Driveway Basketball Drills

Basketball is a game that requires a combination of agility, strength, quickness and mental toughness. In order to become a superior basketball player, it is essential to practice consistently and perfect the major aspects of the game. Fortunately, there are a number of effective drills that can be completed from the convenience of a driveway.

  1. The Mikan Drill

    • Players should focus on rhythm and timing while completing the Mikan Drill.

      The Mikan Drill is named after former NBA great George Mikan. It is a drill that will help a player develop rhythm, stamina and layup skills. Quite often, forwards and centers will participate in this drill, but guards can also benefit from this drill as well. The only required items for this drill are a basketball hoop and a basketball.

      The Mikan Drill begins with the player standing directly underneath the basket while holding the basketball. At the sound of the whistle, the player alternates shooting layups from the right side of the basket to the right. The player shoots with her right hand and jumps with her left foot on the right side of the basket and shoots with her left hand and jumps with her right foot on the left side of the basket.

      Players can time themselves for either 30 seconds or 1 minute and should keep track of how many layups they make in the allotted amount of time. It is important for the player to focus on her rhythm and shooting a layup using the correct fundamentals to complete the drill effectively.

    Spider Drill

    • A second basketball drill that can easily be completed from the convenience of a driveway is the Spider Drill. This drill is intended to improve a player's ball handling skills as well as his quickness with the ball. In this drill, all the player will need is one basketball along with a hard surface on which to dribble the ball.

      The Spider Drill begins with the player holding the ball between his legs. He dribbles the ball first with his right hand in front of the leg, then with his left hand in front of the leg. After dribbling the ball in front of his legs, the player immediately shifts to dribbling behind his legs first with his right hand, then with his left hand. The player should dribble the ball for approximately 3 minutes.

    Around the World

    • Around the World is a drill that is used to improve a player's ball handling skills and coordination with the basketball. The drill begins with the player standing straight up with her feet together and the ball held above her head. At the onset of the drill the player brings the ball around her head, shoulders, waist, knees and feet using a circular "corkscrew" motion. When the ball reaches a player's feet, she brings the ball back up to her head using the same motion and going around the same body parts as before in the opposite direction. During the drill, the player should focus on keeping controlling of the basketball while moving it around the body as quickly as possible.