Good basketball drills isolate one skill at a time, give players enough reps to build a habit, and connect to a real game situation. The most effective drill libraries cover dribbling, shooting, passing, defense, conditioning, and game situations, with progressions from beginner to advanced so every player on the roster has a drill that fits where they are now.
Basketball drills are short, repeatable exercises that build one part of the game at a time. The right drill isolates a single skill (a crossover, a closeout, a chest pass), gives players enough reps to feel a change, and links cleanly to what happens in a real possession. The library below covers dribbling, shooting, passing, defense, conditioning, and game situations with options for beginners through advanced players.
Most coaches do not run out of drills. They run out of drills that solve the specific problem in front of them: a guard who picks up her dribble at the first hint of pressure, a wing who shoots eight feet long off the catch, a help-side defender who watches the ball instead of his man. Picking the right drill matters more than picking another drill. The sections below are organized by skill area so you can scan to the exact part of the game you need to fix this week, then pull the drill that matches your players' level. For age-specific progressions and a printable practice plan structured around 5-12 year olds, see our youth basketball drills library by age progression.
A good basketball drill does three things at once: it isolates a skill clearly enough that players can feel what changes, it produces enough reps to build a habit, and it carries over directly to a game situation. Drills that fail one of those tests usually feel busy without producing results. A line of 12 players waiting for a single layup is not a drill, it is a queue. Picking the right drill starts with the skill you are trying to fix, not the drill you remember from when you played.
Most coaching frameworks group basketball into seven fundamental skill areas. A balanced practice touches most of them every session, even if only one or two get the lion's share of the time:
For a deeper breakdown of how to weight these seven skills across a 60 or 90-minute session, see our basketball practice plan templates, which map the skills to timed practice blocks. The drills in the rest of this guide give you the specific exercises for each area.
Start with the most common breakdown you saw in your last game or scrimmage. If your team turned the ball over against pressure, run dribbling drills under contact next practice. If shots fell short in the second half, run conditioning so legs hold up later. Match the drill to the gap. Avoid stacking three drills that attack the same skill in one practice unless that skill is the entire point of the session. USA Basketball publishes skills and drills organized by player development level(opens in new tab) (introductory, foundational, advanced) and matching the drill to the player's stage stops you from teaching a 10-year-old a footwork pattern she is not yet ready to absorb.
Dribbling builds the foundation under everything else. Players who cannot dribble with both hands at speed have only half a court to work with on every possession. The drills below progress from stationary control to full-court pressure and add a defender once the basics hold up. For a deeper dribbling-only library with fifteen drills, the four types of dribbling, and live-pressure 1v1 work, see our basketball dribbling drills sub-topic article. Add the ones you want to your session as you read.
Builds: Two-hand ball control
Every player with a ball, spread across the court. The coach calls a move and times it for 20 to 30 seconds: right-hand pound, left-hand pound, crossover, between the legs, behind the back.
Reps: 5 moves x 20-30s
Target: Head up, fingertip control through all 5 moves
Low dribbles below the waist · Head up · Fingertips, not the palm
Builds: Two-hand dribble coordination
Two-ball coordination work with a ball in each hand: matching rhythm first, then alternating heights, then walking variations. The dribbling spoke article gives the full progression.
Builds: Two-hand dribbling down the floor
Six cones about 12 feet apart down the court. Players dribble with the right hand on the way down and the left hand on the way back, with a crossover at each cone. Run two lines at once to shorten wait time.
Target: A crossover at every cone, both hands clean
Add behind-the-back or between-the-legs at each cone once players can finish smoothly.
Builds: Crossover change-of-direction
Players dribble a zig-zag pattern down a line of cones, executing a crossover at each change of direction. The dribbling spoke covers the rep target and the common error.
Builds: Dribble under pressure, then finish
The offensive player starts with the ball at the baseline, defender one arm's length away. On the whistle the offensive player tries to score at the far basket. Rotate every two attempts.
Builds: Eyes-up control under distraction
Players dribble two balls while catching and tossing a tennis ball with a partner, forcing the eyes up and splitting attention between the dribble and the catch.
Builds: Change-of-pace hesitation
Players rep the hesitation combo move: a stutter that freezes the defender, then an explosive change of pace past them. The dribbling spoke breaks down the timing.
Builds: In-and-out fake
Players rep the in-and-out combo move: faking a crossover by pushing the ball in, then keeping it in the same hand to attack the other way.
The two-ball coordination drills, zig-zag crossover patterns, and hesitation and in-and-out combo moves above get a full walkthrough with a target rep count, a coaching cue, the most common error, and a fix for each in our basketball dribbling drills library.
Shooting rewards practice more than any other skill, but only if the practice is structured. Random jumpers from three-point range build bad habits that stick for years. Start close, focus on form, and move back only when the form holds. The drills below cover form work, range, free throws, and shooting under conditioning stress. For a deeper drill library broken down by shot type with coaching cues and common-error fixes, see our basketball shooting drills sub-topic article.
Builds: Repeatable shooting form
Players shoot from 3 to 5 feet in front of the rim with correct form, stepping back two feet after 20 makes. BEEF is the checklist: Balance, Eyes, Elbow, Follow-through.
Reps: 20 makes per distance
Target: 20 makes with clean form before moving back
Balance · Eyes on the target · Elbow under the ball · Snap the follow-through
Builds: Finish with both hands
The player starts under the rim, shoots a right-hand layup on the right side, rebounds, immediately shoots a left-hand layup on the left side, and repeats for 60 seconds counting makes.
Reps: 60s, count makes
Target: 15-20 makes in 60s
Builds: Quick-set catch-and-shoot
Five cones at the free-throw line extended: two corners, two wings, top of the key. Each player shoots from every spot with a partner rebounding and feeding; first to ten total makes wins. Rotate roles every minute.
Reps: First to 10 makes
Target: First to 10 makes across the 5 spots
Builds: Repeatable free-throw routine
Each player shoots ten free throws with a fixed pre-shot routine and the coach logs the percentage. Repeat at the end of practice when legs are tired to expose conditioning gaps.
Reps: 10 free throws, log the %
Target: The same routine on all 10 attempts
Dribble count, breath, target
Builds: Footwork on the catch
A passer at the top of the key, a shooter spotting up at a wing or corner. The pass is crisp and on target; the shooter sets the feet and shoots in one motion. Add a closeout defender once it looks clean.
Reps: 20 reps per spot
Target: Feet set, one-motion release on every rep
Builds: Accuracy under a conditioning clock
Two players pair up for 40 makes in 3 minutes across four shot categories (layups, elbow jumpers, wing jumpers, baseline shots), 10 makes per category, with a partner rebounding. Fastest to finish wins.
Reps: 40 makes (10 x 4 categories) in 3 min
Target: 40 makes inside 3 min, 10 per category
Builds: Focus under adversity
The player picks five shooting spots and a target make-rate. The “Pro” earns a point per miss; the player earns a point per make. First to seven points wins.
Reps: First to 7 points
Target: Beat the Pro to 7 points
Builds: Range across the arc
Players work through a fixed sequence of seven spots from baseline to baseline, requiring two consecutive makes from each spot before moving on.
Reps: 2 consecutive makes per spot
Target: 2 straight makes at every one of the 7 spots
Builds: Footwork on the pull-up
Added once players can dribble with both hands: one or two dribbles into a jumper, teaching the footwork on a transition shot off the dribble.
Most coaches searching for a "39 and 3" drill mean the 40 in 3 drill in the card above (small typing differences in search results surface it as "39 and 3" or "39 in 3"). The core structure holds: 10 makes across four shot categories (layups, elbow jumpers, wing jumpers, baseline shots) against a 3-minute clock, with a partner rebounding and feeding, so it stresses shooting accuracy and conditioning at once. Basketball Coach Weekly publishes the full 40 in 3 protocol(opens in new tab) including paired-player scoring and progress tracking.
Passing is the skill youth coaches and beginner adults underrate the most. Players want to dribble because it feels like control. But teams that pass well score more, create open shots, and turn the ball over less. The drills below build the habit of looking up, throwing on time, and moving after the release.
Builds: On-target passing fundamentals
Two players ten feet apart. The coach calls the pass type: chest, bounce, overhead, skip; ten reps per type. Targets: thumbs down on the chest pass, two-thirds of the way on the bounce, a step into the overhead.
Reps: 10 reps per pass type
Target: On target each type: thumbs down, two-thirds bounce, step-in
Builds: Pass fakes and ball protection
Two offensive players ten feet apart with one defender between them. The offense passes back and forth without letting the defender deflect or steal; pivots allowed, no dribbling. Rotate the defender every 60 seconds.
Reps: Rotate the defender every 60s
Target: Complete the passes, no deflection in a turn
Fake before you pass · Protect the ball with your body
Builds: Passing and lane-filling on the move
Three players across the baseline. The middle player passes to either side and sprints behind the receiver; the new receiver passes to the third player and sprints behind. Continue down the court, finishing with a layup.
Target: Weave the full court to a layup, no travels
Builds: Continuous-motion passing
Five players at five spots forming a star (top, both wings, both corners). Players pass across the star and follow the pass to the next spot. Add a defender chasing the ball once it is smooth.
Builds: Outlet and transition rhythm
A rebounder grabs an imagined board and outlets to a guard at the wing, who pushes the ball up while two players fill the lanes for a 3-on-0 break to a layup. Add a chase defender to make it 3-on-1.
Builds: Reading the defender to feed
Two offensive players with one defender between them use a wrap pass (around the defender's hip) instead of a chest or bounce pass, reading the defender to find the open hand.
Defense is half the game. Strong defense at any level is equal parts mindset and skill. The 5 D's capture the mindset; the drills below build the physical skills (stance, slides, closeouts, help rotations) that turn effort into stops. Drill defense as much as you drill offense and you will outscore better-talented teams. For a deeper defense-only library, see our Basketball Defense Drills collection of 19 drills covering stance, on-ball, help-side, closeouts, and team shell.
Many coaches teach the 5 D's as a defensive mindset framework. The most widely cited version is Discipline, Determination, Desire, Deflection, and Dedication, with some programs swapping in Diligence or Defense:
The 5 D's give players a checklist they can self-assess. The drills below convert that mindset into repeatable physical reps.
Builds: Lateral defensive stance
Players line up on the baseline in a defensive stance: knees bent, chest up, hands active at shoulder height. The coach signals direction with a hand; players slide laterally without crossing their feet. 30 to 45 seconds, three rounds.
Reps: 30-45s x 3 rounds
Target: Feet never cross for the full round
Knees bent, chest up · Do not cross the feet
Builds: Sprint-to-closeout control
The defender starts under the basket, an offensive player at the three-point line. The coach passes out; the defender sprints, breaks down with choppy steps in the last three feet, and lands in a closeout (one hand high, one low, balanced). 10 reps per side.
Reps: 10 reps per side
Target: Balanced closeout, hand high, on all 10
Builds: Slide conditioning for a full possession
Cones in a zig-zag from baseline to half-court. The defender slides in stance, mirroring an imagined dribbler down each leg of the zig-zag. Add a live offensive player once the slide pattern looks clean.
Builds: Help-side rotations and communication
Four offensive players around the perimeter, four defenders in a help-side shell. The offense passes around while the on-ball defender pressures, the two one-pass-away defenders deny, and the help-side defender drops to the lane. No shots allowed.
Target: Talk and rotate on every pass
Ball moves, you move · Talk on every pass
Builds: Timing of help and recovery
Three offensive players (top, wing, baseline) and three defenders. On a drive from the top, the wing defender helps, then recovers when the ball kicks back out. Add a second drive on the same possession to stress conditioning.
Builds: Taking a charge
An offensive player drives at a defender holding a stance; the defender steps in early and takes the contact (use mats or pads for younger players).
Builds: Box-out contact and pursuit
One offensive rebounder, one defender. On the shot, the defender finds the offensive player, makes contact, and pursues the ball.
Target: Make contact before pursuing the ball
Find a body, then find the ball
Conditioning is what holds technique together in the fourth quarter. Tired players miss free throws, blow rotations, and fail to box out. Conditioning drills are most effective when they include a basketball movement, not just running. The drills below combine endurance with skill so players are not asked to choose between the two. For a deeper library of sideline sprints, lane slides, full-court flow drills, and game-pace endurance work, see our basketball conditioning drills sub-topic guide.
Builds: Game-pace sprint endurance
The classic conditioning test: the player runs sideline to sideline 17 times in a fixed time (guards aim under 60 to 65 seconds, posts a few seconds slower). Run as a pre-season test, then again mid-season to track progress.
Reps: 17 sideline runs against the clock
Target: Guards under 60-65s, posts a few seconds slower
Builds: Lateral conditioning
The player slides laterally in the lane: touch the right block, slide to the left block, touch, slide back, for 30 to 45 seconds.
Reps: 30-45s per round
Builds: Finish under fatigue
Two lines sprint the full length of the court, finish a layup, sprint back, and rejoin the line for ten minutes of continuous flow.
Target: Full-speed finish, no walking back
Full speed · Contested-pace finish · No walking back
Builds: Explosive vertical conditioning
The player jumps and taps the rim or backboard ten consecutive times, landing and jumping as quickly as possible. Two rounds. Players who cannot reach set a target on the backboard or net.
Reps: 10 consecutive touches x 2 rounds
Target: 10 consecutive touches, no reset
Builds: Continuous transition conditioning
Five players run a 5-on-0 break to a layup; as the ball goes up, three new defenders pick up three of the original five to create a 3-on-2 the other way. The flow continues end-to-end with substitutions on the fly.
Builds: Stance endurance for a full possession
The player slides in a defensive stance around the entire perimeter of the court (baseline, sideline, baseline, sideline) for two laps.
Reps: 2 perimeter laps
Target: Stance held both laps, no standing up
Stay low · Do not pop up to rest
Game situation drills connect everything else. Skill drills build the moves; game drills build the decisions (when to attack, when to pass, how to defend the last 24 seconds with a one-point lead). Spend roughly a quarter to a third of each practice in some form of live or scripted competition.
Builds: Touches and decisions
Three on three in the half-court; first team to five baskets wins. The coach freezes play once or twice to highlight spacing or help defense, keeping stoppages short. Rotate teams every five minutes.
Reps: First to 5 baskets
Target: First to 5 baskets, spacing held
Builds: Game-speed decisions
Full-court 5-on-5 with score and clock, run as live as possible with built-in adjustments: walking through the first possession, calling coverages, freezing for teaching points.
Builds: End-of-game execution
Set the scoreboard (30 seconds left, down by two, defense in the bonus) and run the situation live. Reset and run again with different rules: down by one, up by three, free-throw situation.
Builds: Sideline inbound execution
Run two or three sideline inbounds plays (after a timeout) against a live defense.
Builds: Composure against pressure
Five offensive players advance the ball against a 1-2-1-1 or 2-2-1 press. Set the rule: catch and rip, short pass to the middle, attack the seam. Run for ten minutes.
Builds: Reading the defender in transition
Numbered-advantage drills. 2-on-1: two players attack one defender, finishing with a layup or pull-up. 3-on-2: three against two, requiring a pass to set up an open shot. The decision matters more than the finish.
Builds: Baseline inbound execution
Run two or three baseline out-of-bounds plays against a live defense.
3v3 and other small-sided games produce more touches and decisions per player than 5v5, which is why they are widely used to build decision-making across age levels. For research on how to manipulate game constraints (court size, scoring rules, defender count) to target specific skills, see our small-sided games design guide.
A drill library should serve every player on your roster, not just the ones who can already do the move. The beginner section below covers the foundation a first-time player or rec-league adult needs before joining a regular practice. The advanced section covers reads and screen actions that high-school and adult players can absorb once the foundation is solid.
Beginners need ball-feel and balance before they need plays. The four drills below build pivot and travel awareness, the triple-threat stance, layup footwork, and solo passing reps before a first-time player joins a regular practice.
Builds: Pivot and travel awareness
Players keep one foot planted while rotating the upper body, learning to pivot without lifting the pivot foot and building travel awareness.
Builds: Triple-threat readiness
Players position the ball at hip height with knees bent, ready to shoot, pass, or drive. The stance every offensive possession should start from.
Builds: Layup footwork
Break the layup into “outside foot, inside foot, jump” repetitions until the footwork is automatic.
Reps: outside foot, inside foot, jump
Builds: Solo passing reps
A solo player throws roughly 200 chest passes in five minutes against a flat wall, building hand-eye coordination without a partner.
Reps: ~200 chest passes in 5 min
Target: ~200 on-target chest passes in 5 min
For complete beginners (adults new to basketball or older teens taking it up later than peers), pace is the biggest factor. Move through drills slowly enough that form holds, even if it feels too slow. For a step-by-step skill progression built specifically for adult rec league players and older starters, see our basketball drills for beginners (adults & older starters) library.
Once the seven basic skills hold up under pressure, advanced players benefit from drills that read defenders and set up teammates. The four reads below cover the pick and roll, off-ball screens, the pin-down curl or fade, and the dribble hand-off.
Builds: Pick-and-roll decision-making
Players work the four ball-handler decisions (pull up, reject, snake, deliver) plus the screener's choices (roll, pop, slip). The pick and roll guide covers each read in depth.
Builds: Reading off-ball screens
The cutter reads the defender and chooses one of three options off the screen: curl, fade, or straight.
Builds: Curl-or-fade read
A screener and a shooter: the shooter reads the defender's positioning to choose curl (defender trails) or fade (defender goes over).
Builds: Dribble hand-off action
A guard's dribble links to a teammate's catch with a hand-off motion that often opens a half-step of separation.
Our pick and roll basketball guide walks through the six execution steps, the five defensive coverages, and the progression drills in depth. Position-aware advanced drills work better when players know the role each spot demands. Our basketball positions explained guide breaks down what each of the five positions does and which drills sharpen each role.
One practice plan gets you through Tuesday night. A library of drills you trust gets you through October to March. Keep the drills you actually run somewhere you and your assistants can pull them up in seconds, tagged with players, equipment, time, and difficulty so the right drill lands in the right slot. Building a categorization system that scales beyond a Google Doc takes some thought. Our drill library organization guide covers tagging conventions, search heuristics, and how to keep a library current as your roster changes. The fifty-plus drills you added while reading collect here into a session you can download as an image, print, or copy into a spreadsheet.
Your Basketball practice plan
Add drills from the sections above to build a session you can export, print, or copy
Pick one drill from each major category (dribbling, shooting, passing, defense) for the week. Add one conditioning drill and one game-situation drill. That gives every practice the same six-block structure regardless of which specific drills you pull. Rotate the specific drills every two weeks so players stay engaged but the skill categories stay consistent. Across a 16-week season that produces roughly eight repetitions of each fundamental, enough reps for habits to form. Drill rotation also lets you build progressive sequences within a category: start with a fundamental, layer on contact, then add a decision. Our drill progression design guide covers how motor learning research applies to building those sequences so reps actually transfer to games.
The drills that deserve the most practice time are the ones that fix what is breaking down in games. Logging stats during drills (free throw percentage at the start vs end of practice, made layups in 60 seconds, shell drill possessions without a breakdown) makes the difference between drills that feel productive and drills that actually move numbers. Our basketball stat sheet includes columns for tracking the same metrics during practice and games, so you can see whether a drill carries over.
If you coach multiple teams or age groups, keeping drills organized by skill, age, and equipment saves setup time every week. See how Striveon's drill library tags drills by skill area, age range, and equipment needs so assistants can pull up the right session in seconds. When the same drills feed directly into training events that schedule, notify players, and record attendance, the link from plan to practice happens once and stays in sync. When practice plans connect to session tracking that records which drills you ran and who attended, you can look at the season in one view and see exactly what you have covered. That visibility helps you plan the next week based on gaps, not guesses.
Tag drills by skill area, age, and equipment. Share a single drill library across your coaching staff so every practice pulls from the same source.
Structure timed practice blocks, rotate stations, and progress drills across the season with a repeatable planning framework.
Connect drills, sessions, evaluations, and athlete development pathways inside one platform.
60 and 90-minute practice plan templates with timed blocks, drill libraries, and the 80/20 planning rule.
Age-specific drills and a printable practice plan for ages 5 through high school, organized around developmental stages.