Rules for the Dribble Handoff in Basketball

The dribble handoff is a commonly used offensive technique that helps to free up ball handlers for drives to the basket. The dribble hand off is hard for defenses to guard because it involves the dribble and a minimum of two players. Because you need two players to execute the dribble handoff, it puts pressure on the defense to communicate and react quickly.

  1. Rules Before the Handoff

    • Before the dribble hand off actually occurs there are some things the dribbler as well as the receiver need to do. The player dribbling the ball, who will be handing it off, should concentrate on dribbling the ball with his outside hand directly at the defender of the player he will be handing off to. The player who will be receiving the dribble handoff should set his defender up by jab-stepping towards the basket and then exploding out towards the outside shoulder of the player dribbling the ball. Aiming for the outside shoulder will allow the player to receive the handoff without colliding with his teammate.

    Rules for the Handoff

    • The handoff occurs when the ball exchanges hands from player to player. The player who is dribbling the ball should come to a jump-stop when he sees his teammate exploding towards his outside shoulder. After he jump stops he should hold the ball out to his outside with two hands in preparation for handing it off. The player who receives the handoff must make sure there is separation between him and his defender and must make sure to dribble the ball with his outside hand as soon as he receives the handoff. Not dribbling the ball immediately will result in a traveling violation.

    Rules After the Handoff

    • After the handoff occurs the player who handed the ball off must immediately clear out of the way. The best thing for this player to do is flatten out to the wing area. This will allow his teammate to reverse his dribble if necessary for a clear path to the basket. The player who received the handoff can either aggressively turn the corner and attack the basket or dribble the ball at the defender of another one of his teammates in an effort to execute another dribble handoff.