Getting better at dribbling a basketball takes a lot of practice. There’s a lot of nuances that go intro dribbling and getting by your defender, but I want to focus on just a few basic ballhandling moves every player should have that are always effective.
The Crossover:
If you want to get better at dribbling the basketball, the crossover is the most basic ballhandling move you can learn. It involves dribbling the ball from one hand to another, as shown in the image below. There’s different variations to this move, such as dribbling between the legs, but master this move and you’re well on your way to becoming one with the ball.
The Spin Move:
The spin move is another effective move to get by your opponent. It involves spinning your body while dribbling the ball to elude the defender, as shown in the image below..
The Behind the Back:
The third and final move ballhandling move I want to discuss is going behind the back. It involves dribbling the ball from one hand to the other while being behind your back. Basically it’s a more advanced version of the crossover, but very effective at sneaking by your defender, as shown in the image below.
All three of these moves are great because they take advantage of an over eager defender who might want to anticipate which direction you’re going and try to steal the ball. They allow you to quickly change direction and skate past them.
Handling the ball is essential to the game and every player no matter how big or small should learn to improve this part of it.
Master these three moves and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a dominant ball handler and shaking defenders and dazzling the crowd!
The last topic I want to cover is defense, as it’s half the battle to winning the game. Every player should be just as fundamentally sound on this side of the ball.