Basketball Fundamentals and Drills

Learning the proper fundamentals is the best way for a basketball player to improve. A player can develop his skills on his own, or he can enlist the help of friends, family members or teammates for more elaborate and complex drills. The more a player works on his shooting, passing and rebounding, the better he will be at each of these skills over time.

  1. Shooting

    • The most valuable skill in basketball is the ability to make a shot from anywhere on the offensive end of the court. This can be achieved using a variety of different shooting drills, beginning with the layup line. Players line up to the left or right of the basket with a ball in their hands. They take two or three steps toward the basket before laying the ball up against the backboard with their dominant hand. This helps a player establish proper footwork when approaching the basket, as well as the proper touch needed to play a shot off the backboard and have it go in. Other effective shooting drills include free-throw shooting, three-point shooting and three-on-three scrimmages where players are encouraged to attempt a number of different shot styles.

    Passing

    • Passing drills are especially useful for point guards, since they handle the ball and run the offense the majority of the time. It is recommended that guards learn as many different passes as possible to make it more difficult for opposing defenses to know what is coming. Helpful exercises include the bounce pass drill, in which the guard skips the ball against the court to a teammate. The pass should begin at the passer's waist and end up at the receiver's waist, with the ball bouncing roughly two-thirds of the way. Another drill allows teammates to work on a baseball pass. This pass is made by arcing the throwing arm back and heaving the ball to an open teammate down the court. The drill should emphasize ball placement, as the passer will want the ball to meet the receiver as she is running toward the basket without having her stop to retrieve it.

    Rebounding

    • Forwards and centers are expected to grab the majority of the rebounds, which result from missed shots. One handy drill involves a "box out", in which one player shoots the ball while the rebounder establishes position closest to the basket and holds his arms out. This prevents an opposing player from getting a better position, giving the rebounder a better opportunity to end up with the loose ball. Another helpful drill involves offensive tip-ins. One player shoots the ball with the intention of missing. The second player jumps for the loose ball and looks to tip it into the basket rather than pulling it down for a rebound. This exercise emphasizes proper timing on missed shots, and soft hands around the basket.