3 Basketball Workouts Designed For 3 Different NBA Guards

When designing basketball workouts you need to take into consideration what the player needs to master and what they need to build on.  What I mean by that is if you are a guard that just flat out can’t shoot the basketball then you don’t need to be working on your step back jump shots off the dribble.  You need to first build on your basic spot up shooting.  Once you have developed your shooting ability enough then you can work on mastering it by working on more complicated situations such as step backs.  You also want to take what you allready are good at and work to master that.  My college coach once told me “Find what you’re good at and become great at it,” and that is true.  Even if you look at the highest level of basketball you have players that make millions of dollars to do just one job.  For example, Dennis Rodman mastered rebounding and won championships, Steve Kerr mastered shooting and won championships, and Ron Artest mastered defense and won a championship.

So in this article I am going to breakdown 3 basketball workouts for guards like Stephen Curry, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Paul.  I chose these three players because they are all very different but all play the guard position and I will breakdown how I would workout each player so that you can get an idea on how you should be training yourself.

Stephen Curry’s Basketball Workout

Warmup:

For the warmup I would have Steph do some form shooting and ankle stabilization exercises as we all know he has had many ankle injuries that have hurt his ability to stay on the court.  Form shooting would start in close and eventually have him at the three point line shooting without jumping.  He has a ton of range and one of the main focuses of the workout would be to master that range, so this drill is going to really help him later in the workout to hit those deep shots.

Ball Handling:

Next we are going to get into a quick 15 minute ball handling workout to make sure he is completely warm and to work to improve his handles some.  Curry has good handles, but are not on the level of a player like Chris Paul.  So the main focus of this ball handling section is to improve his dribbling speed, power, and strength.  So we will do 3 different drills:

• 2 Ball Stationary Pound Dribbles
• 2 Ball Full Court Pound Dribbles
• 2 Ball Full Court Control Dribbles

After these 3 drills we will have only used up 15 minutes and his arms are going to be dead and my mission to improve his dribbling power will have been accomplished.

Shooting:

Now it’s time to get into the shooting.  We are about 25 minutes into our 90 minute basketball workout and it’s time to get buckets.

The plan is to get up at least 300 shots here with a focus on improving his range and ability to get his shot off against taller defenders.  We’ll start in close and move our way out and beyond the NBA three point line. Here’s how were starting:

• 25 spot up midrange jump shots
• 30 shots working off a down screen
• 25 shots shooting off the dribble

So all that was done with emphasis on made shots and proper footwork every time.  No extra steps, no bringing the ball down, and no differentiation in shooting mechanics.

Now I would move him out to the three point line and get some more shots up:

• 50 spot up three point jump shots
• 100 shots working with screens (down screens, flare screens, back screens)
• 30 shots shooting out of pick and roll
• 30 shots working out of counters and fakes
• 50 spot up from beyond the NBA three point line

Finally I would end the basketball workout with some drills that combine finishing, shooting, and ball handling all in one and would be very game like and have him running off screens and shooting, then going into a pick and roll with a floater, etc etc…

If you want to see an exact drill that would be perfect for Stephen Curry then share this page and unlock the video below.

Not only does it give you a great drill, but the video breaks down exactly how to execute one of Steph Curry’s favorite moves.

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Dwyane Wade’s Basketball Workout

Warmup:

For Dwyane Wade’s warmup I would use some resistance bands for his upper body and have him do some dynamic stretching as well.  I need him to be ready to go because I am going to go live with him some and like all players he can’t afford to get injured in a skills workout.  I also would have him do some one legged form shooting because he takes alot of off balance shots and so we’ll take this opportunity to practice a little of that.

Ball Handling:

Wade doesn’t have the type of game where he needs to have ball on a string handles.  He does though need to have blow by handles though and be able to utilize different moves to get past his defender.  He also, is a bigger guards and needs to work on playing low when he has the ball.  So we will work to tighten up his dribble moves and at the same time work on staying low.  Here are 3 basketball ball handling drills I’d put him through.

•  Cone pickup ball handling
• Double crossover drill
• Resistance band ball handling

Shooting:

Dwyane Wade is one of the best mid range pull up players in the game so we will work on mastering this and most of his shooting is going to be done out of the dribble.  As a bigger guard he utilizes the post too some so we will make sure to work a little there as well.  Unlike Stephen Curry who runs off alot of screens each game Wade usually operates in 1 on 1 situations and uses his athleticism and size to rise up over defender or out muscle them.  So I’m going to go and get the pad out for him and do some fouling and pushing.  Here is the shooting section of our basketball workout would look like:

• 25 spot up midrange jump shots
• 25 turn around midrange jump shots
• 30 off the dribble pull up hand on hip shots
• 50 spot up NBA three jump shots
• 30 step through jump shots
• 30 off the dribble move jump shots
• 30 post move jump shots

That would be 220 shots.  I next would grab the pad and have him work on attacking the basket and finishing with contact with such moves as:

• The Pro Hop
• The Euro Step
• Floaters

Another move that DWade uses is the reverse pull back dribble.  At the end of the workout I would make sure that we definitely repped out this move as well following the whole philosophy of “find something your good at and become great at it.”

Here is a video that breaks down exactly how to do that move.

Chris Paul’s Basketball Workout:

For this basketball workout I am going to focus on Chris Pauls ability to react to what the defense does, put him through an advanced ball handling workout, and get his floater on point.

Warmup:

Since Chris Paul is a point guard that relies alot on his excellent ball handling we are going to jump right into that in the warmup with him and do some stationary tennis ball stuff.

After that I’d have him just do some full court combo ball handling to make sure he’s warm and then right into the advanced ball handling.

Ball Handling:

• Stationary flat ball dribbling
• Full court tennis ball ball handling
• Full court two ball resistance ball handling

Shooting:

The number of shots taken in this workout is going to be lower than the others because it’s mostly going to be out of the dribble and we still need to do a whole finishing section in this workout.

• 25 spot up midrange jump shots
• 25 spot up NBA three point jump shots
• 30 shots out of the pick and roll
• 30 shots out of a dribble move
• 30 shots out of creating space
• 30 shots out of counters

I then would have him do some drills where he is attacking the basket and has to ready what I do.  For example: If I keep my hand down then he shoots a jumper.  If stay under the basket then he shoots a floater.  I also would have him blow by me with dribble moves and I would hold and foul him to have work on playing against physical defenders.  For the rest of the workout finishing over tall defenders would be a huge focus and I would use a broom to make sure he is getting his shot up high over taller centers.

A great shot for guards to master to finish in the paint is the Floater.

The problem is that like the hook shot, it’s a difficult shot to make.

But if you know a few tricks on how to make it easier and how to do it properly you can really use this to your advantage to score the basketball.

Here is a video on how to shoot a floater:

Conclusion

Even when designing basketball workouts for guards that all play the same position there are many ways to customize the workout to best fit the players needs and style of play.  In the above workouts I show this and although I didn’t give the exact way each drill is to be executed I think you get the idea of what you need to be focusing on in your own training to actually see results on the court.

If you have any questions about any of these basketball workouts please let me know in the comments.