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How to become the best basketball dribbler
5 Drills To Help You Become a Better Dribbler
Basketball Tip
The better you are at dribbling, the more opportunities you and your team will have on the court. Players who take time to work on the basics and master the fundamentals are the ones who go further and can contribute more to their team. Dribbling is one of the easiest skills to practice because it does not require a court, a partner, or much space. The more time you spend with a ball in your hand the better your ball control will be, but the only way to improve and go to the next level, is to practice outside of your comfort zone. This means you should experiment and go faster or harder than you are used to. If you only practice the skills you are comfortable with, you will slow your progress as a player. Here are five stationary drills that our Brooklyn Nike Basketball Camp Director TJ Jones uses at his complete skills basketball camp.
When first starting out make sure that you are using your fingertips and not the palm of your hand, and that you are bouncing the ball no further than waist height. The goal of these drills is to become comfortable dribbling with both hands and to not look down. An easy trick to keep your head up is to find a spot on a wall and focus on this spot when dribbling. When going through each of these drills, imagine the game scenario you would use them in or what skill they can help you improve.
Front V-Dribble
The front V-dribble is used for in and out fake moves and can help you get around a defender. Start by only using your right hand and dribble the ball side-to-side in front of your body. This should make a V. Your upper body should move with the rhythm and the ball should go side to side. Switch over to your left hand and repeat.
Figure Eight Dribble
Widen your stance and dribble the ball in a figure eight around both of your legs. As the ball moves from one side to the other side, you will switch your hand. The one hand that is not in use should be between your legs, ready to make the switch as soon as possible. As your dribbling gets faster, your dribbles should get lower and lower.
Scissors
This drill practices alternating between your legs. To get started put your right foot in front, and your left foot behind. Cross the ball between your legs and jump to switch the position of your feet so your left is in front and your right is behind. You should pass the ball between your legs, and after each time you should switch your feet position. Try to become faster and faster as you progress over time.
Dribble Behind the Back and Crossover
This drill requires 2 basketballs. With a ball in each hand, pound the balls 3 times, at the same time, on each side of your body. Then, pass one ball behind your back, and one in front to the opposite hand. Once you have passed the balls to the other side, pound the balls 3 times again and repeat. Make sure to change the direction after 5 times. As time progresses, see how fast you can do this drill.
Freestyle
Use what you learned above and your own moves, and in a stationary position, combine them together. Make sure to maintain your ball control with freestyle and not to forget the fundamentals.
Remember to not be discouraged if you mess up at first. Just like everything in life and in basketball, new skills take time and hard work to master. Try practicing these 5 drills each day, and to see how you progress over the course of your training. Check out more basketball drills and tips and join TJ Jones and his camp staff this winter, spring and summer in Brooklyn at a Nike Basketball Camp.
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5 Things You Need To Know To Be a Great Ball Handler
By Jeff Haefner
You can be an extremely effective ball handler by knowing and practicing 5 things. Most players and coaches make
things too complicated. But dribbling effectively is simple. You don't need lots of moves. You just need EFFECTIVE moves.
Here's all you need to know to be effective at any level.
1 - You need to develop a feel for the basketball.
Developing a feel for the ball consists of drills that are stationary and slow moving. You will improve your hand-eye coordination, hand quickness, ambidexterity, throwing, catching and other important aspects of ball handling.
These drills consists of the Maravich series, one-ball dribbling, one-ball dribbling through cones, two-ball dribbling, two-ball dribbling through cones, tennis ball dribbling, and the Steve Nash passing series.
These drills are also great to put at the beginning of your warm up as a stepping stone to more intense drills.
A huge mistake that many players and coaches make is that they spend too much time on this. While it is important, especially for beginners, limit yourself to 5 to 6 minutes of each practice. The reasoning is that you can get very good at these drills, but you neglect the components below, you won't have the ability to handle game situations. If you can dribble 3 basketballs while juggling 5 tennis balls at the same time, it looks cool and it is a neat circus trick that is great for marketing, but it is a circus trick. It is not going to make you a better basketball player. The majority of your ball handling should be functional which means that they simulate game-like situations. Can you get down the court in 3 to 4 dribbles with either hand? Can you stop on a dime? Can you change speed and change directions like Chris Paul?
If you are able to dribble 3 balls and juggle 5 tennis balls at the same time, I would say that your hand-eye coordination, dexterity, and hand quickness are extremely good and you probably don't need to focus on them any more. You probably should spend more time on shooting, footwork, athleticism, and functional ball handling.
2 - You must be able to dribble the ball down the court at any speed (all the way from walking up to sprinting) with both hands with your head up.
Pretty simple but important, right? You can simply dribble up and down the court at different speeds.
3 - You must be able to change your pace.
It's good to incorporate change of pace in your dribbling drills.
Chris Paul is the
expert at changing speeds (pace). That allows him to get the defender off balance.
Practice changing the pace from walking, slow, medium, fast, and full speed. You can change the pace from slow to fast, medium to full speed, and any
other combinations you can imagine.
4 - You must be able to dribble while moving backwards.
So now instead of going forward, you need to be able to back out of traffic and so on. That's where the
back up dribble comes into play.
Simply, get in a position where you are protecting the ball and shuffle forwards and backwards up and down the court.
Next, you can practice running forward at a faster speed, come to hockey stop, and shuffle a couple of steps backwards.
Mix it up so you can handle any situation.
5 - You must have a primary dribble move and a counter dribble move.
If you perfect a go-to move that's very difficult to stop, good defenders will adjust to stop it. That's when you add your counter move to completely
keep the defender guessing.
I prefer the cross over as the primary move and the inside out as the counter move. You might use the hesitation move and the crossover.
That's it! Perfect those five things and when it comes to dribbling, you'll have the dribbling ability to handle almost any situation. Should you also
practice other things for ball handling? Sure. Now do you need apply the technical skills to competitive drills to handle game situations like transition, ball screens, handling traps, etc.? Yes. Do you need to improve your athleticism to make you a better player in every aspect of your game? Yes. But I'm telling you, that these are five extremely effective methods to give you the technical skill to handle any situation.
You can use the back up dribble all the time -- you use it when approaching a trap, when approaching defensive traffic, when getting cut off in the lane, when breaking the press, when breaking a player down one on one, etc.
You can then incorporate the cross over in lots of situations. If you advance the ball and get cut off you can back up dribble and then cross over to break down your man and blow by him. You can cross over to change directions and bring the ball to the other side of the court. You can cross over to the passing angle to your teammate. You can cross over to split a ball screen. You can cross over on the fast break to get by the defender. You can cross over to eventually set up your counter move (the inside out). So next time instead of crossing over, fake out the defender by giving the inside out move and then blow by the defender.
You still need to practice a lot, but I think this will simplify your life greatly by focusing on a few really effective dribbling techniques instead of
trying to practice all kinds of moves and techniques that don't really help. The techniques above are the the most effective dribbling moves that I know.
How To Become A Great Ball Handler
If you'd like to become a great ball handler, check out the Progressive Ball Handling & Footwork Workouts App.
It provides a step-by-step process with professionally designed videos and workouts. It has over 200 drills and 24 levels of workouts.
What do you think? Please leave your thoughts and comments below.
Team Offense Against Personal Pressing
Against Personal Pressing, one must operate on the edge of error, allowing the most technical dribbler to take the ball into the frontcourt. For most good dribblers, this will not be difficult. If it is difficult for the best dribbler to do this, his role can be filled by a mobile partner, usually the second player in the back row or an attacker who is guarded by a weaker defender. Against personal pressure, the dribbler must use direction changes and turns.
A good dribbler can beat most defenders one-on-one when moving the ball into the frontcourt. If he is attacked by two people in this zone, he must try to pass the ball to the post player. The center can cover the ball and make a quick pass, most often to a player passing on the far side of the ball or back to the player who passed the ball to the center.
Players need to know the rules of personal pressure defense all over the court in order to be ready to overcome it. Most often, personal pressure defense is used to be able to intercept the ball, as well as to cause active defensive pressure on the best player using the technique of group tackling the ball, which forces the attackers to play the ball through a less technical player. This defense tires the player coming out to receive the ball, causing errors. Pressure all over the court while defending with personal pressure leads to a violation of the 10 second rule.
Offensive against personal pressure across the court with the best dribbler (dia. 193). Players 3, 4 and 5 move forward. Player 1, the best dribbler, drops the ball from behind the endline to player 2 (1). He immediately returns the ball to player 1 (2). Both players use distractions before going out to receive the ball. Player 1 takes the ball to the frontcourt using turns and covering the ball with his body. Player 2 walks away. Players 1 and 2 can switch places.
Entering the ball into the frontcourt by a technically tall player (fig. 19four). Player 2, the most technical, is heavily covered by defenders 1 and 2.
Player 1 cannot pass the ball to him. Player 5 is guarded by a weak defender. Player 4 makes a diverting motion towards the ball and goes to the frontcourt. Player 3 makes a feint to move towards the ball and breaks into the center as if to receive the pass. Player 1 moves behind the endline so that the backboard does not interfere with the throw-in. Player 5, who is guarded by a weak defender, takes a step towards the opponent's basket and dashes back, receiving the ball from player 1. Now the players have cleared the area for player 5 to dribble, and it is difficult to attack him together. Once it is safe, player 5 will pass the ball to point guards 1 or 2 in the frontcourt.
Backcourt screen against personal pressure all over the court (dia. 195). Player 1 throws the ball into play from behind the endline. Players 4 and 5, located at the center line, make a feint to move towards the ball and take their defenders to the frontcourt. Player 2 crosses the 3 second zone and sets up a screen for Player 3. Player 3 y-rolls past the screen and receives a pass from Player 1 (1). If the defenders switch, player 1 can pass the ball to player 2 (2) who opens after setting the screen. When switching, player 2 can be left alone with a slow defender if player 3 is guarded by a winger. With the right turn after the screen, a three-on-two situation can arise. Player 1 moves behind on a safety net.
"I have an answer for every action." Kyrie Irving is the best dribbler in NBA history - Don't Play Basketball - Blogs It's not just about increasing the chances of the Nets championship, the demonstrative inconsistency of the actions of the club's management and other global processes associated with the perception of the personality of the king of NBA conspiracy theories. It's just that Kairi is one of the Association's most spectacular players, the one who, by his presence on the court, turns the team's dozens of possessions into an attacking attraction of unprecedented generosity. And now he is with us again.
Portland's head coach Chauncey Billups recently called Irving "the most skilled point guard in history," stressing that it's all about skill and skill. With the 2004 champion in Detroit, who was also known as a pretty skilled first number, of course, you can argue. Even in the modern league, there are competitors who shoot better, although the Kyrie collection has last year's season with an elite 50-40-90 percentage line for field goals, a three-point arc and a free throw line, respectively; there are those who are much stronger in the draw; there are plenty of defenders who outnumber the Australian-born basketball player defensively.
However, the Brooklyn star is indeed famous for at least one unique skill, the likes of which may never have been seen in the NBA, not only among defensemen, but also in other positions: Irving has the best dribbling in the history of the game .
Mastery of possession of the ball, the number of deceitful movements and the quality of their execution - all this has already been encountered by other athletes. But the way Kairi uses the full arsenal of skills at every single moment in time and especially before the end is unprecedented.
A few years ago, dribbling in the 2011 draft was compared to Stephen Curry's dribbling. “These guys are on another level. Even I didn’t have the ball like they did, ”Allen Iverson spoke about the defenders. Yet time has highlighted the differences between the two stars.
In Steph's hands, ragged dribbling has always been a means of creating comfortable conditions for shooting - the main weapon of the leader of the Golden State. It is noticeable that Curry now resorts to dribbling much less often, as with experience he has learned to better find space to complete: through relentless movement, vision of the court and trust in playmaker Draymond Green.
For Irving, skillful dribbling has no definite end goal. He uses feints as a natural response to any opponent's action: an outstretched hand, an incorrect rotation of the body, a loss of concentration.
“I want everyone to understand that the exchange movements I make are simple movements. I do them at a pace as a response to something. These movements are used only when certain circumstances arise in front of me, when someone tries to create problems for me. In this case, I always change the speed and direction of movement in order to unbalance the opponent.
I have an answer to any action ,” Irving explained.
What we mean by the most beautiful cascades of tricks, in the case of Kairi, is an indispensable continuation of his usual dribbling: someone during the pass can ram half of the opponent’s line-up with his shoulder and body, but Irving is able to circle the entire other five, starting from his half. Yes, sometimes to the detriment of teamwork, where a timely transfer is no less valuable. But now the 188-centimeter basketball player plays for Steve Nash's Nets, and there is no better training ground for demonstrating individual talents.
“He uses both hands, plays smart and imaginative. Kairi constantly changes speed to make people lose their balance. He has an uncanny ability to move in a certain direction, stop abruptly on a piece of ground, move the ball from left to right, right to left, and still maintain balance and overcome protection. His actions are unpredictable. You just don't know what he's going to do next," Steph said.
Irving learned in the eighth grade of school that advanced driving skills give an undeniable advantage. For years he practiced all sorts of basketball elements with his father, Drederick, who had previously played professionally in Australia. " Don't adapt to the ball, let the ball adapt to you ,” Irving Sr. shouted at training.
“Everyone asks what I did as a child to learn how to dribble like that. I always answer that at first I just trained the usual movements: crossovers, transfers under the legs and behind the back. Then he worked on combinations of elements in one-on-one situations. All on their own. In this way, I found answers to each individual action of the enemy, I was always ready to carry out a sequence of not only two deceptive movements, but also three, four, five - no matter how much it took.
Always keep a few moves in reserve just in case. Let the defense try to guess. I don't want the guys to be able to watch the cut video and see what I do next. If they guessed my intentions, I made two or three more moves to beat them. That's what I learned," Irving recalled.
Before playing his first game in the NBA, Kyrie began working with coach Mike Lancaster, who had already worked with 15 players in the league, including Dwyane Wade. Lancaster's idea was to make every workout harder than the game by using excessive pressure and chaos.
“I wanted Kairi to focus more on being able to use both hands, not only in direct dribbling, but also in defending the ball with his free hand. So that he more actively interferes with the defenders while he dribbles. We also focused a lot on his legs, trying to transfer the student style of playing to professional basketball with the help of footwork,” said the coach.
One of Irving's challenges in 2011 was practicing the hard stop, an especially important skill in a league where you don't have much space.
“He's always been good at changing pace, so we've been concentrating on stopping, which used to be difficult for him. Now he is able to hit the brakes at any second.
Many players are able to gradually slow down: like a car from 60 mph to 40, then from 40 to 20, from 10 to 0. But he learned to slow down, like from 60 to 0 all at once. I think this is what really really sets him apart from others: not only his arms, but also legs, with the help of which he instantly stops and changes direction ,” Mike assured.
Footwork also allowed the basketball player to feel confident near the ring. Turns with the ball, the ability to squeeze between players or jump back make him as unpredictable in a crowded "paint" as in free space. Last season, the Nets defenseman hit nearly 60% of shots within 2.5 meters of the rim.
“I can get to the right spot with one hit of the ball to the floor, or I can do without dribbling at all. Ball possession is complemented by footwork. I realized that I perform much more effectively when I work intensively not only with my palms, but also with my feet. Then I get to deceive opponents with a movement of the head and shoulders, even with the look of , ”Irving admitted.
In 2012, Kairi helped prepare for the 2012 London Olympics for the US national team and took part in the training of the national team. Even then, Kevin Durant and Kobe Bryant experienced his ability to beat on themselves.
Irving's skills were appreciated even by the main showman of the NBA at the turn of the millennium - Jason Williams, nicknamed White Chocolate:
“I think Kairi is the best dribbler in history. He is able to get to any point on the court and uses the slightest gaps in the defense. He is very fast and also finishes with both hands.”
After each training session with teammates, the defender spends another 15-20 minutes individually and perfects his control over the ball. Basically, such classes are aimed at increasing the speed of the hands and working out new combinations of movements. Often, after two or three tricks, Kairi stops and makes a jump shot. The same happens 10-15 minutes before the start of the pre-match preparation of the team. Irving asks the trainers to defend against them and tries new tricks. Ideas for playing out do not always come from practice, often they arise in the imagination of a basketball player.
As the ball moves from one side to the other side, you will switch your hand. The one hand that is not in use should be between your legs, ready to make the switch as soon as possible. As your dribbling gets faster, your dribbles should get lower and lower. 
Make sure to change the direction after 5 times. As time progresses, see how fast you can do this drill. 
Most players and coaches make
things too complicated. But dribbling effectively is simple. You don't need lots of moves. You just need EFFECTIVE moves.
While it is important, especially for beginners, limit yourself to 5 to 6 minutes of each practice. The reasoning is that you can get very good at these drills, but you neglect the components below, you won't have the ability to handle game situations. If you can dribble 3 basketballs while juggling 5 tennis balls at the same time, it looks cool and it is a neat circus trick that is great for marketing, but it is a circus trick. It is not going to make you a better basketball player. The majority of your ball handling should be functional which means that they simulate game-like situations. Can you get down the court in 3 to 4 dribbles with either hand? Can you stop on a dime? Can you change speed and change directions like Chris Paul?
But I'm telling you, that these are five extremely effective methods to give you the technical skill to handle any situation.
For most good dribblers, this will not be difficult. If it is difficult for the best dribbler to do this, his role can be filled by a mobile partner, usually the second player in the back row or an attacker who is guarded by a weaker defender. Against personal pressure, the dribbler must use direction changes and turns. 
This defense tires the player coming out to receive the ball, causing errors. Pressure all over the court while defending with personal pressure leads to a violation of the 10 second rule. 
Player 3 makes a feint to move towards the ball and breaks into the center as if to receive the pass. Player 1 moves behind the endline so that the backboard does not interfere with the throw-in. Player 5, who is guarded by a weak defender, takes a step towards the opponent's basket and dashes back, receiving the ball from player 1. Now the players have cleared the area for player 5 to dribble, and it is difficult to attack him together. Once it is safe, player 5 will pass the ball to point guards 1 or 2 in the frontcourt. 
When switching, player 2 can be left alone with a slow defender if player 3 is guarded by a winger. With the right turn after the screen, a three-on-two situation can arise. Player 1 moves behind on a safety net. 
With the 2004 champion in Detroit, who was also known as a pretty skilled first number, of course, you can argue. Even in the modern league, there are competitors who shoot better, although the Kyrie collection has last year's season with an elite 50-40-90 percentage line for field goals, a three-point arc and a free throw line, respectively; there are those who are much stronger in the draw; there are plenty of defenders who outnumber the Australian-born basketball player defensively. 
Then he worked on combinations of elements in one-on-one situations. All on their own. In this way, I found answers to each individual action of the enemy, I was always ready to carry out a sequence of not only two deceptive movements, but also three, four, five - no matter how much it took. 
So that he more actively interferes with the defenders while he dribbles. We also focused a lot on his legs, trying to transfer the student style of playing to professional basketball with the help of footwork,” said the coach. 
