning

You won the game! All that work you put in

has resulted in a marvelous win. A win is a win.
Are there any psychological aspects that should
be considered?

After a win, basketball players with a positive

mindset do not boast or talk disrespectfully
to their opponents regardless of how
unpleasant they acted during the game.
Winning the game does not give them the right
to embarrass or humiliate their opponent after
the game.

67
Being a true winner means that you have to learn to
conduct yourself with class, without regard to the team
you play against.
Unfortunately, many professional athletes do
not really assume the responsibilities of being a
role model in terms of dealing with an
achievement. With help from social media,
basketball players can’t resist the urge of talking
trash after the game and the media shares it
shamelessly as they are affecting the next
generation of ballers. Don’t get me wrong.
Trash-talking is part of the game and it has
been used by the best players from the NBA.
However, trash-talking should only be used
during the game in order to show
competitiveness.
And this is not the end of it. Some players may
engage in self-promoting celebrations
whenever they successfully do their job.

68
One example is the NBA player J.R Smith.
When playing with the New York Knicks, a
really mediocre team at that time, he was
known for his fancy celebrations. He had a lot
of fun disrespecting his opponents, but he did
not have a lot of fun when his team did not
reach the playoffs. Years have passed since
then and he has reduced his celebrations when
playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. He has
improved as a player and his efficiency has
increased. Being around experienced players
has helped him shape his character and he has
started to win with class. He has won his first
championship as a result.

Win with class by respecting and having

empathy for your opponent. Always shake
hands after the game and try to steer away
from disrespectful comments. Sometimes,

69
having the ability to step inside another’s shoes
can help you appreciate what your opponent is
feeling and it will be difficult for you to treat
them disrespectfully. Dealing with a win comes
with a basic appreciation of what it feels like to
be on the losing end. You are accustomed to
the agony of defeat and you know do not like
that feeling. If you hate that feeling, isn’t the
opponent feeling the same?
The presence of Karma is a bit underrated in
these scenarios. The story of J.R. Smith is an
example where his unsportsmanlike behavior
has resulted in failed seasons.
Winning is not permanent, and sooner or later,
you will start losing games. Remember, what
goes around will come around. Treat your
opponents with respect and celebrate the win with class
because the basketball gods and karma are watching
carefully.

70
Image 8- Although this quote is from a MMA fighter,
the same principle applies to basketball

Respecting Your Opponent

71
Summary of Short Memory

1. Winning with class defines the attitude

of a successful basketball player

2. Not all professional athletes treat their

opponents with respects which can
affect their career. What goes around
comes around.

72
Reflection TIME

Do you win with class?

How do you avoid trash-talking an

opponent after the game?

Do you believe in basketball Karma?

73
 9
Bad Games

Every basketball player has had bad games in

his career. Games where you just can’t score,
pass or rebound. Games where you start
doubting yourself as a player. You know: 0 of
10 from the field, 0 assists or 0 rebounds.
ZERO is a frightening number that kills
confidence. In the second part, the
importance of confidence was explained and
the point was made that confidence is vital for
playing great basketball.

You should have been told by your coaches

that bad games are supposed to happen.
Their occurrence is normal at every level of

74
play. Saying that bad games are supposed to
happen is a true statement, but it is not very
effective in regaining confidence levels and
preparing for the next game.

Instead of thinking about bad games are supposed

to happen idea, you can do something to get the
bad game out of your head. Something that is
not basketball related. Go get some ice
cream with your squad, play FIFA on PS4 or
just go for a bike ride. A hobby that you enjoy
will distract you from the ZEROS of the bad
game and will boost your confidence levels by
relieving stress.

Dealing with one bad game is way easier than

dealing with a stretch of bad games.
Confidence levels are severely damaged and for
sure there is a flaw in the preparing the game.
The only way of fixing the problem comes
with practice.

75
If you are playing poorly for more than three
games, the best would be to get back in the
gym and work on what you struggled with.
Jump shots, ball handling and passing. Go to
the gym by yourself or with a friend for 30
minutes in order to fix the flaw that was
bothering you. Try to get as many successful
reps as you can. Practice and confidence will
come naturally.

Successful players overcome the negatives by

having fun and practicing to get better. Their
focus is shifted from the past to the future.
They look forward to the next game instead of
digging for what went wrong!

This too shall pass! The time of bad games

will pass. Forget the bad games and continue
to get better each day. Also, great games will
pass as well. Remember to celebrate wins and
build upon defeats.

76
I mage 9- Bouncing from a bad game is a psychological
attribute of the best

Gilbert Arenas

77
Summary of Short Memory

1. Even though bad games are supposed

to happen, confidence levels are still
affected by stress. Take a break from
basketball and have fun!

2. Failure is never final. Work on your

game and your newly acquired
confidence will take your game to the
next level.

78
Reflection TIME

What do you thinking about after a bad

game?

Have you ever had a slump? How did you

get out of it?

Do you feel like practice improves your

confidence for the next game?

79
 10
Dealing with a Loss

Even though losing a game is not the end of

the world, losing should hurt a basketball player.
All that work put in, the time and the love for
the game means a lot for a basketball player.
Looking back on all the things invested into
basketball, losing should hurt a lot. If losing
doesn’t hurt, well, you do not have what it
takes to play basketball. You do not have the
competitiveness that a successful basketball
player has. If you do not care about the
result, you should not be playing
basketball. It may sound a bit harsh, but if
you truly love something, you have to fight for
it to get it.

However, you can't let losing hurt for long.

This too shall pass! You must get over it,

80
learn from the loss, and quickly put it aside.
Just like recovering from a bad game, you can’t
be thinking about a loss when the next game is
about to start. Remember the Law of
Attraction. Thinking about a loss will only lead
to more losses.

Thinking about losing will bring more

losses. Losing will continue to happen until
you will be able to understand the reasons
behind it and work on fixing them.

Losing should be looked at as a learning

experience and a way to improve. It is very
important to learn from every loss and use it as
a stepping stone to future victory. Analyze your
decisions during the game. Look at your mistakes
as well as the things you did great. Don’t pay
attention to the outcome of a shot. Instead,
investigate the situation. Look positioning, timing

81
and your mechanics. Learn from your mistakes and
try to improve them in practice. Trust the process of
getting better and learning from a loss and winning
will come.

Also, look at the game as a whole. Try to

identify the reason why you lost. The following
reasons are the most common:

1. The other team just played

better and had more talent.
Well, all that can be done regarding this
situation is to accept that the other team
was better. When practicing, remember this
team when you are in need of motivation.
Remember their star player every time you feel
like training is hard. Continue to practice.

2. You didn't execute or make

plays.

82
Your team could not make shots. The offense
did not flow and some aspects of the game
were executed poorly. However, the intensity
was great, but the ball did not go inside the
hoop.

It was one of those days where the basketball

gods were not in your favor. Just move on
and don’t analyze the game. As long as the
shots taken were open and the mechanics are
on point, don’t ever think about this game
again. This too shall pass.

3. You played with a lack of effort

and without intensity
This is the worst situation that can happen to
a basketball player. There is never an excuse
for playing without effort and intensity. No
excuse. It is absolutely unacceptable. Losing
from a lack of effort is the only time you
should feel bad about yourself and the only
time a coach can criticize you. A good coach

83
will not leave this attitude unpunished. Next
practice will be a living nightmare. Also,
welcome to the bench.

After a loss, successful basketball players are

able to pass the Mirror Test. They are able to
look in the mirror and say without any regret: I
did my best out there and I have no regrets.
If you can pass this test, the burden of losing
will be bearable.
Also, if the game you lost ended in dramatic
fashion with you missing the last shot,
remember that no one loses a game
singlehandedly. People may say you lost the
game, but you didn’t. Picking one play from the
game and looking at its impact on the outcome
is useless and fuels conflict between
teammates. Just like winning is a team effort, all
players are part of the loss.

Win together. Lose together.

84
Image 10- Handling failure is detrimental to having
success

John Wooden

85
Summary of Short Memory

1. Analyze your decisions and come up

with goals for improvement. Once you
are done with that, stop thinking about
the game and prepare for the next one.

2. Losing is unacceptable if you did not

play with full effort. At the end of the
day, look in the mirror and acknowledge
your dedication.

86
Reflection TIME

What are you thinking about immediately

after a loss?

How do you analyze you game? Are you

coming up with realistic goals in terms of
improvement?

What motivates you to play a game with

full effort?

87
Famous Quotes

“Failure does not come

from losing, but from
not trying”
Larry Brown

88
“Never give up, never give in, and
when the upper hand is ours, may
we have the ability to handle the
win with the dignity with which we
absorbed this loss.” - Doug
Williams

“Losing is part of the game. If you

never lose, you are never truly
tested, and never forced to grow." -
David Sirlin

“Winning isn't everything-but

wanting to win is.” - Vince
Lombardi Jr.

“Bad things do happen; how you

respond to them defines your

89
character and the quality of your
life. You can choose to sit in
perpetual sadness, immobilized by
the gravity of your loss or you can
choose to rise from the pain…” -
Walter Anderson

“The hardest skill to acquire in this

sport is the one where you compete
all out, give it all you have, and you
are still getting beat no matter
what you do. When you have the
killer instinct to fight through that,
it is very special.” - Eddie Reese
"It's not whether you get knocked
down; it's whether you get back
up." - Vince Lombardi

90
“Failure is not getting beat. Failure
is when you don’t do a good job
preparing.” - Joe Paterno

“Losers live in the past. Winners

learn from the past and enjoy
working in the present toward the
future.”- Denis Waitle

Winning is not a sometime thing.

It’s an all-time thing. You don’t
win once in a while. You don’t do
things right once in a while. You
do them right all the time. Winning
is a habit. Unfortunately, so is
losing. -Vince Lombardi

91
“I think the best way to describe it
is if you do win a playoff series, it’s
an unbelievable relief. One would
think there would be joy, but it’s
just an unbelievable relief. When
you lose, it’s a devastating feeling.
The key is to get over it quickly,
either way. Do not think it’s such a
big deal if you win and it’s not the
end of the world if you lose. But as
it happens, those feelings arise it is
so difficult to end being a winner.”-
Gregg Popovich

92
Interviews
Short Interview with national team teammate
Robert Bobroczky

Andrei Arion- How do you mentally prepare for a

difficult game?
Robert Bobroczky- I prepare for a hard game by
trying to be as focused as possible. Focused is the key
word. I get focused in different ways and I am sure every
single player has his own different way.
Andrei Arion- How do you recover mentally after a
tough loss?
Robert Bobroczky- After a loss, I’m trying to see
what I did wrong and where I could get better in the
future
Andrei Arion- Do you train the mental side of
basketball? Do you feel any improvement?
Robert Bobroczky- Yes, I do. I am training the
mental side at Spire Academy in the US by using
visualization. I think about what I am going to do on
93
the court. It has improved the way I approach the game
and my motivation but I feel minor improvements to
game specific skills.

Image 11- Forgot to mention that Robert is 235 cm tall

Harwell, Jeff. Robert Bobroczky.

94
I had the opportunity to talk to one of the best
Romanian players of all time –Levente Szijarto
– 12 Romanian League Championship
Transcript- The interview was originally in
Romanian

Andrei Arion- Good afternoon, I am here with Levente

Szijarto, basketball player for Steaua CSM Eximbank
Team. Today, we will talk about the psychology behind a
basketball player as well as the mental game. I will like to
start with this question: How do you prepare mentally for a
difficult game?

Levente Szijarto - Good afternoon guys. First of all, we

should not try to think differently of a hard game or an easy
game. It’s all about your preparation and training
throughout the season. For a lot of years in my life, I had the
mentality of a soldier- always be ready for the war no matter
what. However, in the past few years, I have changed the
way I view my preparation before the game. I have started to
realize how important relaxation is in all aspects of my life

95
and in the game of basketball. I have realized that
relaxation provides me with speed of thought and agility. I
was always too tensed and focused that I was just like a
STONE. You could see that on the court easily. I was very
aggressive and it brought me a lot of success and a lot of
trouble. People were running away from me. This is why I
decided to change my way of thinking, my perception…
everything. I changed the way I trained before games,
especially in the weight room where I was pushing myself too
much, but also mentally. I have started working on
breathing exercises, meditation and on the way I was living.
I was trying to become more flexible and fluid in the way
that I lived. I was not trying to be a STONE anymore, I
felt like I wanted to transform into WATER. I needed to
make a lot changes, and at this moment of time, I am proud
of taking the risk. I did not fully transform into WATER,
but people around me have noticed the way that I changed.
My friends were able to see the difference in my thinking and
in my actions. Your perception about yourself matters. Before
the game, your perception is valuable when you start the

96
visualization process. Visualizing your success. After all
these years, I have realized how important is to be positive in
this process. Being positive in the visualization process should
not alter the way you think about yourself. It does not mean
that tomorrow I will start visualizing myself beating the
Chicago Bulls. Knowing your level is detrimental to the
success of the visualization technique- Do not underestimate
or overestimate yourself. Being aware of your level of play can
help you in improving your performance over time. Always
be better than you were yesterday. This positive mindset
worked better for me than a negative mindset that filled me
with anger towards my opponents which clouded my
judgement. I would just try to play the best version of
Levente Szijarto. If I am better than my competition, I am
grateful. If my competition is better than me, I am still
grateful for taking part in a useful life lesson.

97
Andrei Arion- Were you able to observe the benefits of
meditation right away? How did meditation help you with
your basketball performance?

Levente Szijarto – If we are talking about basketball

specific skills like shooting or passing, I can’t say I
experienced any major improvement. However, changing my
mindset made me feel that I am ready for the game. I will be
sincere with you today and I will tell you that I am one of
those people that needed years of training in order to change.
I started the meditation part with some mobility exercises
and gradually, after reading about the benefits of meditation,
I continued to implement more meditation into my training
for improvement. I can feel the impact meditation had on my
kindness and tolerance towards my teammates.

Andrei Arion- And this acquired skills helped you

during the game, right?

Levente Szijarto- Of course. Like I told you earlier, I

am a very aggressive person and I get annoyed really fast.
Now, I am able to control it and I can just laugh it off. I

98
still have my moments of anger and that’s okay. Nobody is
perfect. I know that moments of anger that can’t be
controlled show individual weakness. There are always other
alternatives. Encourage your teammate. Help him. Fits of
anger can only show weakness and they bring the team
down.

Andrei Arion- How do you recover mentally after a tough

loss? How do you help your teammates recover as well?

Levente Szijarto- After changing my mentality, I also

changed the way I look at a loss. I don’t suffer anymore from
a tough loss because I have accepted that failures are life
lessons that are critical to my development. I start thinking
about what went right and what went wrong. How could
have I prepare better? I look at a loss just like a personal
challenge. It is easy to be positive when you are winning.
Losing shows your true face. You start to complain and
accuse someone/something and like I said earlier, this shows
individual weakness.

99
Andrei Arion- How would you advise young players that
do not consider the implications of the mental game, players
that are still in their STONE period?

Levente Szijarto- Just continue to do it. I know this

may seem like a weird answer for you, but this is the truth.
They should do whatever they feel like because it is the time
for them to go through that process. Their time will come and
they will realize it and they will start considering the mental
part without having someone to tell them what to do. Change
must come from yourself.

Andrei Arion- Do you feel like mental training should be

introduced by coaches in order to aid the development of
young players?

Levente Szijarto- Coaches should be there to show good

examples and point out tips. However, everyone must go
through the maturation process alone. You cannot force
someone to follow this path. Also, there will always be
coaches that will spread information that is simply not true
for each individual. Every single player is different. Every

100
single player has a different rhythm or mental strength. It
will be almost impossible for a coach to help every single
player mentally from the team because he would have to
adapt to their lifestyle and to consider other variables that
are tough to interpret.

Image 11 - Levi prepares to shoot the ball

Levi2. Feb. 2016

101
Conclusion
Describing the psychological profile of a
basketball player was a difficult task to
accomplish if we consider the differences in
mentality that each player has. However, the
similarities in certain aspects that I have
found in my research enabled me to build a
basic psychological profile of a successful
basketball player. No matter the
background or playing level (National
League, CEESA or AAU), the information
from this booklet is applicable to all
basketball players.

The complexity of the profile was broken

down in a timeline with three parts: before,
during and after the game.

102
Before the game was all about looking at
how basketball players prepare mentally for
the game by relaxing and getting to a
present state. To a large extent, the
outcome of a game is determined in the
lockers and warmups. Although it was not
discussed in this booklet, the coach plays a
big role in motivating players when self-
discipline is not enough. Still, great
coaching does not help a player that is not
mentally prepared for the game.
During the game was a bit more focused
on smaller details, rather than big concepts
like the ones from the first part. Perhaps the
most important chapter was about
confidence. There are a million of players
out there that have a skill set that they can

103
not apply in a game because they do not
have confidence. Confidence is the key to
every sport, but there’s a fine line between
confidence and arrogance. Crossing that
line prevents success during the game and
can harm careers on the long run.

After the game was about handling the

most difficult things in life: success and
failure. I felt like winning with class is a skill
that has been forgotten in my era. Even
superstar players from the NBA seem to
forget about respecting their opponents and
the rules of sportsmanship. Unfortunately,
the media is making it worse by filling the
internet with bad examples of behavior.

104
The last part was also about handling loses.
Ultimately, bouncing back from a loss is the
attribute that differentiates great players
from good players.

It is impossible to be perfect on the

psychological side. Even the greatest players
have problems on this issue, but they never
give up. They notice their weaknesses and
they constantly work on them. Will they
ever be perfect? Never. Perfection is not
attainable to humankind, but this is not the
point. Chasing perfection is part of the
process, and the process is the most
important part in basketball.

“Perfection is not achievable, but if we

chase perfection we can catch
excellence.” – Vince Lombardi
105
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106
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pump-up-your-team-after-a-loss. Accessed 4 Jan. 2017.

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journal.com/article/S0306-4530(14)00058-4/abstract.

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"Creative Visualization for Beginners." Llewellyn.com,

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708072&excerpt_id=4181.

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ak0.pinimg.com/736x/4f/8e/5e/4f8e5ebd468fb9e4f77ec

256ed1a5e04.jpg.

"4 M ajor Reasons Why All Basketball Players Should Practice

M editation." Cwilsonmeloncelli.com,

www.cwilsonmeloncelli.com/4-major-reasons-why-all-

basketball-players-should-practice-meditation-for-

basketball-athletes/.

"4 Ways to Improve Your M ental Game." Usab.com,

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your-mental-game.aspx).

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109
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sting-of-losing.aspx.

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Livestrong.com, www.livestrong.com/article/541679-

how-to-get-in-the-zone-before-a-basketball-game/.

"The Importance Confidence Plays on the Court."

Sportspsychologybasketball.com,

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importance-confidence-plays-on-the-court/. Accessed

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quotes/quote-losing-is-only-temporary-and-not-

encompassing-you-must-simply-study-it-learn-from-it-

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"Keeping Your Inner Voice Positive Builds Basketball

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110
 www.sportspsychologybasketball.com/2013/08/keeping

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confidence/.

Kevin Durant Music.

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