The M. M. Opinion Journal: How to become a professional basketball player in South Africa.

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Below is probably the most potent set of links for any kid wanting to become a professional basketball player. Ideally, a kid must start at 14 years old or younger to play basketball. This is because after 15 years, it gets a bit difficult for South African kids to pick up fundamentals & basketball handles so they get left behind by players who started playing earlier. Even though the distance in ability can be made up for by daily training, it's better to start sooner for the early-start advantage. American kids start younger but I started at 13 years (a bit late) & became fairly good even though I stopped playing after highschool.

I'm of the belief that anyone of any height can play basketball even though it's usually players over 1,8 metres tall who make it to the NBA. I believe if you're a short player & are very quick, good handles & a high-arching shot - you can compete with the best players in the world. Short players have less weight to carry so in theory, potentially have less injuries & can steal the ball easier because of their height while taller players have obvious & well-known advantages to their game.

In South Africa there is highschool basketball but unfortunately it's mostly in urban or suburban schools. There used to be provincial trials & national trials when I was growing up but I'm not sure if they still exist. But making the provincial team doesn't guarantee you being a professional basketball player, it simply means you're one of the best players in that age group, at that specific time in your province. So be consistent & improve your game for trials. Simply put, if you want to get started in basketball, get into a basketball playing school first or, at least, join a local team or academy.

Practice alone on your skills & at about 17 years post videos of your best game highlights, skills & stats. You never know, someone could be watching & it creates an easy backup for your videos & public link for anyone who wants to watch how you play.

Because South African basketball is in such a bad state, some might suggest you leave South Africa for USA or Europe after matric to play college basketball & hopefully make the G-League or NBA league in the USA or one of the professional leagues in Europe. But if you can't, you best join a basketball-playing college or university. Keep an eye on trials throughout highschool & varsity. At varsity, there are usually SALGA & USSA games played among universities, you simply need to shine there & be in contact with a BNL team if you don't get noticed. Hopefully, by now you would've been scouted if you're one of the better players or, if you're not scouted by your late twenties (24-26 years) stick to being an online basketball content creator if you were not selected. N. B.: South African basketball has a tendency to be nepotist & favour certain people whether it be by race or ethnicity so keep in mind that you can believe that you're better than a guy who got scouted ahead of you but it's usually because they fit the genetic phenotype, not because of their talent.

THE WORLD'S BEST BASKETBALL LEAGUES

Hopefully, this helps your 10-14 year old become a professional basketball player.

BELOW IS EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW TO GET INTO THE AFRICAN BASKETBALL WORLD. Watch these videos, at least, three times each.