If you’re on this post, then you’re probably curious about what the old man game is and why you should add it to your skillset. First off, the old man game is a style of basketball that uses simple moves and patience rather than flash and athleticism.
Second, you should add it to your game because it’ll diversify what you can do on the court.
You can still be flashy, but there will be times when you need to slow it down and just use the fundamentals of basketball. You’ll also reach a point in your career when the majority of what you’ll be able to do will only be the fundamentals.
That’s one reason why it’s important.
Here are 7 more reasons why you should add the old man game to your skillset:
1) Only Need to Master a Few Moves
Bruce Lee once said, “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.”
This philosophy can also be applied to basketball. Now, you’re not going to just learn and master one move. This would just be silly. But you’re also not going to learn hundreds.
You only need to be a master of a few. And by adding the old man game, you’ll be able to do this.
In the later years of Kobe Bryant’s career, he said somewhere that he only has 3 moves (I couldn’t find the clip or article, so you just have to believe me on this one). He didn’t specify the moves, but I’m pretty sure they are his mid-range jumper, his turnaround fade-away, and his post-up.
These were his go-to moves. They’re simple, old man moves that he used over and over again to win championships and gain accolades.
So, pick 2 or 3 fundamental basketball moves and master them. These will be your go-tos when you can’t charge in and attack the basket.
2) Forces You to Play Smart Rather Than More Athletic
What would you rather do? Expend a ton of energy and score 30 points with a really bad field goal percentage, or play a smart, slow, boring game and score 20 points with a high field goal percentage?
I personally would go with the second option.
Why? Because I’m old! I don’t have a lot of energy to use.
But jokes aside, being efficient and smart is better than being flashy and explosive. It’s better to score consistently with a high clip than it is to score inconsistently with a bad percentage.
Just look at guys like Richard Hamilton and Klay Thompson. Their game isn’t flashy at all but yet, they’re both big contributors on their teams. They’re also All-Stars and champions. And they achieved all this by implementing a simple offensive game –moving without the ball to get open and then catching and taking open shots.
That’s it.
You rarely ever see them putting the ball onto the hardwood and busting out crazy dribble combinations.
That’s why I’d rather use the old man game and its moves. They are pretty simple to do (once you have practiced them a bunch) and if you’re good at them, you’ll make most of your shots without burning a lot of energy.
3) Something You Can Use when you’re Older
It is true that when you get older, you lose your athleticism.
You won’t be able to run as fast or jump as high. That’s why mastering the core fundamentals (as well as a couple of specific old man moves) when you’re young is very important.
You don’t want to one day go to the gym and realize that it hurts when you play basketball. You also don’t want to randomly realize that your game is ineffective.
You want to be able to enter a game, play like how you always do, notice it isn’t working, and then switch up your style to the old man game.
And this can only be accomplished if you work on and develop the boring stuff when you’re young.
So, master the core fundamentals of basketball as soon as possible.
4) Old Man Game Is Easier on Body
The old man game doesn’t require you to be explosive, thus it’ll be easier on the body.
That’s it.
And since it’s easier on the body, you can use said moves many more times than an explosive move (which is good because you’ll have something efficient to rely on).
5) Allows Less Athletic Players to Do Well
When you’re not born with the super genetics of someone like LeBron James or wasn’t gifted the DNA of Greek Gods like Giannis Antetokounmpo, excelling at basketball can be hard.
You can’t attack the lane and dunk on anybody. You also can’t chase anyone down and viciously block them as they drive down an open lane.
But you can move without the ball to get an open shot. You can also use pump/shot fakes to get open looks for mid-range jumpers. High floaters off the backboard are also something you can do. Oh, and you can get your timing down so that you can get steals in the passing lane.
All the mentioned things don’t require you to be a super athlete –you just need to practice them over and over again until you reach mastery. And once you do, you’ll be a really good player.
6) Many Top Players Use the Old Man Game
Kobe Bryant, Michael Jordan, Dirk Nowitzki, Tim Duncan, Dwyane Wade, Vince Carter, Steve Nash, Chauncey Billups, Zach Randolph, Paul Pierce, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Chris Paul, to name a few, all have elements of the old man game in their skills.
7) Fun to be Clever and Outsmart Young Players
Have you ever seen those videos of old men schooling athletic teens with clever basketball moves?
Yeah, that’s happened to me before (except I was in my mid-20s and the old guy was in his 40s). And after that game, I vowed to play like him because it was so funny and effective. Also, I felt like I was getting up there in age too and wasn’t going to be able to play as I did for much longer.
But what does this have to do with you and how you play?
Well, if you get really good at being clever, you can start to school young players when you’re considered old. And it’ll be hilarious!
Just imagine a young bull, like yourself once, disrespecting you and not taking you seriously because you’re old. He doesn’t defend you. Matter fact, he doesn’t even pay attention to you. Every time he gets the ball, he just does stupid things because he feels you can’t do anything to him. But he misses a shot and you were able to grab the rebound.
Now, it’s your turn to show him what you’re all about.
You get up into his body and start backing down. He puts a bit of pressure on you. You feel this and go up for a shot fake. He bites. Then you let him recover and go for another shot fake. He bites again. Now everyone is laughing at him and cheering you on. You have a wide-open shot and you bank it in.
You look down at his blushing face, give him a smirk, and walk off into the sunset.
Wouldn’t that be awesome?
Or you can just learn these moves, get good at them, and then do it your peers. It’ll be just as satisfying.
READ MORE: How to play old man basketball
So that’s 7 reasons why the old man game is necessary. Did this do enough to at least persuade you into learning and mastering one old man basketball move? If so, let me know in the comments below.