Basketball is 90% Mental, 10% Physical

Robert Bernard
Sep 30, 2023
4 min read

Updated: Nov 4

Basketball is often said to be 90% mental and 10% physical, yet most training programs emphasize the 10%. At Be Like David Basketball (BLD), we focus on the 90%—the mental side of the game—because we believe mastery begins with understanding, not just repetition.

We Teach the 90.

BLD is a concept-based learning program, where the bulk of our teaching takes place in online lessons. These lessons educate athletes on the mental aspects of skills and maneuvers, helping them develop a deeper understanding of what, why, and how each element of the game works.

Most basketball training today is overloaded with drills, but drills alone do not teach players the game. Players who engage in mindless repetition without understanding why they are doing something struggle to apply those skills in real games. At BLD, we train players from the inside out, ensuring they grasp the logic behind every movement.

Coach Robert, the founder of BLD, has spent nearly 30 years dissecting basketball at every level—including professional and overseas competition. He has seen how dogmatic, repetitive training dominates youth basketball, leaving players without a true understanding of the game. His mission is to change this narrative by developing thinkers on the court—players who analyze, problem-solve, and act with purpose.

Why Laws & Principles Are the 90%

When you first learned how to play basketball, chances are the very first concept you were introduced to wasn’t a fancy move, a cool drill, or even how to shoot — it was a law.

And not just any law…

The Law of Traveling.

You didn’t learn it from a textbook or a long speech.

You learned it by breaking it.

You caught the ball, took a couple steps, the whistle blew, and suddenly the game stopped. The referee announced the violation, the ball changed possession, and if you were really new, someone — your coach or even the ref — explained exactly what happened.

From that moment forward, a truth imprinted itself in your mind:

You cannot walk with the ball without dribbling.

You learned the law, experienced the consequence, and internalized the correction. Even if you accidentally did it again, the law stuck. Eventually, traveling became something you didn’t even have to think about — it became woven into the fabric of the game.

This is why laws teach better than drills.

The Davidian Method

To teach the mental side of the game, Coach Robert developed the Davidian Method, an associative learning approach based on laws of the court:

At Be Like David, we teach basketball the same way the game itself taught you traveling — through laws and principles, not just drills.

Why? Because the human mind is designed to understand and remember through principles.

A drill tells you what to do.

A law gives you association and choice.

And the brain retains better through association and choice.

When players learn through laws:

✅ They compartmentalize information more clearly

✅ They can recall concepts quickly under pressure

✅ Accountability becomes easier — the law either was or wasn’t followed

✅ They gain a deeper understanding instead of just mechanical repetition

Learning becomes similar to a memory game — a pairing of principle and action.

The law provides the structure.

Your experience provides the reinforcement.

And when players know the law there is a sense of intelligence on display.

This is all healthy for the mind.

This cycle ensures that every lesson leads to practical, lasting improvement. Instead of mindless repetition, players develop a clear, focused mentality on the court—allowing them to play with intention rather than react in confusion.

Why This Approach?

Most players struggle not because they lack talent but because they lack understanding. They forget moves, repeat the same mistakes, and feel overwhelmed in games. This is due to drill-based coaching. Drills are not skills because they don't teach a player to recognize options or opportunities on the court. When you see a player perform an over-drilled maneuver in the wrong context of a game the issue with drills becomes apparent. The truth is, basketball is the same game every game. Elite players recognize patterns, anticipate situations, and use their mental edge to control the game.

Since the same situations reappear each game they can be studied and mastered. There is nothing new under the sun in basketball. That is why this method of teaching works because once a player masters a particular law they will recognize when its application is necessary. That is why skills are not opinions or accidents. They address ever recurring situations and moments on the court! The game of basketball is finite in this way. There is an end to mastery of it. At BLD, we strive to take students to this expected end.

Coach Robert took the saying “Basketball is 90% mental” literally, devoting his career to proving that the game is a mental pursuit, where physical prowess is secondary to decision-making, strategy, and understanding. Like chess or martial arts.

Do We Offer In-Person Tutelage?

Of course!

Before stepping onto the court with Coach Robert, players must first become students by learning online. They must study the law, which is mental practice, that way when they are in the gym it is about doing the law and refining their application of it. Then meet with Coach Robert in a spar session to see your understanding and ability with the law.