1.1. Possessions
(1) Q: What is the main goal in a basketball game?
A: There are many reasons why people play basketball: to have fun, to have good health, to make friends, to earn money, etc. However if you are trying to win a game, in its simplest form the main goal is to score more points than your opponent at the end of the game.
(2) Q: How do you accomplish this goal?
A: There are many, many things to work on to accomplish this! But to begin, one idea is to break a game down into each of its components. One example of a basic component of a basketball game is called a “possession”.
(3) Q: What is a “possession”?
A: Every time your team has the ball on offense, that is considered an offensive possession for your team (and a defensive possession for your opponent). Every time your opponent has the ball (you are on defense), that is considered a defensive possession for your team (and an offensive possession for your opponent).
(4) Q: When does a possession end/switch?
A: Every time the ball is retrieved by your opponent (either from a turnover, a made basket, or a defensive rebound), the possession ends/switches. (Note: some treat an offensive rebound as a new possession, but for simplicity reasons we will treat it as the same possession).
(5) Q: What is a good way to approach each possession?
A: Each possession can be treated like a “mini” game; there is a winner and a loser. If your team scores on that possession, you win that “mini” game. If your opponent scores on that possession, you lose that “mini” game. The final score is the sum of all the “mini” game scores, or all of the offensive possessions and defensive possessions. If your team wins more possessions than your opponent, you are more likely to win the whole game.
(6) Q: How many possessions are there in a game?
A; This depends on many factors, but for example in the NBA in the 2018-2019 season there were an average of 200 possessions per game (100 offensive possessions and 100 defensive possessions).
(7) Q: How long is each possession?
A: In the NBA, the shot clock is 24 seconds, so the longest offensive or defensive possession will usually be 24 seconds (unless there is an offensive rebound after the ball hits the rim, or a foul under 14 seconds, both of which extends the possession time because the shot clock resets to 14 seconds). The lowest possession time can be much quicker than 24 seconds if the offense shoots very fast, or there is a turnover. In the 2018-2019 season, the average NBA possession time was 14.4 seconds.
(8) Q: Why is breaking a game down into its smaller components, for example each possession, important?
A: Thinking about the entire game can be very overwhelming; instead focusing on each possession allows the mind to be present to accomplish the most immediate goals, and achieve success with each one.
