How to Drive to the Basket

Co-authored by Ryan Tremblay

Last Updated: March 12, 2024

In basketball, there are many shots but the majority of them will be low percentage shots unless you practice them a lot. But, the one shot that you should make 99% of the time is the lay up so in order to get a layup there are a variety of moves that you can do in order to get into the position to make a layup or make a very high percentage shot that is very tough to block.

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Who's guarding you? Are they tall or short, slow or fast, fat or skinny, and many other critical factors.^{[1]
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Then find an opening or space in which you can penetrate, again there are many factors that come into play, is the hole on your strong or weak hand, is there a strong weak side defender, and many more.^{[2]
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You can do the crossover, spin,bull-rush, stop and go, pump fake and many more. These are just the most basic and/or the most successful ones.^{[3]
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On the crossover you dribble one way fake that way and cross over very quick to the opposite hand, your opponent should be a step to a half step behind you and that is all you need to beat him.^{[4]
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The spin is when you dribble one way and spin, so that you trap the defender behind your body, now you should have that 1 half to a whole step advantage that you need.
The floater is a relatively low percentage shot if you don't practice it, but on the other hand it is near impossible to block (even if you are playing someone much taller than you are). You will dribble past your man and get 5–10 feet (1.5–3.0 m) away from the basket and will go up on one foot while your other foot is out and aim to lay the ball right in the basket without aiming for the square.
you pick one side and just go full speed and try to beat your defender(this USUALLY does not work if your defender is stronger, faster or a lot taller than you are.
Your defender should be off balance and you can pick the right shot in order to score.
The pump fake is when you fake the shot and you want the defender to jump and then you attack while he is in the air,he cannot change direction while in midair, (this only USUALLY works if you have all ready established yourself as a high percentage shooter.)
Once you have beaten your man if there is no weak side defender than you should go straight up for the layup, but if a weak side defender picks you up there again is a lot of options that you can take to beat him.
You simply pick up the ball and take a hop. It makes it so that all your momentum is going forward and like I said earlier in the article you cannot change direction while in midair so you can only go forward unless someone physically touches you and if he does it should be a foul. Then when you land go up again and you should have beat the weak side defender or he should have fouled you, if he has and you are unable to take the shot just throw it up and it will seem like you have been fouled. The ref will call it and you could make it too.
You can also try to spin again all though this isn't quite as effective but if you are one of the bigger men on the court this will work nicely. After you spin you can go up for the shot again.
It will work if the defender jumped before you reached the other side.
just remember these are just the basic or most successful moves and there are still many more out there and if you do come against a bigger defender in the low post penetrate hard to draw a foul.

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How do you do a crossover?

Ryan Tremblay
Basketball Coach
Ryan Tremblay is a Basketball Coach and the Owner of National Sports ID and STACK Basketball. With over 30 years of experience, Ryan specializes in basketball coaching, social media marketing, and website design. Ryan created the National Sports ID as a platform to verify the age/grade of youth athletes and STACK Basketball to inspire young athletes to grow into mature individuals and basketball players. Ryan was a First Team All-Decade basketball player in Bergen County and finished in the top 20 all-time leading scorers in the county’s history with 1,730 points. He went on to Caldwell University on a basketball scholarship where he was part of three championship teams. Ryan was a two-time All-Metropolitan, All-State, and All-Conference point guard and the all-time three-point leader in the school’s history, landing him in the Caldwell University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ryan Tremblay

Basketball Coach

Expert Answer

A crossover dribble involves going from right to left or left to right as you cross the dribble over in front of yourself. It should always start with a fake—for instance, you want to fake right and cross left, followed by a fake left and and cross right. Always keep the dribble below the knee, and make sure you're employing a quick change of direction.

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How can I dribble a basketball between my legs?

Ryan Tremblay
Basketball Coach
Ryan Tremblay is a Basketball Coach and the Owner of National Sports ID and STACK Basketball. With over 30 years of experience, Ryan specializes in basketball coaching, social media marketing, and website design. Ryan created the National Sports ID as a platform to verify the age/grade of youth athletes and STACK Basketball to inspire young athletes to grow into mature individuals and basketball players. Ryan was a First Team All-Decade basketball player in Bergen County and finished in the top 20 all-time leading scorers in the county’s history with 1,730 points. He went on to Caldwell University on a basketball scholarship where he was part of three championship teams. Ryan was a two-time All-Metropolitan, All-State, and All-Conference point guard and the all-time three-point leader in the school’s history, landing him in the Caldwell University Athletic Hall of Fame.

Ryan Tremblay

Basketball Coach

Expert Answer

To enhance your through-the-legs basketball dribbling, prioritize dedicated practice sessions over casual shooting. Focus on repetitive drills, performing variations such as right-to-left and left-to-right 50 times each. Introduce different combinations to improve versatility, organize structured sets (e.g., five sets of 10 or 20), and commit 30 minutes to an hour per session for optimal skill development. Consistent and disciplined practice is essential to mastering this technique and boosting your confidence on the court.

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How do I make foul shots while under pressure?

Community Answer

Don't worry about the fans who are against you. They are trying to discourage your performance. Just focus on the free throws and play your game in the zone.

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Always guard the ball from your opponent, usually with the hand that you are not dribbling with.

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Practice lay-ups to finish it.

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If your defender cuts off your dominant side go the other way. If you even want to be a decent basketball player, you have to be able to drive to both sides. Especially Kobe Bryant, he can mix and match the almost infinite amount of moves in order to beat most defenders.

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Warnings

Be careful not to trip.

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Try not to run too fast, it might result in hitting the wall.

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Try not to do too many acrobatics. Sometimes if you don't have pressure, you can drive to the basket and lay it in easily.

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