To be a good basketball coach you must constantly be evolving. You will need to continuously learn new methods and techniques. As the great John Wooden once said,
“If I am through learning, I am through.”
I have spent more than 20 years playing basketball. If arguably the greatest basketball coach ever has that mentality then you know how important it is for success. No matter how much knowledge you have learned in the past, you will never know it all.
A great way to learn or continue learning the game of basketball is to hear what others have to say and have learned about the game. Basketball coaching books can provide a good perspective on different strategies that can assist you in your own coaching.
Quick Navigation
1. Wooden on Leadership: How to Create a Winning Organization
3. Basketball Drills, Plays and Strategies: A Comprehensive Resource for Coaches
5. Basketball Coaching: A Multiple Option System Based on Bill Self and the Kansas Jayhawks
6. Basketball Playbook How to Coach the Offense of the San Antonio Spurs
7. Basketball Coaching: How to Coach the Dribble Drive Motion Offense
8. Game Strategies and Tactics For Basketball: Bench Coaching for Success
9. NBA Coaches Playbook: Techniques, Tactics, and Teaching Points
10. Basketball on Paper: Rules and Tools for Performance Analysis
Who Should Get This
Coaching basketball can be lots of fun but also very demanding. Whether you are helping out with your kid’s youth league team or you are a professional basketball coach, you will definitely need help along the way. All coaches at any level should be continuously learning the game and basketball books are a great resource to help you evolve as a coach.
Whether you are looking for help with new plays, new coaching philosophies, or new coaching styles there is always something new that you can pick up along the way. Even if you read a book and find that you don’t like the style of play that it describes, it can help you recognize a specific offense another team is using in a game and help you to instruct your team how to defend against it.
The majority of basketball coaching books out there have good content and something that everyone can learn from. Below is our list of some of the best basketball coaching books. Take a look at them and read as many as you can. You can never have too much knowledge.
Top Picks of Best Basketball Coaching Books in 2022
This is a list of great coaching books – some cover leadership, style of play, and/or offensive and defensive strategies – that you will benefit from no matter your skill or experience level. These are in no particular order and I would recommend reading as many of them as you can.
Coach Wooden is one of the greatest coaches of all time and the epitome of a winner. This book is about leadership, how to lead your team and how to create leaders on your team. This book is not only good for basketball but for any sport and even for business or life in general. This is just one of a number of John Wooden books and I would recommend reading any of his books if you have a chance.
If you are planning on coaching your kid’s youth league team, this is a great book to help you get started. It’s essentially a coaching 101 guide and it will help you plan for all aspects of coaching such as how to handle practices, drills, and game situations. If you are already coaching a youth league and you feel lost, this book can help you get back on track.
If you have the basics of coaching down, this book can help you take things to the next level. Whether you are instructing beginners or seasoned players, this is a great resource for practice drills, plays, and strategies. This can also be a great refresher if you have been out of the game for a while and are getting back into coaching.
This is one you might want to keep with you on the sideline It has almost 200 plays for almost any situation. Whether you are a seasoned coach or a beginner, you will find this book to be a great resource. This book is like a swiss army knife for coaching.
This is an advanced coaching book and meant for someone who is already very familiar with the game of basketball. It teaches an offensive system based on the system used by Bill Self, coach of the Kansas Jayhawks.
This is another advanced coaching book that teaches basketball philosophy, drills, plays and more. It is based on the system used by the San Antonio Spurs. Not only does it present drills and plays, but it explains details about how and why they should be used.
This advanced coaching book teaches the dribble drive motion offensive system. This system is positionless so it can be adapted to fit any type of player. It is similar to the system used by the Golden State Warriors.
This is a great book that focuses on basketball strategy. It does not go over specific plays or the Xs and Os. It is an intermediate level book that focuses on tips and tricks to help you win games.
Get insights from NBA coaches with this book. It gives details on the Xs and Os of many concepts and plays used by some great NBA coaches and players.
Take a look inside the number and statistics of basketball and learn how to use them to improve your coaching decisions. This book doesn’t provide plays or drills but it helps you learn how to use statistics to put your best players on the floor and put them in winning situations.
Tips and Resources
As I mentioned at the beginning of this list, I would recommend reading anything written by or about Coach John Wooden. He was a real coaching genius and his philosophies go well beyond basketball. If you want to find out more about Coach Wooden and what others have learned from him, take a look at this documentary short called “Coach: The Life and Legacy of John R. Wooden”.
You can also read our selected list of best basketball coaching apps, so you can learn on the go.
Also Read:
Final Words
As you can see there are numerous basketball coaching books out there for all different levels of coaching. There are also books that cover many different areas such as leadership, strategies, and systems. There are even detailed books that give you plays for any situation.
If you are a basketball coach at any level, it is important to continue learning as much as you can about the game of basketball. The books we have listed above provide a variety of subjects that can help any coach improve their game. If you want to become a serious coach who can lead a basketball team to greatness, I would recommend reading as many basketball books as you can
Do you have any good basketball book recommendations? Give us some feedback and let us know what you think.
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