How To Improve Your Basketball Skills

Step 1

To improve your skills in basketball, it takes hard work. You have to be focused and practice a lot. If you want it bad enough you will get better and the number one way to get better is by playing in real games. This forces you to play in situations that are uncomfortable, challenging, and decisive that get you used to the game.

Step 2

Practicing basketball skills means practicing your dribbling, your shooting, your rebounding, your defense, and your passing. These are your primary skills learned to play the game, the other things you need to develop are your abilities, but thats a different topic.

Step 3

Dribbling- There are many routines to increase your dribbling skill, like using tennis balls to dribble instead of basketballs. Start out by walking with the basketball dribbling in your right hand, then switching to your left. While your doing this your body develops muscle memory naturally until that motion gets easier, then you advance a step by running with the ball. This concept is used with any skill your trying to learn.

Step 4

Shooting- To be a good shooter you need to practice your form. Everyones different and has a different style shot but you want your feet to be planted in the direction your going to shoot, and you want to go straight up and down. What you don't want to fade away or be moving in air when your shooting a basketball, until your comfortable with your shot, then you can start to mix it up. (If you play on a team your coach will be very unhappy if your fading away while you shoot, just to let you know).

Step 5

Rebounding- Box out, simple as that, you can jump as high as you want, and that definitely helps, but if you get in front of someone, put both arms out straight to the side, and get in a squatting position, you are twice as powerful as your opponent who is trying to out jump you while standing up. So, just get in position, move your feet, and keep the opponent behind you to get the rebounded, 9 out of ten times if you don't get the rebound this way you get an over the back call. So, practice your form, and develop that core!

Step 6

Defense- Defense wins games, and this is a team effort for sure, with all the help you have to give, but in the case of man to man, you need to bend your legs and shuffle your feet. Keep moving and never stand straight, always keep one leg a little behind the other, giving an option for one way the opponent can go with the ball, usually his off hand, that way you keep him in front and dont get beat off the dribble. You also have help D waiting for you.

Step 7

Passing- Crucial to the game, passing can set apart the big boys from the bottom feeders. Some passes are flashy, while others are trashy, but the key to good passing is balance. A fundamental pass is power from the core. Push out with one leg and perform multiple chest passes, bounce passes, overhead passes to practice, and again workout that core!