6 Essential Leg Exercises for Basketball Players

Basketball is a celebrated sport across the globe. It's a sport that demands power and strength from the entire body.

If you’re a basketball player, you will know how important it is to have strong legs that can push you across the court and launch you into the air during games. Basketball conditioning involves a lot of leg work apart from upper body and midsection.

Amongst the go-to leg exercises for basketball players, most are quite easy and can be performed by just about anyone. Training the legs is important for speed, agility, and power. Everything else is secondary.

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Leg Exercises for Basketball Players

Here are the six best exercises for basketball players to strengthen their legs. These exercises target various muscle groups in the legs to enable you to run faster, jump higher, and improve your reflexes.

Perform these exercises for 3-4 sets of 12-15 reps each. On that note, let's get started:

#1 Squat Jump

It's done as follows:

• Stand straight with your feet just below your hips.
• Squat down to the ground, and jump straight up into the air, extending your knees and hips fully.
• Land with soft knees on the ground, and get into your next rep.

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#2 Seated Box Jump

It's done as follows:

• Sit down towards the edge of a box, placing your feet flat hip-distance apart and knees bent.
• Stand up explosively to launch yourself into the air from the seated position.
• Land with soft knees, and sit down for your next rep.

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#3 Lateral Lunge

Here's how it's done:

• Stand straight, and open your feet wide beyond shoulder-width. Keep them flat, with toes pointed forward.
• Drive your right knee forward to lower your body towards the floor. Keep your left leg straight, and get your right thigh parallel to the floor.
• Push yourself back up to the starting position, and repeat it on your left leg.

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#4 Forward Lunge

It's done as follows:

• Stand straight with your feet together.
• Take a step forward with your right leg, and drive that knee forward, pushing your left knee to the ground.
• Raise yourself back up by pushing from your right leg, and bring it back next to the left.
• Repeat it on the other leg.

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#5 Overhead Squat

Here's how it's done:

• Hold a barbell in your hands, and raise it up over your head, keeping your arms straight.
• Stand straight with your feet below your hips.
• Maintaining the barbell overhead, push your hips back. Drive your knees forward to squat down towards the floor, getting your thighs parallel to the floor.
• Push yourself back up to the starting position.

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#6 Single Leg RDL

It's done as follows:

• Stand straight with your feet close together. Bend your right leg, and hold it up behind you.
• Hinge forward at your hip, straightening your right leg out behind you and getting your torso parallel to the ground.
• Raise your upper body back up, and bring your right leg forward again to return to the starting position.

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Takeaway

Add the aforementioned exercises to your lower body routine at least twice a week for the best results. Don’t forget that nutrition and recovery are also important to ensure your muscles are conditioned to perform at their absolute best. Stay consistent, and practice regularly.