Basketball Ball Handling Drills

Putting lots of time and effort into improving your ball handling skills is the only way to improve this area of your game.

It's not enough to think you'll get better just by playing lots of pick-up ball.

To become a better ball handler, you have to spend lots of time working on your technique, your weak hand, and court vision.

The top 3 things to make you a better ball handler

Regardless of the position you play on the floor, you need to be a good dribbler. If you're a guard, then obviously you need to have great handles. But even if you are a forward or center, you need to be have good ball handlings skills.

Let's cover the 3 most impotant things you need to do to become a better dribbler and some drills to improve in these areas:

1.) Dribble with your fingertips only
Basketball is a game that should be played with the ball on your fingertips. Whether you are shooting, passing, or dribbling, the ball should be on your fingertips only, and should never touch the palm of your hand. Think about it: if you go to pick something up, you don't put it between the palms of your hands. You grab it with your fingers. Same thing goes for basketball.

A great drill is the wall dribble: grab a basketball and stand next to a wall in the gym. Dribble the basketball against the wall, with the ball touching only your fingertips. Really pound the ball against the wall, as this will build up your finger and wrist strength. Move the ball left to right, and up and down. Do this for 30 seconds with each hand, building up to a full minute with each hand.

2.) Keep your head up
When you dribble the ball, your intent is to go somewhere. Maybe you are dribbling up the court on a fast break, maybe you are dribbling to the wing as part of the offense, or maybe you are driving past the defender and to the basket. Whatever your goal and wherever you are going, you need to see the floor. Never dribble the ball with your head down, looking at the ball. By keeping your head up and seeing the floor, you can see where the defense is and what your next move might have to be. You can also see where your teammates are, who might be open, and what a good passing opportunity might be.

This is a great drill for getting used to dribbling with your head up so you can see the floor: simply start at one baseline and dribble full speed the full length of the court, keeping your head up at all times. DO NOT look down at the ball. Switch hands at half court. You can also try this drill with your eyes closed. But only dribble at half speed, and make sure to open your eyes after a few dribbles to make sure you aren't going to run into anything.

3.) Be able to dribble with either hand
If you can only dribble effectively with your strong hand, you are very limited as an offensive threat. If I'm a defender, and I know you can only dribble to your right side, it will be very easy to guard you. But if you can drive to either your right or left, and have a good outside shot, then you're a real threat. Then I have to guard against a shot, and a drive to either side. Now you've got me guessing about what you might do next. Work on dribbling with both hands so that you don't have a weak dribbling hand. Work at it enough that you can dribble and drive to the baset equally well with either hand.

There are two ways to build your off-hand dribbling skills: one is simply to practice with your off hand. Make a point to do ONLY off hand dribbling drills for 15 or 20 mins a day for the next week. You'll be amazed at how much better your off hand will be in just that short amount of time.

Another amazing set of drills for developing your off hand are two-ball drills. Get two basketballs and start off at the baseline. Dribble both balls in a zig-zag pattern for the full length of the court, bouncing the balls at the same time. Once you reach the other end of the floor, do the same drill, but this time bounce the balls at different times (one ball hits the ground as the other ball comes up to your other hand, etc.). Remember, don't look down at the balls as you dribble. Do these drills for a few weeks and your off hand dribbling ability will be much improved.

Remember and practice these 3 main points, and you'll be a much better ball handler.

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