Improve Your Basketball Defensive Play with These Valuable Tips

Great Basketball Defensive Play wins championships! Having said that, most players don’t work on their defensive game. That means you must dedicate yourself to improving your basketball defensive play!

Practicing defense can seem boring – maybe not as exciting as offense. That may be true, but remember to be a complete basketball player; you must be good at every aspect of the game.

Speaking from experience, coaches place a great value on defense. They often award the good defensive players with playing time because they are so valuable to the team’s success. What does this mean to you? Work on your basketball defensive play!!

One of the main keys to being a good defender is that you have to be aggressive. You must make up your mind that you are going to be a great defender and then put in the work necessary to get to that point.

The following tips will give you a better understanding of what it takes to improve your Basketball Defensive Play and be a great defender.

Tips To Play Great Basketball Defense

1. Defensive stance.

• You should start with your feet shoulder width apart.
• You should be up on the balls of your feet with your knees bent.
• Your arms should be slightly raised with your palms facing up.
• It is important that you remain in a balanced and comfortable stance. This will help you move quickly from side to side.
• When sliding from side to side, the feet should not meet or cross. The steps should be short, low and choppy. This enables you to react quickly and change directions when needed. I call this having quick feet.

2. Defense on the ball.

• You should be in a good defensive stance.
• It is important that you remain about one arms length away from the offensive player.
• Always stay between the player you are guarding and the basket. This is known as the man-you-basket position.
• When defending a dribbler, it is important to make the dribbler do something he is not comfortable with. If he likes to dribble with his right hand, you should overplay him so he has to dribble with his left hand instead.

3. Defense off the ball.

• Playing defense off the ball means that you are always in a good position to help your teammates out when needed.
• You should be in more of an open stance. This allows you to see your man and also the man with the ball.
• You should get into the habit of pointing one hand at the man you are guarding and one hand at the ball. This helps you concentrate on both and keeps you ready to help out.

For more great tips and drills on basketball defense for the youth basketball player, please visit our page on Youth Basketball Drills.

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I hope you found these tips for Basketball Defensive Play to be helpful and informative. Remember – defense wins championships!

Coaches love players that are willing to work hard on defense. This is a great way to help out your team. Players who are willing to learn and practice the defensive fundamentals will become a solid defensive player – and a great asset to their team.

If you need more great information on basketball defensive play or other basketball topics, I would suggest you purchase some good basketball books and videos. These will provide you with a wealth of knowledge about the game of basketball.