How To Get Better At Basketball – Complete Guide

How To Get Better At Basketball Dribbling?

First, we will discuss the basic dribbling and how to do them correctly before moving on to the relatively complicated, power dribbling.

Basic Dribbling

Everyone knows how to dribble; most of us learn in kindergarten gym class. Right? Well, most people learn the basics, but learning how to make the ball come back to your hand and learning the proper techniques to control the ball correctly are two different things.

Proper dribbling can make a major difference in how you move and turn as well as how you line up your shots. Keep your knees roughly shoulder-width apart as you move. Your weight should be evenly distributed on your feet so you can move more readily. Do not lock your knees when you stand; it will make it harder to spring into movements. Try to keep everything as relaxed as you can.

Always stay balanced, both when standing and moving; balance is critical for all of your movements. This is true both for basketball and for any other sport. If you can’t find ways of keeping your balance, you might find yourself tripping over yourself or other players trying to block you. 

The ball should not bounce above your waist when you dribble, this is easier said than done, but it is important for control. Keep your wrist moving, so you maintain that control. On defense, you are keeping your body in more of a crouch, so the ball should not bounce above your thigh region.

As basic as dribbling is, it is still something that you should practice as often as possible in the beginning. Practice as often as you can; you can begin developing a sense of how the ball moves in your hand. You need to know how it responds to how much force the ball is under in a given situation. It is also worth practicing your drills with each hand by itself to get comfortable on either side, then learn how to pass between them. You must be ready for any situation that might come up while on the court.

Drills

• • One dribbling exercise for those just starting is to dribble several times on each side. Start with your right hand, then switch and dribble the same number of times with your left hand. Do a few sets like this to warm up before a practice session and a few more at the end. This one is common in school gym classes, so it may be familiar, but doing it with a purpose changes things.
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  • Dribble in place in the beginning, keeping up good posture with your knees bent and bounce on your toes as if you were about to start moving. When you get used to dribbling while standing still, do this same drill while walking. Finally, start moving faster until you can dribble while running. This teaches your body to develop the coordination to maintain the repetitive motion without you having to think about it.

Power Dribbling

Now that we have covered the most basic of the basics let us take it one step further and talk about the kind of dribbling you will spend most of a normal game of basketball did. Power-dribbling is essentially the run to basic dribbling’s walk. 

When you first start practicing seriously, to improve your skills in a meaningful way, your primary goal is simply assuring the ball bounces back close to your hand. Eventually, however, you need to make sure the ball comes back quickly and efficiently and with enough control that you can move gracefully with it and prevent people from taking it from you.

It is all in the wrist, as they say. The key difference between basic dribbling and this is effective wrist movement. To develop a good power dribble, practice bouncing the ball normally before steadily turning up the amount of power you put behind each bounce. It is important not to bounce the ball harder than you can handle, such as so hard you can’t control it, but also not so soft that it doesn’t come back up to you.

When practicing, bounce the ball firmly several times in a row without making your arm fly up to keep control of the dribble, then switch back to a more relaxed dribble. The ball will hit your hand with more force now, but you need to learn to resist it. The next step is learning how to move like that.

Suicide sprints are a great way to get used to these sorts of movements. Run sprints on the court while power dribbling, weaving between cones or other obstacles you have on hand. Dribble from the baseline to the free-throw line and back as fast as possible, maybe even time yourself, then dribble to the three-point line and back. 

The important thing is to learn how to maintain control under increasingly high amounts of stress and tighter constraints. You will not have time to think about your dribbling form in the middle of a game; you have bigger things to worry about. Your dribbling needs to just come naturally at that point.

Drills

• • Dribble in the dirt to practice control and build up strength. The uneven surface means you have to bounce the ball harder than normal to get it to come back at a reliable speed, still consistent enough that you can control it. Once you’re accustomed to doing this while standing still, try walking and then running the way you were with basic dribbling.
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  • Move inside after dribbling on the dirt and dribble like you were prior. You will notice that you have to acclimate to the new lack of resistance all over again; over time, this will teach your muscles to regulate how much force you put into dribbling on their own.
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  • Power dribble a few times with your right hand, then switch over to your left, keeping your speed and force up. These are called power crossovers. Dribble a hard crossover with your left hand back to your right. Rinse and repeat. Later on, you could decrease the number of dribbles before you cross. Make it three, then two, eventually switching back and on every power dribble, then build up speed again.