I Used to Play Basketball in Spanish | Say It Like A Local

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“Antes jugaba al baloncesto” is a natural way to say you played basketball before and don’t anymore.

If you searched for “I Used to Play Basketball in Spanish,” you want a line that sounds normal, not like a word-by-word swap. Spanish gives you a few solid choices, and the best one depends on what you mean by “used to.”

Do you mean it was a regular habit, like every weekend? Do you mean it was true for a stage of life, then stopped? Or do you just mean “back then, I played”? Once you pick that shade of meaning, the Spanish almost picks itself.

I Used to Play Basketball in Spanish for Real Conversations

The most common, low-stress options are these two:

• Antes jugaba al baloncesto. (Back then, I played basketball.)
• Solía jugar al baloncesto. (I used to play basketball, as a habit.)

Both sound natural. Both are widely understood. The difference is where the emphasis lands. Antes points to “back then,” while solía points to “I had the habit.”

Pick the basketball word people use around you

“Basketball” in Spanish changes by country more than many learners expect. You can safely say baloncesto in many places, and it’s the standard dictionary form. The Real Academia Española defines baloncesto as the team sport played with a ball and a basket. See RAE’s definition of “baloncesto” if you want the formal entry.

In daily speech, you’ll also hear básquet and basquetbol in lots of Latin American regions. If your goal is “sounds normal,” match the word your listener expects. The grammar stays the same either way:

• Antes jugaba al básquet.
• Solía jugar basquetbol.

Why Spanish uses the imperfect here

English “used to” often describes a repeated or ongoing past situation with no focus on the start or end. Spanish commonly maps that to the pretérito imperfecto (imperfect past): jugaba, not jugué.

The RAE’s grammar glossary describes the imperfect as an “imperfective” past that doesn’t point to the beginning or end of the situation, which lines up neatly with habits like playing a sport for a period of life. You can read the RAE’s overview at “Pretérito imperfecto de indicativo” (RAE GTG).

So when you say Antes jugaba al baloncesto, the tense choice already hints at a repeated pattern in the past. Then antes adds “back then,” which often implies it’s not true anymore.

When “solía” is the cleanest match for “used to”

If you want the sentence to clearly carry the “habit” meaning without relying on context, soler is your friend:

• Solía jugar al baloncesto.
• Solía entrenar los martes y jueves.

RAE notes that soler is often used in the present and the imperfect precisely because it expresses habitual actions. That note helps explain why solía shows up so often in this exact situation. See RAE’s Diccionario panhispánico de dudas entry for “soler”.

In casual talk, solía can feel slightly more “complete” than just jugaba, since it spells out the habit. If you’re sharing a backstory with someone new, it’s a tidy pick.

Two sentence patterns that cover most situations

Use these as your default templates and swap the details as needed:

1. Antes + imperfecto: “Antes jugaba al baloncesto.”
2. Soler (imperfecto) + infinitivo: “Solía jugar al baloncesto.”

From there, you can add time markers, teams, frequency, and reasons you stopped. That’s where your Spanish starts sounding like a person talking, not a phrasebook.

Common ways to say it and what each one implies

English “I used to play basketball” can land in different ways depending on context. The table below gives you options that cover the most common intentions, from “habit” to “back then” to “as a kid.”

Spanish sentence	When it fits	Notes
Antes jugaba al baloncesto.	You want “back then” with an easy, natural tone.	Often implies you don’t play now, even without saying it.
Solía jugar al baloncesto.	You mean a regular habit in the past.	Clear “used to” feel; sounds tidy in introductions.
De niño jugaba al baloncesto.	You played as a kid.	Adds life stage; works well in storytelling.
Cuando era joven, jugaba al baloncesto.	You mean “when I was younger.”	Pairs naturally with a follow-up about why you stopped.
Antes jugaba al básquet con mis amigos.	You want a casual, local word choice.	Swap básquet/baloncesto by region.
Yo jugaba al baloncesto en el colegio.	You want to anchor it to a place or setting.	“In school” can mean school team or casual play, based on context.
Jugaba al baloncesto casi todos los días.	You want frequency to carry the “habit” meaning.	“Casi todos los días” makes the routine obvious.
Solía entrenar y jugar los fines de semana.	You want both training and games in one line.	Good for someone who played seriously.
Antes jugaba, pero lo dejé.	You want a direct “I stopped.”	Short, clear, and common in speech.

Add details that make the sentence sound real

Once you’ve picked your base sentence, you can add the details people naturally ask about: where, how often, what level, and what changed. These add-ons keep your Spanish from feeling clipped.

Time and frequency add-ons

Drop one of these after your base line:

• los fines de semana (on weekends)
• entre semana (on weekdays)
• casi todos los días (almost every day)
• durante la universidad (during university)
• en el instituto (in high school)

Examples:

• Solía jugar al baloncesto los fines de semana.
• Antes jugaba al básquet casi todos los días.
• Cuando era joven, jugaba al baloncesto en el instituto.

Team, position, and level add-ons

Basketball talk often includes your role. These are easy to slot in:

• Jugaba de base / escolta / alero / ala-pívot / pívot.
• Jugaba en un equipo del colegio.
• Jugaba en una liga local.

Try pairing the role with a short memory:

• Antes jugaba al baloncesto y jugaba de escolta.
• Solía jugar en una liga local con unos amigos.

Say you stopped without sounding dramatic

If the “don’t anymore” part matters, you can say it plainly. These lines stay casual:

• Lo dejé. (I quit / I stopped.)
• Ya no juego. (I don’t play anymore.)
• Hace años que no juego. (I haven’t played in years.)

Examples:

• Solía jugar al baloncesto, pero ya no juego.
• Antes jugaba al básquet. Lo dejé por falta de tiempo.

Small grammar choices that change the meaning

This part is where learners often feel unsure. The good news: you only need a couple of rules to stay on track.

“Jugaba” vs “jugué”

Jugaba (imperfect) fits habits, background, and repeated actions. Jugué (simple past) fits a finished event. So these two lines tell different stories:

• Antes jugaba al baloncesto. (habit over a period)
• Ayer jugué al baloncesto. (a game yesterday)

If you’re describing a former hobby, the imperfect is usually the safer choice.

“Jugaba” vs “solía jugar”

Both can work for “used to.” Pick based on how explicit you want to be:

• Jugaba can sound more conversational and flexible.
• Solía jugar makes the habitual meaning crystal clear.

If you’re speaking with someone who’s also learning Spanish, solía can reduce confusion. If you’re chatting with a native speaker, either one works, so long as the rest of your sentence gives enough context.

Prepositions that trip people up

In many regions, you’ll hear jugar al + sport: jugar al baloncesto. You may also hear jugar + sport without al in casual speech in some places. If you want a safe, widely accepted structure, stick with jugar al.

Person	Imperfect of “jugar”	Example with basketball
Yo	jugaba	Yo jugaba al baloncesto en el colegio.
Tú	jugabas	Tú jugabas al básquet los fines de semana.
Él / Ella / Usted	jugaba	Ella jugaba al baloncesto con sus amigos.
Nosotros / Nosotras	jugábamos	Jugábamos al básquet casi todos los días.
Vosotros / Vosotras	jugabais	Jugabais al baloncesto en la universidad.
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	jugaban	Jugaban al básquet en una liga local.

Mistakes that make the sentence sound off

Some errors show up again and again with this exact phrase. Fixing them once pays off for a lot of Spanish you’ll say later.

Using “usaba” as “used to”

English “used to” is not the same as Spanish usar. Saying “Usaba jugar al baloncesto” sounds wrong to most ears. Use solía or the imperfect instead:

• Solía jugar al baloncesto.
• Antes jugaba al baloncesto.

Forgetting the accent in “solía”

Solía carries an accent mark. In texting, people sometimes skip accents and still get understood. In formal writing, keep it. The accent also helps you read it correctly: so-LI-a.

Overloading the sentence with extra words

Spanish often sounds more natural when you keep the core line short, then add one detail. Compare these two:

• Antes jugaba al baloncesto. Hace años que no juego.
• Antes jugaba al baloncesto en muchas diferentes situaciones con diferentes personas en diferentes canchas…

The first one feels like a person talking. The second feels like someone trying to force every detail into one breath.

Short practice scripts you can reuse

Memorizing one sentence is nice. Getting comfortable in a short exchange is better. Here are a few mini scripts you can run with.

Script for meeting someone new

A: ¿Haces deporte?
B: Antes jugaba al baloncesto, pero ya no juego.
A: ¿En qué posición?
B: Jugaba de escolta.

Script for talking about a routine from the past

A: ¿Qué hacías los fines de semana?
B: Solía jugar al básquet con mis amigos. Jugábamos casi todos los sábados.

Script for adding a reason you stopped

A: ¿Por qué lo dejaste?
B: Lo dejé por falta de tiempo. Ahora hago otras cosas.

One last way to sound natural

If you want a simple, friendly line that works almost anywhere, use Antes jugaba al baloncesto. If you want the “habit” meaning to be unmistakable, use Solía jugar al baloncesto. Then add one small detail: when, where, or who with. That’s the difference between “a translation” and “something you’d actually say.”