Do you want to become a better defender in basketball? Here are some games and drills you should try to improve your defense.
When it comes to defence in basketball, it’s mainly about hustle and reading your opponent’s body movement.
You want to be able to kind of predict which direction they are going towards so that you can cut them off.
You also have to put in the effort and guard your opponent.
If you slack off for one second that could give the person you’re defending enough time to get open for a shot.
Additionally, to become a better defender in basketball, you need to understand defensive positioning –where to stand to apply the most pressure.
For instance, if you are guarding someone near the baseline, you should trap them between yourself and the line as it will make it more difficult for them to get open.
If you stood in the middle of the ball handler and the line, it will be easier for him/her to get to an open spot for a shot or a pass.
These are just a few things that you should keep in mind and practice to improve your defense.
The following four games and drills will help you do that:
1-on-1
Playing 1-on-1 is one of the best ways to improve your defence. It will force you to guard the ball handler in multiple positions (perimeter, post, etc.) and to box out and grab rebounds.
There are many ways you can play 1-on-1.
You can play it where the possession ends after every shot, made or missed, or you can play it where the game continues.
You can play for keeps or not. You can also limit the number of dribbles the ball-handler can take.
The game can be customized however you want.
My favourite way is to play it for keeps after 3.
I usually play up to 11 and find it is harder, cardio-wise, this way and forces me to use my energy efficiently.
Piggy in the Middle
How many of you know this game? I do. I remember it well because of all the horrifying trauma I got from it.
When I was younger, my friends always made me be the piggy and they would make it super hard for me to get the ball (I had terrible childhood friends).
Anyway, Piggy in the Middle is a great game to play to become a better defender in basketball.
If you don’t know what it is, it’s a keep-away game. You start with one player in the middle (the piggy) and all the other players on the outside, forming a circle or a square.
The point of the game is to keep the ball from being stolen by the piggy.
If the piggy does steal it, the player who passed the ball (or sometimes the one who touched it last) becomes the new piggy.
This game will help improve your defence because it forces the piggy to read the ball handler and predict where the ball is going to be passed.
This game will develop pass perception and hustle –two very important skills of perimeter defence.
Defensive Reaction Drills
Defensive reaction drills are great for developing cat-like quickness (like Black Panther) for defence.
If you can react faster than your opponent, then the chances of you stealing the ball or disrupting the offence are much higher.
So by doing these drills, you can develop that type of awareness.
Give these 3 drills a try:
Lay-Up Race For Defensive Improvement
Okay, so Lay-Up Race may not be the name of this drill. But I do vividly remember how to do it.
My basketball coach in middle school used to make us do this drill once a week.
To start, you have to form two lines.
One line will be the lay-uppers and one line will be the defenders.
The goal of the lay-uppers is to run to the other end of the court and make a layup. The goal of the defenders is to make it as difficult as possible for the lay-upper to make a shot.
They can try to block or steal the ball, or get in front of the opponent to prevent them from getting off an easy shot.
Once the race is over, the two players will switch sides (lay-upper becomes defender and defender becomes lay-upper).
I used to love this drill because I could show off my athleticism.
But besides it allowing me to showcase my cockiness, it is great for working on your fast break and fast-break defence.
Though this doesn’t happen often, stopping the fast break could be the difference in your team winning or not, so it is a good skill to have.
Additionally, this drill will also teach you the different positions to be in and how to react in the moment.
For instance, the lay-upper isn’t always going to go straight up a layup. Sometimes he/she will pump fake, like what Kobe Bryant does.
So you, as the defender, can’t just go up for a block every time. You have to read the situation and react accordingly. This drill will train you for that.
Final Thoughts
Defense is one of the most important aspects of basketball. It’s the one thing that can determine if you win or get blown out by an opponent.
This is why you need to be really good at it.
So, go and do these 4 games and drills and become a defensive pest next season.
