basketball dribbling

1

Touch the ball with your fingertips, not your palm. When you dribble, you want your hands to make contact with the ball in such a way that you have good control over the ball and you don't have to use much arm strength to keep the ball bouncing. For this reason, don't slap the ball with your palm. Rather, try to handle the ball with the tips of your fingers. Spread your fingers out across the surface of the ball for a wider, more balanced contact area.

Not only will your fingertips give you more control than your palms - you'll also be able to dribble faster. Oklahoma City's player Paul George strongly recommends against palm-to-ball contact, as it "slows down the whole dribbling process."[1]

Image titled Dribble a Basketball Step 2

2

Get in a low stance. When dribbling, it's not smart to keep an erect, up-and-down posture. In this stance, the ball will have to travel all the way from your upper body to the ground and back again as it bounces, leaving it wide open for a defender to steal. Before you start to dribble, get in a low, defensive stance.[2] Spread your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and drop your hips back slightly (as if you were sitting in a chair). Get your head up and your upper body mostly erect. This is a good, balanced foundation - it protects the ball while giving you plenty of mobility.[3]

Don't bend at the waist (as if you were bending over to pick something up). Besides being bad for your back, this stance is fairly unbalanced, meaning it's easier to accidentally stumble forward, which, depending on the in-game situation, can be a big mistake.

1

Touch the ball with your fingertips, not your palm. When you dribble, you want your hands to make contact with the ball in such a way that you have good control over the ball and you don't have to use much arm strength to keep the ball bouncing. For this reason, don't slap the ball with your palm. Rather, try to handle the ball with the tips of your fingers. Spread your fingers out across the surface of the ball for a wider, more balanced contact area.

Not only will your fingertips give you more control than your palms - you'll also be able to dribble faster. Oklahoma City's player Paul George strongly recommends against palm-to-ball contact, as it "slows down the whole dribbling process."[1]

Image titled Dribble a Basketball Step 2

2

Get in a low stance. When dribbling, it's not smart to keep an erect, up-and-down posture. In this stance, the ball will have to travel all the way from your upper body to the ground and back again as it bounces, leaving it wide open for a defender to steal. Before you start to dribble, get in a low, defensive stance.[2] Spread your feet shoulder-width apart. Bend your knees and drop your hips back slightly (as if you were sitting in a chair). Get your head up and your upper body mostly erect. This is a good, balanced foundation - it protects the ball while giving you plenty of mobility.[3]

Don't bend at the waist (as if you were bending over to pick something up). Besides being bad for your back, this stance is fairly unbalanced, meaning it's easier to accidentally stumble forward, which, depending on the in-game situation, can be a big mistake.

3

Bounce the ball off of the ground. This is it! Handling the ball with your fingertips, take it in your dominant hand and bounce it off the ground. Bounce it firmly, but not so hard that you have to use serious arm strength or you have trouble controlling it. Your dribble should be quick, yet steady and controlled. Each time the ball returns to your hand, without grabbing it or catching it in any way, make contact with your fingertips and push it back down with a controlled motion of the wrist and forearm - again, you shouldn't be tiring your arm out from dribbling. The ball should hit the floor at a spot slightly to the side and ahead of the foot that's on the same side of your body as your dribbling hand.

When you're practicing dribbling for the very first time, it's O.K. to keep your eyes on the ball as you dribble until you get the hang of things. However, you should switch to dribbling without looking at the ball as soon as you can. It's expected that you'll be able to do this at nearly all levels of play.

4

Keep your hand on top of the ball. When you dribble, it's important to keep the motion of the ball under control. You never want the ball to get away from you, as this can give the other team possession of the ball for free. Try to keep the palm of your hand directly over the ball as you move so that the ball, on its "up" bounce, will bounce right into your fingertips. This will give you more control over the ball as you move around the court.

Another reason to focus on keeping your hand over the ball at all times while dribbling is that momentarily "catching" the ball on its underside at any point results in a penalty called a carrying violation. To avoid this, keep your palm over the ball and facing the floor as you dribble.

5

Keep the ball low. The shorter and quicker the ball's bounces, the harder it is for your opponent to steal. One sure-fire way to make your ball's bounces shorter is simply to bounce it closer to the ground. Since you're already in your low stance (with your knees bent and your hips dropped back), it shouldn't feel very unnatural to move the apex of the ball's bounce to somewhere between your knee and hip. Keeping your knees bent, drop your dominant hand down to the side of your leg and dribble with low, quick motions.[4]

You shouldn't need to bend to the side to dribble in a low stance. If so, you're probably dribbling too low. Remember that, in your low stance, the highest point of your bounce can be up to your hip while still keeping most of the defensive benefits of a low dribble.

3

Bounce the ball off of the ground. This is it! Handling the ball with your fingertips, take it in your dominant hand and bounce it off the ground. Bounce it firmly, but not so hard that you have to use serious arm strength or you have trouble controlling it. Your dribble should be quick, yet steady and controlled. Each time the ball returns to your hand, without grabbing it or catching it in any way, make contact with your fingertips and push it back down with a controlled motion of the wrist and forearm - again, you shouldn't be tiring your arm out from dribbling. The ball should hit the floor at a spot slightly to the side and ahead of the foot that's on the same side of your body as your dribbling hand.

When you're practicing dribbling for the very first time, it's O.K. to keep your eyes on the ball as you dribble until you get the hang of things. However, you should switch to dribbling without looking at the ball as soon as you can. It's expected that you'll be able to do this at nearly all levels of play.

4

Keep your hand on top of the ball. When you dribble, it's important to keep the motion of the ball under control. You never want the ball to get away from you, as this can give the other team possession of the ball for free. Try to keep the palm of your hand directly over the ball as you move so that the ball, on its "up" bounce, will bounce right into your fingertips. This will give you more control over the ball as you move around the court.

Another reason to focus on keeping your hand over the ball at all times while dribbling is that momentarily "catching" the ball on its underside at any point results in a penalty called a carrying violation. To avoid this, keep your palm over the ball and facing the floor as you dribble.

5

Keep the ball low. The shorter and quicker the ball's bounces, the harder it is for your opponent to steal. One sure-fire way to make your ball's bounces shorter is simply to bounce it closer to the ground. Since you're already in your low stance (with your knees bent and your hips dropped back), it shouldn't feel very unnatural to move the apex of the ball's bounce to somewhere between your knee and hip. Keeping your knees bent, drop your dominant hand down to the side of your leg and dribble with low, quick motions.[4]

You shouldn't need to bend to the side to dribble in a low stance. If so, you're probably dribbling too low. Remember that, in your low stance, the highest point of your bounce can be up to your hip while still keeping most of the defensive benefits of a low dribble.