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How to practice for basketball


Basketball Drills for Coaches

Home > Coaching > Drills

Below youll find over 200 basketball practice drills for youth, middle school, high school, and college coaches. The drills are organized by category.

Players, check out the individual basketball drills for players section.


What Drills Should You Use During Basketball Practice?

We recommend starting with a good warm up, then spend 20-60 minutes on skills (which includes dribbling, passing, footwork, finishing, and shooting), then you split up the rest of the practice based on your teams identity and what you feel is important. That will include team defense, team offense, rebounding, and special situations (press break, BLOB plays, etc).

So your practice plan format might look something like this:

  • Warm up (in the hallway before practice)
  • 45 minutes of basketball skill drills
  • 15 minutes of defense & rebounding drills
  • 15 minutes of team offense drills
  • 15 minutes reviewing special situations (inbounds plays and press break)
  • 30 minute scrimmage

Note, we suggest utilizing small sided games to enhance skill development, team defense, and team offense sessions. You might do that by alternating drills and small sided games. Example: start with partner pass & pivot drill and follow it up with 3v2 passing games. Then repeat the cycle with dribbling, defending, shooting, and so on.

By incorporating small sided games youll make practice fun, keep players engaged and enhance their skill retention.

You can find 210 drills below to fill in each section of your practice plan. Each category below includes youth basketball drills for kids, advanced drills for older players, progressions, and fun basketball games to incorporate into your practices.

The drills are organized into 14 categories:


Offensive Skill Drills

1. Dribbling Drills (30)
2. Footwork Drills (23)
3. Lay Up & Finishing Drills (20)
4. Passing Drills (21)
5. Shooting Drills (22)

Team Offense Drills

6. Half Court Offense Drills (23)
7. Transition Offense Drills (20)

Defense & Rebounding Drills

8. Man to Man Defense Drills (7)
9. 2-3 Zone Defense Drills (2)
10. 1-3-1 Zone Defense Drills (2)
11. Rebounding Drills (14)

Athletic Development Drills

12. Warm Up Drills (15)
13. Conditioning Drills (16)
14. Speed Drills (5)


Drills & Games for Kids

If you're a youth coach, here's a collection of 57 youth drills & games specifically for kids (for ages 7 to 14 years old).


How to Run Basketball Drills the Right Way

The first thing to realize is that the great coaches and players focus on the little things.

Too many coaches make the mistake of starting the drill and just running through the motions.

To get better, each drill needs to have a purpose and you really need to watch closely to perform each aspect correctly.

For example, when running a defensive sliding drill, you need too make sure each player continually maintains a wide base, keeps their hands out, maintains good balance, keeps their butt down, and so on. It's the little things that make you a better player.

You CAN'T let them slip!!

Practicing drills is when players get better. In fact, the most important aspect of running your practices and getting better as a player, is how you run those drills.

In order to get better, you need to practice over and over to develop good habits and muscle memory. If you don't practice the RIGHT way, you're just developing bad habits and training yourself to play the wrong way.

So I urge you to take the time to learn the detailed fundamentals of basketball. And then run the drills to train your body to perform those fundamentals without even thinking about it.

Making it Fun

One of the best ways to stay motivated and get better is to keep things fun.

This can be done by adding competitive twists to the drills or simply incorporating fun youth drills.

I've found that most players, especially younger ones, really enjoy fast paced drills that really keep things moving.

You can do a variety of things to keep them moving. You can set up stations, so a group of players work at a station for a few minutes, then you blow the whistle and they run to the next station.

You can also run multifacet drills that have players running, shooting, passing and doing a variety of things.

The trick is to have enough coaches or helpers watching each area, making sure each player is using proper form.

After players run around for a bit, take a few minutes to demonstrate the correct method and slow them down to perform the drill correctly. Then you can crank things up again and start them off. Just keep it mixed up and your players will maintain better focus and listen to you.

Competitive Game-Like Drills For Your Players

In addition to fun drills and fundamental drills, you should also incorporate drills where players can use their skills in game-like situations against defenders. The article The Missing Link To Player Development explains this skill development philosophy in more detail.

If you would like to see more of these competitive skill drills, check out Sanderson's Gamed Based Training System.

More Tips for Running Drills and Practices

5 Tips to Run Your Basketball Drills More Effectively

10 Tips For Getting Your Basketball Team Focused, Motivated, And Playing Hard!

Dealing with Short Practice Time

If you'd like MORE basketball drills, check out our FREE 152 page ebook with 72 great basketball drills that are neatly organized and ready for you to print out in PDF format.

100 Basketball Training Drills For Players

Home > Player > Training Drills


Do you want to take your game to the next level?

Check out these basketball training drills given to us by proven coaches with years of experience at the high school, Div I college, and NBA level.

We created this page for you, THE PLAYER, so you don't have to search and sort through all of the drills to find what basketball drills will work for you. Many of the basketball drills can be done by yourself, but there are a few that you need a partner to perform the basketball drill.

Coaches, click on Basketball Drills For Coaches for drills that apply to you.

Players, use this menu to jump to the drills you want.

  1. Shooting Drills
  2. Offensive Moves
  3. Lay Ups & Finishing
  4. Rebounding
  5. Defense & Agility Drills
  6. Passing Drills
  7. Dribbling Drills
  8. Warm Up Drills
  9. Post Play Drills
  10. Conditioning Drills
  11. Footwork
  12. Training Tips

Running Basketball Drills the Right Way

The first thing to realize is that the great players focus on the little things.

Too many players make the mistake of starting the basketball drill and just running through the motions.

To get better, each basketball drill needs to have a purpose and you really need to focus and work hard to improve.

We urge you to take the time to learn the detailed fundamentals of basketball. And then run the drills to train your body to perform those fundamentals without even thinking about it.

You'll notice that we tried to categorize the drills for you, but many of the drills here are multi-purpose which means they work on other skills as well. A ballhandling drill may include footwork and passing. A shooting drill may include conditioning. The multipurpose format helps to simulate gameplay and is time efficient to get the most out of the skill work.


20 Basketball Shooting Drills

The ONLY Shooting Drills Resource You EVER Need

Form Shooting

Ray Allen Shooting Drill

Kevin Durant Shooting Workout and Drills

4 Spot Fast Break Shooting Drill

Wing to Wing

Chair Curl /Chair Curl with 2 Chairs

Improve Your Shooting & Conditioning With The Hornacek Drill

Short-Long Shooting Drill

Three Competitive Shooting Drills

Wing Screen

5 Unique Form Shooting Drills

Shooting Off The Dribble - 30 Point Drill

Drop Step Shooting Drill

555 Shooting Drill

2 Player Decision Shooting

Rocker Shooting Drills

Shooting Drill - Improve Decision-Making Off The Catch

String Spacing - Dribble At Post

String Spacing - Dribble At Wing


15 Offensive Moves Drills

One on One Moves Drill

Improve Getting Open and Scoring With The 1 on 1 Multi-Spot Game

High Five 1on1

1v1 Dribbling Drill and 3 Back Up Dribble Moves

1 v 1 Speed Dribble

1v1 Overlap

The Forgotten Lay Up Situation (Includes Drill)

1 on 1 Trailing Lay-Up Drill

2 Beilein Finishing Drills

Finishing Moves Off the Pass

Euro Finishing Drill

Foster 1v1 Drill

4 Small Guard Finishing Moves (Some Advanced Moves)

1 on 1 Post Moves Drill

Baseline 1 on 1 Escape


18 Layup And Finishing Drills

Kyrie Irving Mikan Drill With 12 Variations

Tight Cone Warm Don Kelbick

Wichita State Attack Series

2 Beilein Finishing Drills

3 Competitive Dribble Penetration Shooting Drills That Improve Spacing, Ball Handling, Passing, and Team Offense

Ballhandling Drill: Chair Changes

Ballhandling Drill: Drop step Dribble

Ballhandling Drill: Two Up, Two Back

Lay Up Progressions

1 on 1 Post Moves Drill

The Arc Finishing Drill

Euro Finishing Drill

1 on 1 Trailing Lay-Up Drill

Figure 8 Hook Shots

Beatem to the Left

4 Small Guard Finishing Moves (Some Advanced Moves)


7 Rebounding Drills

Basketball Drill: McHale Lay-Ups

Improve Your Post Player's Touch Around The Basket With These 5 Drills

Mikan Drill

Taps Drill

Two on Two Box Out

1 on 1 Post Moves Drill


15 Agility / Defense Drills

Basketball Defense & Agility Drill: Diamond Drill

Man in the Hole

Defensive Footwork Progressions

Star Close-Out Drill

Cat & Mouse Drill For Ball Handling & Defense

Foster 1v1 Drill

Tight Spaces Ball Handling Drill

Bounce Closeout 1 on 1 Drill

1 on 1 Wing Close Outs

Deflect More Passes With This Drill

1v1 Ball Handling & Defensive Drill - Earn Your Dribbles

Basketball Defense Drill: Corner Close Live

Defensive Slide Drill - Cup Slides


8 Passing Drills

Two Ball Combo Drill

Pair Passing

Monkey in the Middle

3 Wall Passing Drills

String Spacing - Dribble At Wing

String Spacing - Dribble At Post

Partner Pass and Pivot Drill

10 Creative Passing & Footwork Drills - NO Partner Needed


15 Dribbling Drills

2-1-0 Stationary Dribbling Drills

Ballhandling Drill: Two Up, Two Back

Utilize Three Ball Drills for Advanced Guards

The Arc Finishing Drill

Cone Grab Finishing Drill

Extension Footwork

Tight Cone Warm Up

Separation Dribble - Down and Backs

4 Dribble Moves To Complement A Killer Crossover

Tight Spaces Ball Handling Drill

1v1 Ball Handling & Defensive Drill - Earn Your Dribbles

1v1 Dribbling Drill and 3 Back Up Dribble Moves

Dribble Screens

Two Ball Dribbling

Basketball Pick and Roll Drills

1 on 2 Pressure Ballhandling Drill


12 Post Play Drills

1 on 1 Post Moves Drill

Figure 8 Hook Shots

2 Beilein Finishing Drills

Mikan Drill

Kyrie Irving Mikan Drill With 12 Variations

Low Post Chair Pivot

Split Post Chair

Power Dribble Into

Rapid Fire Post Moves

Drop Step

Drop Step Counter

Develop Your Drop Step Move With This Roll The Ball Drill


9 Warm Up Drills

Dynamic Warm Up

Cat & Mouse Drill For Ball Handling & Defense

3 Cone - Groove Finishing Drill

Tight Cone Warm Up

Separation Dribble - Down and Backs

3 Wall Passing Drills

Star Close-Out Drill

Capture The Flag Dribbling

Dribble Tag - Everyone It


10 Conditioning Drills

Defensive Slide Drill - Cup Slides

Improve Your Ability To Finish At The Rim With The Corner Finishing Drill

Improve Your Shooting and Conditioning With The Hornacek Shooting Drill

Man in the Hole

1v1 Overlap

Star Close-Out Drill

Videos from app with ballhandling drills

Rapid Fire Post Moves

Continuous 1 on 1 Games

Best Speed Drills

12 Footwork Drills

1 on 1 Ball Tough Drill

1 on 1 Zipper Cut Drill

Jump Stop Drill

Chair Pivot

Post Moves and Skills: Drop Steps

Wing Combo

Partner Pass and Pivot Drill

Perimeter Chair Rips

Getting Open - Wing Cuts

How To Greatly Reduce Turnovers With These Body Control Drills

Defense Drill: 1 2 3 Progression

Improve Getting Open and Scoring With The 1 on 1 Multi-Spot Game

Training Tips: Partner Shooting Drills or Shooting By Yourself

If you are training with a partner or by yourself, here are some great ways to organize your shooting drills to maximize efficiency and to make the drills as game-like as possible. That way, you actually shoot better during games instead of just during practice!

You also learn a great way to practice game-like reactions that are random without a defender. Prior to the shot, you dont know what youre going to do. Just like a game, the repetition changes each time on whether to shoot, attack, or pass.

Partner Shooting - Change Location of Passer

Many players make the mistake of practicing all of their partner shooting drills with one rebounder under the basket who continuously rebounds and throws the pass back out. There is certainly a time and place for this.

However, if you always practice this way, youre making a big mistake! How many times during the game do you receive passes from many different locations on the floor? Probably a lot.

Instead of having the passer under the basket, you position the passer to different locations on the floor where you typically receive passes during the game. That way, you are practicing shooting from areas that you actually receive passes.

In the following video, NBA trainer Don Kelbick explains how to do this with your shooting drills.

Shooting Drills By Yourself - Spin Outs

If youre shooting by yourself, many shooting drills can be adapted to work for you.

One simple way is to use spin outs. You would spin the ball out away with backspin. Then you would cut to the ball, turn and face the basket, and shoot.

Here is a video that shows you how.

Using Chairs - For Cuts Where Spin Outs Dont Work

You can also place the ball on a chair prior to each shot to practice cuts where spin outs are too difficult to use and still execute the cut. L-Cuts, fades, and curl cuts would be good examples of this.

Here is how to use chairs to do this.

Using Chairs With a Helper

Chairs can also be good to use if you have somebody to help who is not a very good passer. This can be a friend, sibling, guardian, or anybody. After each shot, they can retrieve the ball and place it back on the chair. That way, you dont have to waste your time rebounding. You can immediately start your next repetition and you can get more shots up.

Important! How To Game-Like Random Shots With No Defenders

Every time you catch the basketball, you have to make choices. However, how often do you do that in your shooting drills!? A lot of players and even coaches neglect this important aspect of shooting drills. This can be part of the reason that some players shoot great during drills but poorly during games! They never train this way!

1v1 shooting drills and other 2v2 and 3v3 drills can easily take care of this. And you should definitely do a lot of this in your training.

However, what do you do if you dont have a defender to compete against? Or maybe you just want to get a lot of shooting repetitions up to develop some rhythm and confidence?

Its simple. You just need to find somebody who can rebound and display visual cues.

Even if you have defenders available, this can be used as a great progression prior to playing against live defenders.

Coach Chris Oliver shows you how to do this in the following drill. Its pretty cool!


Comprehensive Workouts for Players - And All Around Development Drills

Attack & Counter Basketball Workouts Developed by NBA Skills Coach (Over 300 Drills)

Progressive Ballhandling & Footwork Workouts You Can Do At Home - App Includes Over 200 Drills


Basketball Camps

If you are looking to take your game to the next level through basketball camps and regional training, check out these pages.

Breakthrough Basketball Skill Development Camps

10 exercises for developing attacking skills of basketball players

Hello, dear visitors of basketball-training.org.ua! Today I want to tell you about a few basic exercises, by regularly performing which you can reach the next level, becoming a really good attacking player.

Yes, many articles have already been written about this and many videos have been shot. Yes, we all know a few dozen exercises that promise to make you at least the next Michael Jordan. I will not reinvent the wheel, but will tell you about a series of exercises that just a year ago helped me a lot to improve in the attacking aspects of the game. Let's start the story.

Basketball drills

Mikan Drill

This drill gets its name from the first really big guy in the NBA, George Mikan. Begin to perform the exercise, located on the right side of the basketball basket (a meter and a half from the ring). Take two steps to the left, parallel to the endline, and throw a half hook on the other side of the hoop using your left hand. Without letting the ball fall to the ground, pick it up and take 2 steps to the right (again parallel to the base line) and again throw the ball into the ring with a half hook using your right hand. Try to get into the rhythm and hit 10-20 in a row.

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This exercise will teach you how to attack with a weak hand and turn it into a formidable weapon. Personally, while doing this exercise, already on the second day I began to complete the passages with my left hand. And after a couple of weeks, the effectiveness of the attacks doubled: now the defender had to hold both sides, and I could always attack with the hand farthest from him.

Superman Drill

This exercise is very similar to the previous one. Position yourself almost on the border of the three-second zone (you always want to call it a “trapeze”, but with the change in the rules of basketball, it has lost its usual shape). We perform a throw on the ring with one single difference: do not try to hit the ring! On the contrary, raise the trajectory higher so that the ball, bouncing off the backboard, falls on the other side of the ring. This is where you need to catch him, not allowing him to fall to the floor. Important: try to take no more than three steps to overcome the distance from one side of the ring to the other. Follow the rhythm: let the entire exercise be performed in the same rhythm. Do 10 to 20 repetitions of this exercise.

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Beat the Pro

Imagine that you are playing 1 on 1 against your favorite player. You just need to beat him by being the first to score 21 points. Perform game throws (with deviation, after strides, after crossovers and sudden stops). Be clear about your opponent, how he defends against you, how he tries to cover your every throw, how he waits for the slightest mistake in order to intercept. For each roll you make, you get 1 point. For each miss, the opponent receives 2 points. When you reach 20 points (if you haven't lost before) - you need to make a "buzzer beater" and it needs to be scored. How will you do it: with an incredible deflection after a fabulous dribbling or just hitting the ball with 9meters. Try to beat the best players in your imagination. Important: be realistic when playing against Shaquille, it is foolish to push him with your back or try to shoot the ball while in close contact. Also, it would be wrong to try to overtake Rose or Jordan. In general: adequately evaluate the opponent and try to complicate your life as much as possible.

Shoot the Shot

Do you remember the good old game "Around the World"? Sometimes it is called "Points", but that's not the point. Now we will try to add a hit percentage to this game. Also, we will add a couple of new points to it, the so-called "elbow spot".

In order to advance to the next point, you must make at least 3 out of 5 rolls. Naturally, if the level of your game (and especially your sniping skills) allows you to regularly shoot with a percentage higher than 60%, then increase the number of goals scored to 4 out of 5 from each point. Or up to 5 out of 5 from medium and 4 out of 5 from long range. Total: you have 18 points, 90 throws of which at least 54 must reach the goal. Challenge accepted?

Ball slaps and squeeze

Throw the ball up as if it had bounced off the ring after a bad throw. Jump up, grab the rebound and squeeze the ball as hard as you can with your hands. Imagine that you had difficulty getting this rebound and now they are trying to knock it out from you. Immediately after the rebound, rotate the ball around the body (at different heights): around the head, back, knees and calves. Repeat this exercise 10-20 times.

Figure 8's - with dribble and without dribble

Eight, the famous eight is back, now with dribbling. Do you remember how Petya Maravich taught us how to handle the ball? So, now we are doing the same thing, but using dribbling. For those who find it difficult to perform such dribbling - try to perform the exercise without it.

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Quick hands

This is a cool exercise that is sure to be performed at every training session for young basketball players. Starting position: one hand in front, the second - behind, the ball is between the legs. After releasing the ball, you need to change the location of the hands: if the right one was in front and the left one was behind, then now the ball needs to be grabbed with the right one from behind, and the left one in front. Diversify the exercise: both hands in front, the ball between the legs. We release the ball and catch it with our hands, but from behind. Important: regular performance of this exercise will allow you to develop hand speed, which is very important for performing high-quality and fast feints.

How to do it: 30 seconds first option, 30 seconds second option. Write down how many times you managed to do the first time, and then compare with the results after a week.

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Tom-Tom dribble

This movement is also familiar to many of us. Stand with your legs slightly apart so that you can easily transfer the ball between them. We start with the right hand. We transfer the ball in front of us from the right hand to the left; then from the left hand, transfer under the foot to the right hand. Now with the right hand we transfer the ball behind the back - it turns out to be in the left hand and we send it back (also behind the back) to the right. This is 1 repetition. Repeat 10 times and change hands (i.e. mirror).

Drum dribble

The point is to learn how to quickly and comfortably change the pace of dribbling and its pitch. For example, right after a screen or a run, you may find yourself kicking the ball out from behind (even though you already think your opponent is offside). The most elementary countermeasure is to sharply reduce the height of the dribbling. So, the exercise is that you need to knock the ball on the floor alternately with your right and left hand. Start from a normal static position (legs and back straight) and go down, increasing the intensity of the knocks on the floor. As soon as there is a space between your hands and the floor, a little more than a ball, begin to rise up. Make several series (for example, 5). For advanced players, try this exercise without looking at the ball, or by hitting it with 1 finger of your right hand and 1 finger of your left hand.

Summary

Here is a set of exercises I suggest you do every time you enter the court. Believe me, the results will shock you! Of course, if you are a professional player, then these exercises will be familiar to you and will be given easily. However, who, if not you, should know about their usefulness. Join our VKontakte group: https://vk.com/uroki_basketbola - there are a lot of useful and interesting things.

And this is the end of the article, I wish you successful training and look forward to visiting this site!

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.


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