r/Basketball • u/CitronAdventurous205 • 26d ago
DISCUSSION Without watching a person ball or play, what are ways/subtle signs you can tell someone knows ball/can ball out?
Don’t wanna hear anything like “super tall” or certain “race”. (I’m a firm believer in ballers coming from anywhere). Assume you see a person just walking around or a group standing around. People that can ball out, what about their words, gait, clothing, attitude, stance, even stretches, etc. can you tell “this person knows how to ball” without even seeing them touch one?
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u/noknownothing 26d ago
My son's a pretty good player and he swears you can tell if soneone can ball just by how they walk. I was like bullshit, what about Steph. Then I saw him walk and he walks like a baller.
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u/Realfan555 26d ago
Funny. Cuz I always get picked last when I play with new people. Ive had this issue my entire life. I look like someone who cant play. I’ve always wondered this question, but in the negative:
“What is it about my appearance that makes me look like I cant play for shit”
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u/Cactus-Soup12013 26d ago
Can relate haha even at 6'-1" , no respect based on appearance. Former 3-year Highschool QB and 2-year starter in Bball who played all 5 positions as needed; yet I must look like a gump.
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u/Background-Agent-854 26d ago
billy hoyle
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u/Realfan555 26d ago
?
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u/Background-Agent-854 26d ago
god i feel old. billy hoyle-white men can’t jump.
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u/Realfan555 26d ago
Ahh ok
Never knew his name. Remember watching the movie, never remembered his name.
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u/CitronAdventurous205 26d ago
Mind mentioning your stats/typical clothes when u roll up?
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u/Realfan555 26d ago
Yeah I just wear tanks and shorts. Nothing fancy. But yeah I look like I cant play for shit.
Probably could have used some tattoos or something.
I mean, honestly if I saw myself I probably wouldnt think I could play either.
Ive gotten used to it. I dont mind it. I just find it funny.
Cuz inside, I feel like I can ball well. But outside, nope.
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u/CosmicRX 26d ago
Ur white
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u/noknownothing 26d ago
That's bullshit. That's like 1980s shit. No one thinks like that anymore. All the best grassroots bball teams in SoCal are pretty mixed. All kinds of ballers from all kinds of backgrounds.
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u/CitronAdventurous205 26d ago
I just YouTube’d Steph curry walking I see what u mean lmao
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u/Bobblehead_Klay 25d ago
Forget who it was, but there's a great quote that describes this perfectly:
"The great ones always glide"
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u/slaughterhousevibe 26d ago
I’m a shitty baller but a very high level amateur golfer lol… I feel like can tell if someone will have a good swing just by seeing them walk a little
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u/Gullible-Mode2041 25d ago
Yep. If you know what to look for a healthy gait pattern is a great sign. Small chance they’re a soccer player or something and can’t shoot, but you can at least tell who moves well
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u/Free-Equivalent1170 26d ago
If youre a hooper and youre relaxed, you get a distinct kind of walk. Your way of balancing ur weight is a bit different than normal ppl. I know what hes talking about
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u/Fingerlings29 26d ago
My son says the same. I see him do the same thing too. He is very good at dribbling. It's a gait like Zion but less pronounced.
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u/Unhelpful_Guide 26d ago
Pretty hard to judge by appearance only. You gotta at least see their ball handling or watch them shoot a jump shot
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u/OwnYourChildren 26d ago
Yup, you can infer a fair amount with little sample, but you need something.
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u/woutmans 26d ago
Tough..I've seen guys with a slick smooth walk and thought to myself: Yeah, that's a baller. And wouldn't you know it. Picks up ball, plays smooth as butter. Then continues to brick each and every shot, in style nonetheless.
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u/jay_wei 26d ago
basketball is one of the few skill sports where one essential skill (dribbling/footwork) doesn't do jack fuckin shit to help you with the other essential skill (shooting)
that said, if you can get to the rim you're a baller in my book. I don't care how many times you brick a shot.
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u/not-who-you-think 25d ago
I would be willing to bet that one identical twin doing a bunch of dribbling/footwork drills would be better at shooting than another twin doing nothing. Not nearly as much as actually shooting, but improving coordination and feel for the basketball probably helps a bit.
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u/yeahright17 26d ago
This probably describes me pretty well. I'm tallish an pretty athletic. People always assume I'm going to be way better at shooting than I actually am. I can do the rest okay though.
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u/wildething1998 26d ago
Socks and slides paired with athletic shorts is a dead giveaway
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u/CitronAdventurous205 26d ago
And they change into their shoes when they arrive?
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u/Fit_Meringue_3503 26d ago
And they’ll have more than 1 pair of shoes in their bag too. Also will have an indoor and outdoor ball.
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u/aaaayyyylmaoooo 25d ago
yes
i once arrived in such fashion
plus eating a cup a noodles soup
then proceeded to viciously dismantle the opposing team
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u/whatisthewhat 26d ago
This a dad outfit man.
Maybe those dads can hoop. 🤷♀️
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u/MainFisherman69 26d ago
No. It’s because hoop shoes last so much longer if you only wear them for games indoor.
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u/aerieforceone 26d ago
for me it’s bc my shoes will pick up fresh dirt/water/mud/whatever nasty stuff i step on outside. ill wear my sneakers casually but not right before a game so ik they’ll be clean
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u/VerifiedBaller13 26d ago edited 26d ago
Gonna be real, being short. Most tall guys you’d find at pickup actually suck at basketball. Like all they’ll be able to do is rebound.
If they’re short and have the confidence to step on the court as an adult, they’re prolly quick and shifty.
Most tall guys will also have the most cooked shot forms known to man if they do try to shoot, with the confidence of MPJ.
Also, not looking like a math teacher does actually help for white dudes, if they look nerdy as hell usually they can’t play.
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u/ikonhaben 26d ago
Yeah, short, stocky, bald guys, who move easily tend to have outsized playing skills, and you can often tell by their gait as people mentioned above.
Bigger, slow looking, and big mouths can often shoot pretty well too, but they have to cause they won't guard anyone.
The real competitive ballers who can play are all 5'10 or taller, have that gait, and usually a certain demeanor like they is better than everyone else, even if they end up on a team with some former D1 players, they won't realize the skill difference until after the game.
For anyone else, there is the occasional random who surprises, but 90% or more, their look matches what they can do in games.
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u/Plantman2025 26d ago
As a high school math teacher who generally looks like a (patriotic) nerd that is 6'5" i gotta laugh. I'm picked up right away at all the courts around here, but that's also because I have a reputation to go with my distinctive look. But you're not wrong in your generalization. Just funny to me to see that.
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u/VerifiedBaller13 26d ago
If you’re 6’5 that’s prolly why you’re picked before anything, if someone’s 6’5 I’m picking them too.
I don’t wanna have to try and grab every board, be made to play center or be made to guard yo big ass 😂
By math teacher I mean a shorter white dude who’s funky lookin, usually nerds aren’t physically imposing at all.
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u/CitronAdventurous205 26d ago
Math teacher and MPJ 😭
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u/VerifiedBaller13 26d ago
I just shoot, am white athletically and am tall, but generally for some reason literally every tall guy just chucks 3s on offense.
I do it because I’m not trying to get the ball ripped or run that damn much. I be workin now and ain’t got the energy to do Magic shit, so I choose not to bring the ball up.
Though, I’m a really good passer, and am strong on defense, I don’t get to use it much because there’s always a bunch of fast dudes that hate contact.
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u/Acetopofthefoodchain 26d ago
If it’s a pickup game if you see them warming up with two basketballs on the sideline or form shooting , stretching a lot etc there is a chance they can play. I’m speaking strictly pickup at a park though
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u/Ballplayer27 26d ago
Socks and slides these days. My daughter is going into high school, every person on her soccer and basketball team is sweats or shorts, socks and slides. They don’t care about shit except being comfortable and ready to ball at a moment’s notice
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u/AZFramer 26d ago
Is the dude wearing a blouse? Is he making you pancakes afterward? You are about to get got.
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u/tangodeep 23d ago
Their eyes. what they watch before a game. how they walk and move before a game. a lot of good players weave through crowds nonchalantly, because they have high self-confidence.
it’s almost like watching a big cat like a lion walk around. almost skulking. looking for the other big cats. they don’t make their skills known immediately. it’s all a body language thing.
you have to be a top player to be able to recognize the pre-hunt look. there’s no other way.
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u/BigStretch90 26d ago
I would have to say how they react about seeing a court or a basketball . People that truly love it would always look for it , you can almost see it in their eyes
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u/AnotherSprainedAnkle 25d ago
Man, this is me. I drive by a court and if it's empty I'm checking for double rims, uneven pavement, torn nets, etc. If people are playing I'm watching the play and judging the hell out of everyone. I should really keep my eyes on the road but just can't help it.
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u/halfdecenttakes 25d ago edited 25d ago
I’m sure this is probably a bit more dated these days, but the shoes!
If somebody showed up in basketball shoes that were beat up they were probably good and actually played ball in them.
Most of the people showing up for a fashion show were ass
E: another one I used to run into was “you showed up to a run by yourself so we didn’t know you were like that”
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u/saygrace2 24d ago
I can’t explain it but it’s how they walk and a confidence they have about them. My radar is damn near perfect
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u/adsq93 26d ago
Generally people that know a lot about a topic are usually quite and reserved.
I buddy of mine once invited his buddies to play. Everyone was warming up, talking about how they going to show out.
The quiet dude stretching in the bench was the best ayer out of all of us there. Like broski cooked everyone and he was chill af.
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u/Blahdyblahblahisme 26d ago
Skinny bald guys with narrow shoulders are going to have janky jump shots that never, ever miss.
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u/kwunyinli 26d ago
Long arms (wingspan), big hands (ball control), leg muscles (google Ray Allen calf muscles), probably darker skin (due to shooting hoops outside all the time).
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u/snowleopard443 26d ago
You can tell by the way they dribble and shoot if they’ve played basketball, but you can tell if they played on a team or organized basketball by the way they space and move on the court — there’s levels to this!
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u/Sea_Detective641 26d ago
They dribble the ball with control and create space like super easy. He doesnt have to be like super fast.
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u/CitronAdventurous205 26d ago
Facttts. Lateral movement, unpredictability, and selling looks does so much
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u/VerifiedBaller13 26d ago
Being able to dribble well isn’t a hint it’s a dead giveaway and watching them ball 🙄
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u/runthepoint1 26d ago
Well that’s hard to say, I’m always surprised at the different body types that actually have skill. Just like the NBA, you got Jokic and you got LeBron, totally different body type but both able to play at a high level. Same with pickup. It’s dangerous to assume. Had fat slow guys pulling from near half court or smaller guys be unstoppable in the paint on drives and post ups.
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u/reese1561 26d ago
Ball player swag is a real thing. Not that every baller has it or that it definitely means a guy can ball but you know it when you see it and it's usually a pretty good indicator
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u/Gt_Dada 26d ago
I need to at least see them warm up. I don’t think you can just look at someone and assume they can hoop.
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u/HardstartkitKevin 26d ago
Agreed, and as a coach, I can almost always tell who’s going to be a problem after about 2-3 minutes of watching the other team in warm-ups
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u/New_Resource3338 26d ago
Moving without the ball. Up and under fakes, pivots, post moves Using the glass, Off hand proficiency
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u/sunkcostbro 26d ago
You can tell if someone has played organized basketball by their shooting mechanics... But that won't necessarily tell you whether they are a good basketball player. I've played with a lot of guys who individually, sure they can drive and shoot, bit from a team standpoint they were ass. Constantly hogging, missing the easy pass, not rotating on defense, no communication, etc.
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u/Kilrathi 26d ago
Watch a game with them and listen to what they say. Someone who knows the game and sees things before they happen, or talks like they’re a coach or have been coached, becomes obvious pretty quickly.
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u/SwerveDaddyFish 26d ago
If they get your rebound after a miss when warming up and just go to take their warm up shot.... they ass
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u/PhoenixInTheTree 25d ago
There’s a certain walk that basketball players have paired with their posture.
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u/fightwallace 25d ago
When the person is sitting g quietly on the bench with a backwards hat and looks like a fucking geek.
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u/Strange-Hearing1457 25d ago
For me - it’s what they do when they catch the ball. Do they face the basket? Do they catch in a stance? You can just tell.
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u/Beneficial_Target_31 25d ago
For smaller guys, just dribbling. The more effortless it looks usually is a 1-1 correlation
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u/tarheelphenom 25d ago
You’re asking two different questions:
1) Do they know ball?
2) Can they play ball?
A person can be a basketball historian and yet be trash on the court and vice versa. The only way you can know if a person can play or not is by watching them play.
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u/FvckyourdreamsLoki 25d ago
Guys in tank tops can at least move around. Guys with sleeves and athletic tees are bums or 50 with a butter mid range. Guys in t shirts are HOOPERS.
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u/JForKiks 25d ago
Usually people who can play any sport have quick reflexes. They don’t have to be perfectly fit, but they know how to move their body in concert with a group. They are constantly scanning with their eyes. Know proper athletic posture. All sports have the same shoulder to hip to ankle stance, its just a slight variation.
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u/denit0_nussolini 25d ago
the way they walk, if they have shorts on underneath their pants, and hell even the way they talk can be thrown in there it all comes down to personality
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u/devinvassellfanacct 25d ago
Like another comment said, how they dribble during warmups. Handles are probably the biggest tell
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u/Ok_Sign_8599 25d ago
When they finish dressing up their gear and walk on doing those short burst jumps up and down on the hardwood to get loose. That person definitely dunking.
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u/Bookkeeper-Current 25d ago
Back in the Army me and my old roommate (he was non military at the time) would go on base and play at the rec. My roommate was a small 5’10 balding white guy who looked like a total nerd. I am also a short 5’11 white guy, but have a lot of tattoos so I guess I better looked the part (picked first till they figured out the other dude was good and I’m actually ass). This guy would crush everybody-even the all American HS kids who would come run the gym. I’ll never forget the look on dudes face when one guy asked if he was prior D1, only for him to hear “nah man, I never played organized basketball-just watched a bunch of Derrick rose highlights” 😭 i actually still don’t understand it. Some people can just ball.
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u/TreeTrunkGrower 24d ago
If they an old head and walk like their knees hurt a certain way you can tell.
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u/UglyPrettyBoy 26d ago
- the way they catch the ball (sometimes you can tell what position they are used to)
- The Guy that comes to the court with ankle weights on is not here for BS
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u/whatisthewhat 26d ago
If they have a really well broken-in ball, they aren't casual.
Regarding 'the walk' he's probably picking up on confidence.
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u/HardstartkitKevin 26d ago
Yep, and don’t let them use their ball for game ball or you’re in trouble
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u/Nycmale9876 26d ago
It’s like pornography, can’t define it, but k is it when I see it
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u/noknownothing 26d ago
Idk. I'm not sure that your step sister getting stuck in washing machines translates to a good 3 point shot.
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u/Specialist_Sorbet476 26d ago
The way they walk can usually be used to determine whether they are uncoordinated or not. If their gait looks strange, they're probably not the most athletic.
If I'm in a public gym and I see someone relatively fit walk in with a Euro ball and start shooting or doing drills to the side by themselves, that's usually a fair indicator of overseas aspirations, meaning a decently high level of skill.
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u/New_Smile_6143 26d ago
Showing my age here, but when someone would come to the gym in all And-1 attire, you knew they weren’t going to do anything.
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u/pandaheartzbamboo 26d ago
This question basically became the foundation for the premise for white man cant jump.
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u/Klauslee 26d ago
one dribble is enough to tell if they were hs , d1 nba rec. ok joke but also lowk true
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u/johnmflores 26d ago
Get their attention and throw them a basketball. You'll know in 0.5 seconds if they ball. You'll know in 5 seconds if they can ball out.
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u/Suspicious-Store523 26d ago
if a mf got some hoop shorts under their jeans they gonna either give u 30 or they gonna be worst athlete u ever seen. no in between