Dribbling Tips

In basketball, dribbling is one of the most basic fundamental skills needed to succeed in playing the game. Without it, players would be hard-pressed to find another way of getting the ball down the court without passing.

Dribbling, or bouncing the ball off of the floor with your hand, is used to get from one spot on the court to another. While dribbling, you are free to walk or run anywhere in bounds. However, when you pick up your dribble by holding the ball, you must establish a pivot foot that cannot leave the ground. This pivot foot is important because if you still have your dribble, you can threaten to drive around a defender. If you pick up your dribble, you must either pivot, shoot, or pass the ball.

Dribble combinations by basketball players are mesmerizing for defenders and for fans watching the ball-handler. There are different combinations an offensive player can use to drive to the basket, get the proper separation from a defender for a shot attempt, or use a combo dribble to pass to a teammate. Some of these include dribbling between the legs and behind the back.

Another is an in-and-out dribble combination, which means that the offensive player has the ball in their one hand and dribbles the ball outward, before snatching it back in and performing a crossover that will most likely confuse the defender.

All of the best players in the world have dribbling drills they go to help them improve their ball-handling skills. One possible drill is bouncing a tennis ball in one hand while dribbling a basketball in the other hand. This drill will help the player gain more control of the ball when they are playing against real-life defenders.

Another possible drill is dribbling two basketballs at the same time and practicing these dribble combinations with two balls.