Improve Your Dribbling Skills in Basketball
You can see the expertise of someone who has had a lot of practice when you see an NBA player dribble between the legs and behind the back to juke a defender out of the way. Even a simple dribble can be scary at first if you are a complete basketball novice. Fortunately, anyone can improve their ball handling skills with time and effort.
Touch the ball with fingers: improve basketball dribbling
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You want to dribble with your hands in such a way that you have good control over the ball and don’t need to use a lot of arm strength to keep it bouncing. Don’t slap the ball with your palm because of this. Instead, try to use the tips of your fingers to control the ball. For a wider, more even touch area, spread your fingers out across the ball’s surface.
Your fingertips will not only provide you greater control than your palms, but they will also enable you to dribble more quickly.
Keep your stance low: improve basketball dribbling
It’s not a good idea to maintain an upright, up-and-down stance while dribbling. The ball will have to bounce from your upper body all the way to the ground and back, leaving it wide open for a defender to steal in this position. Position yourself in a low, defensive stance before you begin to dribble. Spread your feet out to shoulder width. As if you were sitting on a chair, slightly recline your hips and bend your knees. Get your head up and most of your upper body upright. This is a solid, well-balanced base that gives you lots of mobility while protecting the ball.
Don’t stoop (as if you were stooping over to pick something up) at the waist.
Bouncing ball off the ground
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That’s it! Take the ball with your dominant hand and handle it with your fingertips to bounce it off the ground. Bounce it firmly, but not so hard that you struggle to manage it or need to use a lot of arm power. Your dribble should be swift while being regulated and steady. Again, you shouldn’t be wearing out your arm with dribbling; instead, each time the ball comes to your hand, make touch with it with your fingers and push it back down with a controlled motion of the wrist and forearm.
Hand on the top of the ball: improve basketball dribbling
Maintaining control of the ball’s motion is crucial when dribbling. Never let the ball elude you because doing so could allow the opposing team free possession of it. As you move, try to keep your hand’s palm directly over the ball so that, on its “up” bounce, the ball will land on your fingertips. As you walk around the court, you will have more control over the ball thanks to this.
The fact that momentarily “catching” the ball on its underside at any time when dribbling results in a penalty known as a carrying violation is another reason to concentrate on maintaining your hand over the ball at all times while dribbling.
Keep the ball low
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It is more difficult for your opponent to steal the ball when it bounces shorter and faster. Simply bouncing the ball closer to the ground is one surefire technique to shorten its bounces. Since you’re already in a low stance (with your knees bent and your hips dropped back), shifting the ball’s peak bounce to a location between your knee and hip shouldn’t feel too awkward. Keep your knees bent while dribbling low and quickly while placing your dominant hand on the side of your leg.
Dribbling in a low stance shouldn’t need you to stoop to one side. If so, your shooting angle is definitely too low.
Keep your head up: improve basketball dribbling
It’s challenging to avoid looking at the ball when you dribble when you first begin since the motion isn’t yet natural to you. To practice gazing at anything (and everything), nevertheless, is crucial. While dribbling during a game, you’ll need to search for your teammates, keep an eye on your defender, and be aware of the location of the basket. If you spend a lot of time gazing at the ball, you will not be able to complete this.
The only way to develop genuine confidence in your dribbling skills is through diligent practice. You can’t spend too much time honing your dribbling technique when you’re playing basketball.
Take care where to dribble the ball: improve basketball dribbling
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The method you dribble the ball during a game should adjust depending on your surroundings, including other players’ locations and the weather. You can dribble the ball in front of you to allow yourself to run as quickly as possible if you are in open court (for example, if you are pushing the ball up the court after the opposition team has scored a point). However, when you’re close to defenders (especially if one is protecting you), assume a low, defensive posture and bounce the ball at your side (just outside and ahead of your shoe). By doing this, the defender will have to reach across your body to grab the ball, which will make it much tougher for him to do so and may result in a foul.
Keep your body between defender and ball
You should defend the ball with your body when one or more defenders are covering you, trying to steal the ball from you or block your shots and passes. Never pass the ball to the side of your body where the defender is standing. Instead, place your body between your defender and the ball to make it more difficult for the defender to grab the ball from you (remember, the defender can’t just push you out of the way or strike over your body to obtain the ball without risking a foul for his team).
The hand that isn’t dribbling can be used as an arm bar. Present your forearm side to your opponent by raising your non-dribbling arm and making a fist. Use arm bars with caution.
