Home »
Misc »
How to palm a basketball better
How to palm a basketball better
How To Become Better At Palming A Basketball
Michael Jordan is famous for his big hands (even by NBA standards) and he often used his palming ability to his advantage on the court.
It’s also an essential skill in order to be able to consistently dunk a full-sized basketball.
When I set my goal to be able to dunk a basketball back in 2016, there were two major obstacles.
The main obstacle was being able to jump high enough to get the ball above the rim, and the second was ensuring I could keep a ball under control in order to successfully dunk it without sending it flying off course.
I spent 8-weeks working on my vertical leap. After that, the only thing holding me back from being a good dunker was my ability to consistently palm a basketball.
Big jumps aside, solid palming is essential during the slam dunk
Luckily, I found that training to palm a basketball wasn’t as hard as I expected, despite my smallish sized hands.
I’m first going to discuss two important factors that influence your palming ability, hand size and palming technique, and then cover some methods which will improve your ability to palm a basketball.![]()
Requirement 1: Hand Size
It should be obvious that hand size plays a big role in your ability to palm the ball.
You can have fantastic power and technique but the closer together your fingertips are, a smaller amount of the total pressure will apply an inwards force on the basketball.
Imagine your hand is one inch long – it doesn’t matter how much grip or power you exert, the ball won’t stick. It’s simple physics.
So, is there a ‘bare minimum’ hand size?
Well, technically there isn’t a single measurement that determines whether or not you are capable of palming a basketball.
It’s not just about hand length (measured from the wrist to the top of the middle finger), but also hand span (the distance between your thumb and pinky when you spread your hand out). You could have a relatively short hand length, but have really wide hands, for example.
In addition, finger/grip strength is also part of the equation. You can make up for having smaller hands with greater grip strength.
Your hand size will determine how easy or hard it is to palm a basketball
However, realistically speaking, to be able to comfortably palm a basketball after training technique and strength, here are some ballpark minimum figures.
Hand Length: 7.5″ (this is slightly over the average male hand length of 7.4″)
Hand Span: 8″
With these measurements palming a ball might be a little tricky at first, but if you train your technique and grip strength you’ll ultimately be able to palm the ball fairly comfortably.
People with smaller hands might be able to palm the Basketball, but technique would need to be even better.
For reference, in the NBA draft combine, the smallest hand length you’ll see is typically around 7.75″-8″, although there have been years featuring players with a 7.5″ hand length.
How To Measure Your Hand Length and Span
You will need a standard ruler to find out your own hand measurements.
To measure hand length, measure from the base of your hand (where the wrist begins) to the top of your middle finger.
Fig. 1: Measuring Hand Length
To measure hand span, spread your thump and pinky as far apart as you can across a ruler, as shown below:
Fig 2. Measuring hand span
Requirement 2: Strength and Technique
There is definitely more to palming a basketball than pure hand size. In fact, your palming skill is extremely important and will be an equally important factor as your hand size.
Most players didn’t just pick up ta basketball from day 1 and have the ability to palm it securely – unless they’re Michael Jordan.
Basketball players will often subconsciously be practicing palming the ball when they have the ball in their hands.
Once you are able to palm the ball fairly well, it’s just a matter of spending more and more time palming the ball to maintain your ability and further strengthen the muscles involved in palming.
To get to that point, you need to work on your grip strength.
When it comes to grip strength, you need to keep in mind that there are three different types:
- Crush Grip: Grip between fingers and palm that gives you the ability to ‘scrunch’ something – think shaking hands, crushing a beer can.
- Pinch Grip: The grip between fingers and thumb. This is what matters most.
- Support Grip: The grip needed to keep hold onto something – e.g. holding onto a bar during deadlift/pull-ups
For many people, hand grippers spring to mind when they want to improve their hand grip. These things strengthen your hand flexor muscles you use to crush things, but when it comes to palming a basketball, there are more efficient ways of training.
Hand Grippers aren’t very helpful because they don’t reflect the grip used for palming a basketball
The crush grip and support grip are not as important for the purpose of palming a basketball.
What needs to be your main focus for training is your pinch grip.
Strengthening Your Pinch Grip
Now that we’ve established that you need to strengthen your pinch grip in order to comfortably palm a basketball, let’s go through some exercises you can do to do that.
Fingertip Pushups
These are pretty self-explanatory. Perform a standard pushup but instead of having your palm flat on the ground, lift your palm up so your body is supported by your fingertips.
This is a more challenging variation of the pushup, so if necessary leave your knees on the ground to begin with in order to make the exercise easier.
Fig. 4: Fingertip Pushups
Horizontal Basketball Palming
Since gravity is your enemy, you can start out palming your basketball by palming it horizontally – i.e. parallel to the floor. Since the bottom half of your hand will also be producing an upward force on the ball, it will be easier to palm.
Start palming the ball horizontally to make things easier for yourself
You should feel a burn running down your forearm after doing the exercise for long enough. Don’t overtrain in order to minimize the risk of high muscle tension induced spasm.
Each day, record the maximum number of seconds you can palm the basketball in this manner. You should see continual improvement.
As you improve, gradually start angling the ball towards the floor so that you are less and less reliant on the help you get from the upward forces acting on the ball.
Palming Smaller Balls
When you are trying to strengthen your grip using a basketball, you need to be palming for at least 5 seconds at a time, otherwise your fingers won’t have much opportunity to develop.
If you are unable to do the above exercise for a meaningful amount of time, then instead start off with a smaller leather/rubber ball to practice with.
For this purpose, I’d suggest either getting a womens basketball or a handball (handball is a popular sport in Europe, and the ball is significantly smaller than a Basketball).
Try and become comfortable palming either of these smaller balls for 20+ seconds before moving on to a men’s basketball.
Finger Stretchers
Unlike hand grippers, finger stretchers are a great way of training finger muscles in isolation. They can be purchased for cheap online and will strengthen the same muscle groups involved in the pinch grip.
Finger Stretchers are a good aid for learning to palm a basketball
Training with a Climbing Wall
If you want to see people with insane grip strength, look no further than climbers.
Because a climbing wall or natural climbing rocks have random contouring, climbers end up stressing different muscle groups during the course of a climb. As a result, you end up training all 3 kinds of hand grip without even realizing it.
I’ve done some climbing sessions before, and noticed immediate improvement to my basketball palming ability shortly after. The burning sensation going down your forearms and fingers after a session is unlike any other.
‘True’ Palming vs Pseudo-Palming
You might have read top players like Kobe Bryant or Anthony Davis can’t palm the ball.
Or how about the story that 6’10 Kevin Durant had to tell photographers he wasn’t able to palm the ball when posing for photos?
Yet Kobe, Anthony and Kevin are some of the most efficient dunkers on court. Kevin and Anthony are big guys even by NBA standards.
The point is even these guys have trouble effortlessly palming the ball in the truest sense, and will typically just cradle the ball during a dunk.
When training to palm the ball, your goal therefore isn’t to be able hold a basketball like a tennis ball. Very few people, even in the NBA, actually have that level of control over the ball.
Instead, improve your one-handed control over the ball and get it to a level that allows you to perform the moves you want. In my case, having enough control to dunk the ball was sufficient.
Men Before vs Men Now
Ever notice how your dad’s and his friend’s hands typically look bigger and manlier than yours? It’s not just an age thing – the younger generation are in fact getting weaker.
According to a study by the Journal of Hand Therapy, today’s men have a significantly weaker crush and pinch grip than men 30 years ago.
Lifestyle changes have meant that men’s grip strength has decreased over the years
That’s because men’s lifestyles have changed, with a more relaxed, less active lifestyle.
Be it helping with the shopping, going to the gym and doing deadlifts/kettlebell swinging or just playing basketball on a regular basis, you need to get off the computer and get physical.
Grip strength is a strong indicator of strength in general, and if you are finding it difficult to keep a grip on a basketball, your time might be better spent becoming stronger overall than focusing purely on palming in a band-aid manner.
Does The Basketball Make Much Of A Difference?
Yes! Some basketballs are naturally grippier than others. For example, the Wilson Evolution indoor basketball that is popular in college basketball is known to be very grippy. By contrast, the genuine leather official NBA game ball is slightly smoother and harder to palm.
Hopefully this article will help you become better equipped to start working on your ability to reliably hold a basketball. Let me know in the comment section below if you have any other questions!
Palm a Basketball with this Grip Strengthening Basketball...
Skip to content
Athletes who plays basketball want to do three things: dunk the ball, spin the ball on their finger and palm the basketball.
Palming a ball requires grip strength. A strong grip will not only help you grip a basketball, it will also help your overall game. Grip strength will give you more control when you dribble and better “touch” when you shoot.
The following six grip-strengthening exercises will help you palm a basketball and improve your game in no time.
1. Barbell Reverse Grip Curls
Curls are a great biceps isolation move that can also increase your grip strength. Using a barbell instead of an EZ Bar forces you to use a fatter grip and really recruit your forearm muscles to keep the bar level.
Using a reverse, or overhand, grip, you fight gravity more, making it harder to lift the bar.
How To Perform:
- Grasp a bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your back straight, elbows close to your body, and shoulders retracted, curl the bar by bending at your elbows.
- Do not flare your elbow, lean too far back or use your momentum to curl the bar.
- Sets/Reps: 3×10-12
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
2. Fingertip Push-Ups
Palming a basketball is not just about forearm strength. It’s also about finger strength. Performing Push-Ups on your fingertips leads to an increase in finger strength and therefore grip strength.
How to Perform:
- Get into a standard push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, and your core, glutes and lower back contracted.
- Instead of placing the palms of your hands on the floor, hold yourself up with your fingertips spread out on the floor.
- Sets/Reps: 3×15-20
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
3. Towel Grip Pull-Ups
Pull-Ups are one of the best upper-body exercises for athletes. How many you can do depends largely on your grip strength. A great way to add a grip variation to a normal Pull-Up is to wrap two towels around the bar and grasp those instead of the bar. The unusual neutral grip requires more muscle recruitment in the forearms and hand musculature.
How To Perform:
- Wrap two towels over a pull-up bar about shoulder-width apart, with the two ends of the towel hanging evenly.
- Grasp both ends of the towels with a neutral grip.
- Perform a standard Pull-Up, pulling with your upper back and not just your biceps.
- Sets/Reps: 3×10-12
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
4. Cable Reverse Grip Tricep Push-Downs
This exercise mimics Barbell Reverse Grip Curls, but targets the triceps and forearms. Once again, the reverse grip provides less leverage, making your forearms and hand musculature work harder to push the weight down. This will ultimately lead to a stronger grip, making it easier to palm a basketball. The triceps muscles are important for basketball players, since they play a crucial role in shooting and passing strength.
How To Perform:
- Attach a straight curl bar to a cable and adjust the height so it is at the top of the tower.
- Grasp the bar with an underhand grip.
- Keeping your elbows close to your body and your back straight, push the bar down until your elbows are straight.
- Slowly raise the bar until your elbows are at 90 degrees, and repeat the motion.
- Sets/Reps: 3×10-12
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
5. Towel Grip Inverted Rows
These confer the same benefits as Towel Grip Pull-Ups, but focus more on the rhomboid muscles than the biceps. Performing this exercise with towels also increases grip strength, which will help you palm the basketball and have more control when dribbling.
How To Perform:
- Adjust a Smith machine bar to waist height, or rack a barbell at waist height on a free-weight squat rack.
- Wrap two towels over the bar about shoulder-width apart, with the two ends of each towel hanging evenly.
- Lie down on the floor underneath the bar and grasp both ends of the towels.
- Keeping your back and legs straight, and your glutes contracted, pull your chest up to the bar.
- Focus on retracting your shoulders and using your rhomboids more than your biceps.
![]()
- Sets/Reps: 3×15-20
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
6. Pinch Plate Farmer’s Walk
Holding a heavy weight plate in each hand while you walk can be a grueling workout for your hand musculature and forearms. To make them even harder, try grasping a weight plate with just your fingers. This will increase the muscular endurance of your grip.
How To Perform:
- Grasp a weight plate in each hand with a pinch grip. Don’t use the handles!
- Keeping good posture, walk 50 yards with the plates by your sides without stopping.
- Sets/Distance: 3×50 yards
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
Continue your grip training with these workouts:
- Grip and Rip With Rice Bucket Hand-Strengthening Exercises
- 5 Time-Saving Grip Strength Exercises
- 3 Easy Steps for a Stronger Grip
[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]
Share This Story!
MOST POPULAR
Athletes who plays basketball want to do three things: dunk the ball, spin the ball on their finger and palm the basketball.
Palming a ball requires grip strength. A strong grip will not only help you grip a basketball, it will also help your overall game. Grip strength will give you more control when you dribble and better “touch” when you shoot.
The following six grip-strengthening exercises will help you palm a basketball and improve your game in no time.
1. Barbell Reverse Grip Curls
Curls are a great biceps isolation move that can also increase your grip strength. Using a barbell instead of an EZ Bar forces you to use a fatter grip and really recruit your forearm muscles to keep the bar level. Using a reverse, or overhand, grip, you fight gravity more, making it harder to lift the bar.
How To Perform:
- Grasp a bar with an overhand grip, hands about shoulder-width apart.
- Keeping your back straight, elbows close to your body, and shoulders retracted, curl the bar by bending at your elbows.
- Do not flare your elbow, lean too far back or use your momentum to curl the bar.
- Sets/Reps: 3×10-12
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
2. Fingertip Push-Ups
Palming a basketball is not just about forearm strength. It’s also about finger strength. Performing Push-Ups on your fingertips leads to an increase in finger strength and therefore grip strength.
How to Perform:
- Get into a standard push-up position with your hands shoulder-width apart, and your core, glutes and lower back contracted.
- Instead of placing the palms of your hands on the floor, hold yourself up with your fingertips spread out on the floor.
- Sets/Reps: 3×15-20
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
3. Towel Grip Pull-Ups
Pull-Ups are one of the best upper-body exercises for athletes.
How many you can do depends largely on your grip strength. A great way to add a grip variation to a normal Pull-Up is to wrap two towels around the bar and grasp those instead of the bar. The unusual neutral grip requires more muscle recruitment in the forearms and hand musculature.
How To Perform:
- Wrap two towels over a pull-up bar about shoulder-width apart, with the two ends of the towel hanging evenly.
- Grasp both ends of the towels with a neutral grip.
- Perform a standard Pull-Up, pulling with your upper back and not just your biceps.
- Sets/Reps: 3×10-12
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
4. Cable Reverse Grip Tricep Push-Downs
This exercise mimics Barbell Reverse Grip Curls, but targets the triceps and forearms. Once again, the reverse grip provides less leverage, making your forearms and hand musculature work harder to push the weight down.
This will ultimately lead to a stronger grip, making it easier to palm a basketball. The triceps muscles are important for basketball players, since they play a crucial role in shooting and passing strength.
How To Perform:
- Attach a straight curl bar to a cable and adjust the height so it is at the top of the tower.
- Grasp the bar with an underhand grip.
- Keeping your elbows close to your body and your back straight, push the bar down until your elbows are straight.
- Slowly raise the bar until your elbows are at 90 degrees, and repeat the motion.
- Sets/Reps: 3×10-12
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
5. Towel Grip Inverted Rows
These confer the same benefits as Towel Grip Pull-Ups, but focus more on the rhomboid muscles than the biceps. Performing this exercise with towels also increases grip strength, which will help you palm the basketball and have more control when dribbling.
How To Perform:
- Adjust a Smith machine bar to waist height, or rack a barbell at waist height on a free-weight squat rack.
- Wrap two towels over the bar about shoulder-width apart, with the two ends of each towel hanging evenly.
- Lie down on the floor underneath the bar and grasp both ends of the towels.
- Keeping your back and legs straight, and your glutes contracted, pull your chest up to the bar.
- Focus on retracting your shoulders and using your rhomboids more than your biceps.
- Sets/Reps: 3×15-20
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
6. Pinch Plate Farmer’s Walk
Holding a heavy weight plate in each hand while you walk can be a grueling workout for your hand musculature and forearms. To make them even harder, try grasping a weight plate with just your fingers. This will increase the muscular endurance of your grip.
How To Perform:
- Grasp a weight plate in each hand with a pinch grip. Don’t use the handles!
- Keeping good posture, walk 50 yards with the plates by your sides without stopping.
- Sets/Distance: 3×50 yards
For privacy reasons YouTube needs your permission to be loaded. For more details, please see our Privacy Policy.
I Accept
Continue your grip training with these workouts:
- Grip and Rip With Rice Bucket Hand-Strengthening Exercises
- 5 Time-Saving Grip Strength Exercises
- 3 Easy Steps for a Stronger Grip
[cf]skyword_tracking_tag[/cf]
Share This Story!
Page load link
Basketball coaching hacks: how to score goals for beginners
Even if you are a novice basketball player, we will not give you a training plan, but we will tell you why the ball flies anywhere but into the ring and into your hands.
It's all about technique: even with regular training and perseverance, novice adults and children often make simple mistakes. It's a shame, let's fix it. Below are 11 life hacks on how to hone your technique to increase the likelihood of a goal for your team.
Basketball Shot Rules for Beginners
1. Hands up
In pursuit of the attacker, raise your hands, even if you are standing with your back to the pass, and even more so if the ring is in front of you. Your raised hands will increase the chance of intercepting the ball from the opponent by 2 times. Don't overlook this little thing!
2. Make shield rolls
Even Tim Duncan did not neglect them! A square is drawn on the basketball backboard. If you are standing opposite the ring, then aim at the middle of the upper part of the square, if you are standing on the side, then at the corner. If you hit this square, then the ball is at 90% of cases will fall into the ring. The law of physics and no cheating!
3.
Look at the ring, not at the ball
Practice driving the ball with your hand, not your eyes, develop tactile control. Your eyes should be on the hoop while dribbling and be aware of the position of your body in relation to the hoop. Then you will be able to take the correct posture, and the throw will be effective.
4. Dribble with the balls of your fingers only
The palm should not touch the ball, only the pads of the fingers. Dribbling should become familiar to you, like an extension of your hand. Then you can change its trajectory at any time and you will have more chances to score goals. Practice with the ball constantly.
5. Throw with one hand
If you throw the ball with two hands, you reduce the chance of hitting the basket. All the efforts of the throw are in one hand (in the right for right-handers, in the left for left-handers). The other hand only holds the ball, the leading one holds it with the fingers, not the palm.
6.
![]()
Do not jump when protecting the ring
Jumping is the main mistake of rookie defenders. To intercept the ball and block the shot, simply stick out your hands. When you are in a jump, the attacker will easily bypass you.
7. Don't look back
When you dribble, don't look back, but dribble and aim for the ring, focus on shooting (or passing to another player on your team).
8. Bring the throw to automatism
Incorporate the most basic basketball techniques into your training plan and bring the shot to automatism. Throw first from a distance of half a meter from the ring, gradually increasing it. Learn to throw the ball so that it hits the hoop without touching the edge.
Throw the ball with all fives and jump
Throwing Rules:
- Head in the center of the body - if tilted, accuracy is lost.
- Look at the ring: mentally build a trajectory. If you are far away, the ball flies in a curved curve with a maximum height of 2 meters above the hoop.
- A strong hand is in front and throws, a weak hand is on the side and directs, only holding the ball. The elbow of the throwing hand must be in line with the ring.
- The ball must rest on the fingers without touching the palm. The fingers are as far apart as possible and grab the ball.
- Throwing arm bent 90 degrees, forearm perpendicular to the floor. If you bend less, then you get not a throw, but a throwing of the ball horizontally.
The main thing in the throw is the position of the body and its balance. Place your feet apart and parallel to each other: it is important to orient them in the middle of the basket. Then the direction of the body during the jump will coincide with the direction of the throw, and the ball will fly straight into the ring. When the feet are uneven, the ball flies in the wrong direction or does not reach (although the throw was normal).
Take a deep breath and release as you exhale.
How to hold the ball and shoot in basketball
How to throw correctly: straighten your arm, point your wrist up, and with your hand set the ball to rotate in the opposite direction from the flight. The ball should seem to "roll" off your fingers.
9. Copy masters and play as a team
Watch professional basketball games and try to copy the movements of your favorite players in training. And be sure to conduct game sparring - this will allow you to develop more techniques.
10. Do not throw in a straight line
The higher the arc of the ball, the greater the chance of a goal and the less chance of blocking by the opponent.
11. Do not throw the ball from a full height stand
This is the biggest newbie mistake!
Before the throw, bend your knees slightly and at the moment of the throw, straighten your body, making a jump. You need to straighten up and push off the ground at the same time. When squatting, keep the elbow of the throwing arm close to the body and towards the ring.
The jump will give momentum to the ball and will allow you not to make sudden movements with the brush.
***
And to be a long-term player, do not forget about your health: take care of your joints and muscles, use tapes, do a warm-up. And be sure to strengthen your arms, legs and shoulder girdle, develop coordination. Regular exercises on uneven bars and horizontal bars will help you with this.
basketball, instruction, storage, care, ESPANDER.com.ua.
Respect! You can't sit on an inflated basketball and hit it with your feet, like a football, with the force of throwing a ball on a hospital object - as a result of this ball, it quickly loses its shape and comes into disrepair.
Inflate a basketball in the appropriate manner: apply 1-2 drops of special oil to the opening of the nipple or the neck, take the ball by the panel, where the nipple is located, insert it into the new neck, inflate the ball to the value indicated in the tables.
We strongly recommend vicarious oil. Special oil is not only ahead of valve slippage and nipple walls, but it also makes the material of the nipple more elastic, protecting it from drying out.
The head is also due to a special buti for inflating balls, and the tip of the head is due to buti equal, smooth, without sharp edges and burrs.
ATTENTION! Always vikoristuyte zamashchuvalni speech for the nipel or the ball, in the other case, you risk vikodit the nipel and lose it without the ball.
The amount of grip recommended for balls made of different materials and in different types of winding:
| Riven gri | Recommended vice (bar) | Recommended vice (psi) |
| Basketball rubber balls, size 5-7 | 0.7-0.9 | 10-13 |
| Basketball rubber balls, size 3 | 0.6 | 8-9 |
| Basketball balls with natural and synthetic skins, size 7 | 0. 7-0.9 | 10-13 |
| Basketball balls with natural and synthetic skins, sizes 5 and 6 | 0.7-0.8 | 10-12 |
It is recommended to check the vise in the balls after the help of the monometer.
Ball re-pumping creates a pressing and over-the-world stretching tension on the materials, from which the ball is prepared, while the term of the ball service is very fast.
Rolling the ball also has a negative impact on the game characteristics of the ball, first for everything on yoga.
Save that sight.
- After skin irritation wipe the ball with a damp cloth. At the time of the strong, vicorist fabric, soaked in a warm miles pink. Do NOT at any time do not beat up abrasive cleaning cats, and also take care of the retailers and aggressive speech.
- Let the ball dry naturally. If the ball is already wet, wipe it with a soft cloth. Dry the ball in a well-ventilated room, give it heat, at a temperature of + 20-25 ° C and a moisture content of 60-65%.
