Basketball Dribbling Drills

Dribble Me This

Since dribbling is one of the most important skills to hone in the game of basketball, it is important to run a series of dribbling drills at every practice and before games.  These basketball dribbling drills should be performed for between 30 and 60 seconds.  Players are encouraged to practice these drills daily at home for improved performance.  

When introducing basketball dribbling drills, have all the players stand in a line side-by-side.  One of the senior players or assistant coaches can serve as the drill leader by standing in front of the line facing the players.  The leader is encouraged to praise good dribbling and help out players who may be struggling with the drill.  When introducing these basketball dribbling drills, run them at half-speed first, especially the circular drills, which can be a bit tricky at first.    

The Highs and Lows of Dribbling

For the first dribble drill, players dribble the ball with their right hand held waist-high in front of them.  Gradually, they begin bouncing the ball harder until the bounce is as high as possible without the feet leaving the ground.  Once this peak is reached, players should gradually lower the dribble back to waist height, dropping to one knee and lowering as close to the ground as possible.  Repeat this drill for the left hand. 

The next dribble drill begins in the same manner- with the right hand dribbling the ball at waist height.  At the sound of the coach’s whistle, players kill the bounce by dribbling as low as they can while standing erect.  Gradually bring the dribble back to waist height before killing it again.  Repeat this drill for the left hand.  

Figure Eights and Circles 

The next series of basketball dribbling drills involves maneuvering the ball between the legs.  For the first drill, players begin with their legs a bit wider than shoulder-width apart, dribbling the ball at knee-height with their left hand.  At the sound of the coach’s whistle, players begin dribbling the ball around the outside of their left leg, between their legs, passing it to the right hand.  

Now, the ball is dribbled around the back of the right leg, and back through to the back of the left leg, changing hands again.  This effectively creates a figure-eight around the legs.  For added difficulty, players can change the direction of the figure-eight at the sound of the coach’s whistle.  

For the next drill, players stand with their legs shoulder-width apart, dribbling the ball with the left hand.  First, players dribble around the left leg, then switch the ball to their right leg and dribble around it.  Next, players move their legs together, and alternate hands to dribble around their legs.  

After a few rotations like this, player drop to their left knee, dribbling under their leg and around their body, switching to the right knee after finishing.  Finally, players kneel and use both hands to dribble around their body before standing up again to repeat the sequence.