(CRAFT)[I TOOK BOXING OUT A BIG MAN AS A PERSONAL CHALLENGE.]

In high school, we used to do these drills where you had to keep your man from getting the ball or even tapping it. If he got a hand on it, you lost the drill. So it was instilled in me that boxing out was crucial.

Outside of dominating by dint of will, there are physical ways to ensure you gain an advantage while going for a rebound. You want to, obviously, establish a good base and get your body in front of the opposition. But you also want to make sure you get lower than their hips so you can move them and alter their positioning. If you try doing that at the shoulders, it won’t work because they’re stronger at the top. So you want to get beneath them and use your body weight to move them from the waist down.

When most players look at basketball as a competition, they consider scoring and defending. In truth, even this little aspect— boxing out—is a competition within the competition. It’s a competition to see who can get the damn ball. It’s a competition to see who wants it more, and I’m not going to lose that type of battle.