Why do Basketball Players Blow on their Hands? Answered!

Warming up properly for any basketball game is necessary to not only avoid injury but to get the body ready to play when it matters. Proper blood flow to the joints helps an athlete to perform the necessary movements that the body needs to. Warm-up is so important that you even see players blowing on their hands.

Why do basketball players blow on their hands? When basketball players are blowing on their hands they are simply trying to warm them up with hot air. They do this for a better feel and grip on the basketball. When you are able to keep the hands warm this will help with blood flow and circulation throughout the body. Blowing on your hands can also provide a better grip and feel of the basketball.

A cold muscle produces less power than a warm one. Sometimes you will even see players blowing hot air on their hands cause they are cold. Doe this have any effect on body temperature.

Reasons why basketball players blow on their hands?

Cold hands are a sign that your body’s heat is in a less than desirable state when it comes to temperature.

This usually means that other areas of the body are also below temperature. Ideally, the body stays at 37°C.

Think of this as the room temperature of your house. When the tempature in your house is cold you turn up the heat or put on a sweater to get the body warm and back to its normal state.

The extremities of our limbs are naturally colder than the rest of our body such as hands feet, fingers and toes.

If your hands are cold then it’s a good sign your other extremities are most likely cold,  like your feet. Joints on the upper and lower body may not be getting the proper amount of blood flow also.

This can often happen after sitting on the bench during a basketball game.

This is also why you see players wearing a full sweatsuit or warmup suit while sitting on the bench, this keeps the body temperature warm from their pre-game warmup. 

Does Blowing on your hands work?

Just like if you were outside on a cold day with no gloves and you’re trying to warm up your fingers we usually cuff our hands together to our mouth and start blowing hot air on them.

It does work, but it also takes some time, it’s not instant, but it’s better than nothing. Let’s take a look at when and why players do this.

Warmup

At the professional level players receive significant time to warm up before a basketball game.

There are often times players are on the court hours before the game to get some shots up.

Shooting enough shots to get in rhythm before the game is the idea. If players are given enough time to warm up why do they need to wear warmup suits, or blow on their hands?

Sitting on the Bench

This is where things are a lot more difficult for players coming off the bench after sitting for a significant amount of minutes.

Getting into the game warm is a task on its own, sitting on the bench while keeping the body warm is difficult.

Sitting too long and the body may go completely cold unable to perform the movements quickly during the basketball game.

It takes a couple of laps up and down the court to get the blood flowing again and the body feeling good.

The older a player is the more difficult it can be to stay warm and loosened up during basketball when not in the game.

Sitting on the bench which in fact isn’t a bench but chairs which are not the most comfortable seats. If your a tall basketball player with knee issues as it is, it can be very uncomfortable.

The reason trainers will put heat pads on players who suffer joint issues is to keep the player’s joints warm during the game so then they are ready when the coach calls them into play.

You will also see players riding an exercise bike when they come out of the game located beside or behind the bench.

The bench is also where you see players blowing on their hands to keep them warm. May as well give them some mittens to wear.

Blowing on your hands for a better feel

Players will often enter the game during a free throw or a turnover in possession and they immediately start blowing on their hands to warm them up to get the feeling back into their fingertips.

This not only warms them up but gives them a better feel of the basketball to shoot when they are in fact ready to do so or dribble.

Simply having warm hands will do wonders for your basketball game. Sometimes players have a hard time with the first few minutes of the game in basketball and they take a while to get going.

Meaning they can’t get a feel of the game. My question to these players would be are you warmed up properly?

A team that does poor in the first quarter consistently each game may need to change their warmup routine to stimulate more in-game scenarios as a warm-up before the game starts.

When the game does officially start it doesn’t feel as different compared to their warmup and they are actually ready to play.

If you can’t feel the basketball on your hands properly when you shoot your power output will be affected also.

You will not be able to feel how much power you need to shoot the basketball to the hoop, this is why often times players are short on their shots when they are not fully warmed up.

Blowing on your hands for better grip

Blowing on your hands helps with feel but with grip also, usually, cold hands are followed with dry and pruney fingers.

If a player is having a hard time gripping a leather basketball, then it may show in their performance. 

This is why many players who at the start of the game or coming off the bench will turn the basketball over quite a bit.

Turning over the ball leading to a score can be the reason your team lost by two points.

It is also why a lot of coaches do not like players who come off the bench shooting three-pointers right away for they are cold while lacking feel and grip.

Having hands that are warm will help easily grip the ball and help you keep the basketball attached to your hand when you dribble.

Being able to have full control is the reason why players will warm up and blow hot air on their hands.

Other ways players try to better grip in basketball

Lick or spit in their hands

Players by habit will sometimes lick or spit into their own hands before shooting a basketball at the free-throw line.

Especially if it’s part of their free-throw routine. I would imagine that this is outlawed in every sport, due to the possibility of a player already having the covid virus for the fear of spreading it on the basketball as every player who touches the ball is in danger of it contracting the virus.

Licking your own hands is pretty disgusting as it with the sweat on your hands already there and to add 10 other guys who already touched the ball you touched and now you’re putting your hand in your mouth.

You are not exactly licking your fingers to turn the page in your favorite book. But we get it a little moisture on the hands to get some grip when they are dry. It’s Still gross.

Chalk

Chalk is another gimmick that players use for gripping the basketball. Recently I did an article on why players use chalk during basketball games, you can find it here!

Lebron James is known for the chalk cloud that he throws up before every game at the scorer’s table.

The more I really think about it the more I believe this all for show and not actually for grip like many believe.

I do think that chalk will absorb the sweat on your hands, I just don’t believe that it’s the best for gripping the ball.

I mean wouldn’t all players use it during timeouts or right before they are about to be subbed back into the game?

Maybe players are banned from using it during the game and only pre-game and halftime.

I don’t know, but this is still something that still goes on and although I have never tried it, I am very curious to see if it actually provides good grip and feel for the basketball.