Do you like the sport of basketball but feel as though you do not know too much about it? You are not the only one. Plenty of people don’t know a lot about basketball. Keep reading to discover great tips that the pros use.

Know how to dribble the ball in the correct way. Don’t use your palm, use your fingers. This helps you to control the ball better. Be sure to dribble beside your body instead of in front of yourself. Bounce the ball at a level even with your waist. Look up and never down at the ground.

TIP! Crossovers are key for ball handlers. When you do a crossover, you move the basketball very fast from one hand over to the other hand.

Make sure you are looking forward and looking up as you’re dribbling. Lack of practice will manifest itself in looking down towards the ball when dribbling. Carry your basketball everywhere. Dribble the ball as you go about your day doing errands like walking the dog. Get used to looking up as you go so that you can focus your attention on the court and not on your hands and the ball.

If you have the ball a lot, learn to execute a crossover. Crossover dribble is switching hands while you’re dribbling. That action has to be done fast to be successful. If done correctly, a good crossover helps you get past your opponent and to the rim.

Any good basketball player needs to know how to make a layup. Layups comprise approximately 80 percent of all shots. When you practice, run full speed ahead at the basket, jump, and shoot. This method will teach you to improve your jumps and shots throughout the game.

Free Throws

Hitting free throws is a mental challenge as well as a physical one. You must train both your body and your mind. You are more likely to make more successful free throws if you relax and focus on the basket.

Quick and solid footwork is what it takes to make the shot when your posting up. Focus on positioning yourself more quickly than the opposing player is just as important as having someone beneath the hoop. Once you have gotten into position, secure your spot. Both skills rely on some solid footwork.

TIP! Perfect your bounce pass. A bounce pass that’s good is going to end up hitting the other player near their waist.

Study you opponent well to give yourself an edge. Watch tapes and stay up on scouting reports. Learn who the left handed players are and who the right handed ones are. When you know some of the other player’s moves, you’ll have a leg up during a game as you’ll be able to predict what he is going to do. A person that knows about defending makes a strong defender.

Look away when you practice passing. This is a great technique in order to help confuse the opponents. This will give the person that you passed the ball to a chance to make their move before your opponent can correct from their mix up. It can be quite powerful.

Your forearms and hands should be strengthened if you wish to handle the ball better. Do some wrist curls as much as possible and your dribbling should get better. Don’t just think you’re able to stand around, catch the ball and then shoot it. You have to start moving the basketball around to get things to happen.

TIP! Free throws are mental as well as physical. You can teach your body to make a free throw properly, but unless you are properly prepared mentally, you may not succeed.

Take charge when the opportunity presents itself. This allows you to get the ball back for your team, setting up a foul. Not only that, your opponents may become confused or frustrated and stop playing their game plan.

Never break your defensive stance as this will assure you are in your proper position for defense. Shifting your weight back and forth between your feet will help you to stay in position. Keep your feet from crossing to make it hard for your opponent to get by you.

Nba Distance

TIP! Better your basketball skills by watching the pros play. Get tickets to some pro games, if possible, or catch some games on television.

Always set your three-point shooting practice goal at the official NBA distance. High school lines, International standard lines, and college lines are closer. Putting in the shot from the NBA distance will give you an advantage over defenders who are not expecting it.

The only way to gain skill in outside shooting is to make over 100 practice shots every day from various spots on the court. To help you get even better, practice dribbling the ball and quickly pulling up for a shot. Avoid looking at your target until you are in the air. This will mimic game conditions and help improve your accuracy.

Try to practice a dribble while switching momentum from side to side. During the game, you will dribble in various situations. It would be great if you are always able to go full speed ahead, but more times than not you will need to move and flow with the defense in front of you. You must learn dribbling from all kinds of directions. This allows you to get yourself out of a tough spot.

TIP! You can improve your passing skills by practicing a simple drill where dribbling is forbidden. This helps to develop passing skills with your teammates, making it much more difficult if you’re standing in one spot and not dribbling.

Practice various shots from various places on the court. The first thing to do is work on balance and grip. Shooting when you are not in balance is less accurate, but it is possible. You can perfect your basketball grip by using the ball valve. Spread the fingers of your dominant hand and put the center of your hand over the valve located at the center of the basketball.

In summary, basketball is a sport that you love but really weren’t sure why until you took in this article. Hopefully, you’ll be ready to jump in and start playing now! So get moving, get on the court, and put this advice to use.