For many, sitting down during basketball season to watch the incredible skills the players display as they run, jump, and shoot is the highlight of their week. These incredible moves are what makes seeing the game so enjoyable. If you’re one of those folks, and the question, “how much do you have to practice to get that good?” frequently crosses your mind, then you’ve come to the right place.

Putting aside the amount of time a player practiced to gain a place on the team, here is a breakdown of the hours spent practicing during the season for the average professional basketball player—male or female. 

On an off day, a professional player will do conditioning drills for two hours the minute they finish breakfast. These are sports-specific exercises that prepare the player for the movements they are expected to perform in games. Afterward, they will have sports injury therapy or general therapy to help prevent injuries during practice or games. 

Next is lunch— at 3 p.m. Once plates are empty, it’s time to analyze plays with the coach and teammates on film. Following that is dinner, maybe some weight training, and then straight to bed for a good night’s sleep. This is how the day goes for star players in the NBA. 

If you want to know more about how a practice session runs for the average basketball amateur, read more to view website and it should give you an idea of the training process. 

The schedule for a game day runs differently to off days because it is impossible to fit in long training hours when a game is to be played. Players will still rise early enough to lift weights for an hour at 8 a.m. Then they run through some conditioning until 11 a.m. or so. After that, a specially prepared lunch will be eaten to maximize energy and strength. 

After lunch, game footage will be analyzed for around 2 hours, and then it’s time to practice shots until 5 or 6 p.m. A balanced meal is eaten afterward, then the player is transported to the game. They usually start at approximately 7 p.m. although National games can start as late as 8.

The usual game will carry on until 10 or 10.30 and afterward it is straight to press interviews. For someone like Kobe Bryant, the hours are even more intense. He is always needed to be interviewed after all of his games, and there are witnesses to the fact that he would practice from 11 in the morning to 6 in the evening on game days, and then go off and compete in the game – and win. 

This is the finest display of what it takes to get to the top and stay at the top of your game, for as long as he did. Keep in mind that while all this sounds like it leaves little time for, well, life outside of basketball, this is only during the active season.