Basketball Training Techniques

Practicing these basketball training secrets will make you a better player even when there is no game on the schedule. Most basketball skills can be broken down into fundamentals that can be perfected through repetition and drills. Many of these drills can even be done without a partner or even a basketball hoop. All you need is a concrete driveway and a basketball and you can improve your dribbling skills during the off-season.

  1. Distance Shooting

    • To extend the range of your shot, you need to gradually practice shooting from farther away from the basket. Go through your normal warmup and shoot a few balls from close range to loosen up. Step back to the edge of the range where you feel comfortable shooting during a game. Shoot 10 balls, and if you make eight shots, step back one or two more feet . If not, take another series of 10 shots until you can make eight. Take 10 more shots after stepping back, again trying to make eight of them before you step back again. Keep doing this until you cannot reach the basket without altering your shooting form.

    Ball Handling

    • You can improve your dribbling skills with a simple figure-8 drill. Stand in a balanced position with your knees bent as if you were dribbling the ball down the court through traffic. Using your right hand, bounce the ball low to the ground as you circle it around the front of your right leg. Bounce the ball behind your right leg and through your legs, then resume the dribble on the left side using only your left hand. Continue making a figure 8 with the basketball, circling it around your feet and back and forth between your legs, switching hands every time the ball crosses over to the other side. As you become more comfortable with the figure-8 drill, try to bounce the ball lower to the ground and circle it around and through your legs faster.

    Rebounding and Boxing Out

    • This drill requires a teammate to shoot the ball and contest for the rebound against you. Have the offensive player stand a few feet away from the basket and off to one side, as if he were playing the wing in a live game. The defender should stand in front of the offensive player but not defend the shot because you want there to be a rebound. After the offensive player shoots, the defender must practice using position to box out the shooter so he is unable to get the rebound. Repeat this 10-15 times, then have the offensive and defensive players switch positions.