Basketball
Basketball Drills You Can Do Without a Hoop: 5 Ways to Practice at Home
Professional basketball player Andrew Robinson shares 5 game-changing home drills to master ball-handling, shooting form, passing, and defence without needing a hoop.
Debunking the myth that you need a basketball hoop to get better!
Gone are the days when you need a fancy gym or heaps of equipment to improve your basketball game. I’ve played professional basketball in four different countries around the world, and one of the things I wish I'd known earlier in my basketball journey was the fact that most of the growth you’ll do as a player actually occurs outside of a traditional gym! We’re going to unpack some of my favourite ways I've improved my game over the years without a basketball hoop!
01
Can you practice basketball without a hoop?
The answer is a resounding YES. There are so many skills in basketball that don’t require a proper basketball hoop. You can improve upon your ball handling, your conditioning, your passing, your basketball IQ, and yes, even your shooting without a traditional basketball hoop! Now of course if you’re looking to get up 500 three pointers, that will require a basketball ring, but i’m going to teach you today five different ways to improve your game without ever needing to go to a basketball court!
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Best basketball drills you can do without a hoop
Here are basketball drills you can do at home, without a hoop, or outside in a small space like a garage, driveway, or park! The main premise is that there’s something for everyone, even beginners, and there’s always a way to improve your game! My favourite advice for young basketball players who want to play at the next level is to do something to get better every single day. These are five basketball drills that will improve your game and do not require a basketball court!
1. Stationary ball handling
This is the easiest most effective way to improve your game without having a basketball court.
Beginners: We’ll start with single hand bounces at your ankles, and we’ll subsequently raise to hip height, and then shoulder height, before switching to your opposite hand. I’d start with 50 bounces at each level (ankle, hip, & shoulder) for each hand. This should take you no more than 3-4 minutes.
NBL Drills Ankle Pound
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Hip Pound
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Shoulder Pound
© Andrew Robinson
Intermediate: From here, once we’ve mastered control with both hands, we can progress to more advanced dribble moves such as crossovers, between the legs, and behind the back. The focus here should be keeping your eyes up, not looking at the basketball, and pushing the ball through the floor. We’ll do 50 reps of each move here as well. This should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
Advanced: The final stage of stationary ball handling that I would recommend for advanced stages would be two-ball dribbling. It’s important that we emphasize keeping our eyes up, not looking at the basketball, and having control of both basketballs over speed. In this exercise, we will repeat our beginners framework, dribbling both basketballs at the same time starting at ankle height, then going to hip height, then raising to shoulder height. Your focus should be on pounding both basketballs through the floor while maintaining control. We’ll remain at 50 reps per height. This should take no more than 2-3 minutes.
NBL Drills 2 Ball Ankle
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills 2 Ball Hip
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills 2 Ball Shoulder
© Andrew Robinson
2. Form Shooting
Believe it or not, form shooting was one of my favourite things to do at home when I wasn’t at the gym. It’s also one of the biggest reasons I developed into a 40% three point shooter as a professional. It’s because I made sure that the mechanics on my jumpshot were sound, and the muscle memory became second nature!
Beginner: To do this correctly you can execute it one of two ways. One being simply going into the mechanics of your jump shot, bending your knees, tucking your elbow in, and raising up onto your toes followed by releasing the ball off your finger tips straight up into the air. When I form shot this way I didn’t jump, because I was more focused on my release, and hand placement on the ball. However, feel free to add a jump in if this feels more natural to you! We’ll do 100 reps of form jump shooting. This should take no more than 5 minutes.
NBL Drills Form Shoot Close Up
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Form Follow Through
© Andrew Robinson
Intermediate/Advanced: The second way to do this is by lying flat on your back, legs straight out, and simply going into the upper release of your jumpshot. By removing your legs from the equation, you're focusing on your elbow being straight, flicking your wrist properly, and most importantly holding your follow-through every single time. This also helps with hand eye coordination, because you have to catch the ball on its way down or it’ll smack you in the face! I’d recommend doing 100 reps of these before bed, and you’ll perfect your jumpshot mechanics in no time! This should take about 6-7 minutes
NBL Drills Lying Shot Pocket
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Lying Wrist Flick
© Andrew Robinson
3. Passing against a wall
This drill does not require a basketball hoop, but it does require a wall! So I'd recommend going into the garage for this one if you have one, or finding a park or building outside that has a wall, where you wouldn’t be disturbing anyone.
Beginner: I’d start with 50 reps of single arm passing, first with the dominant hand, and then with your weak hand, to develop the ability to pass with both hands. Pass the ball against the ball with one hand flicking your wrist every time, and then switch to the opposite hand. We’ll do three sets of 50 reps with each hand. This should take you about 6-8 minutes total.
Intermediate/Advanced: Once we master the art of single hand passing, we can start to do two hand passing. We’ll start with 50 reps of the chest pass, which is simply passing the ball from your chest directly to the wall with two hands and catching it with two hands. After completing this, we will introduce the bounce pass, where you’ll take 2-3 steps back to create more distance between you and the wall, before passing the ball to the wall once again, but this time letting it bounce on the ground once before hitting the wall. The goal should be to push the ball hard enough that the ball hits the ground once, hits the wall and then returns to you. We’ll complete 3 sets of 50 chest passes and 3 sets of 50 bounce passes. This should take about 6-8 minutes.
NBL Drills Chest Pass (Facing)
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Chest Pass
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Bounce Pass 1
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Bounce Pass 3
© Andrew Robinson
4. Defense
This is perhaps the most frequently neglected part of the game in youth development, because everyone always wants to work on improving their offensive game, not realising that defence is 50% of basketball! Thus, it should also occupy a good portion of your training!
Beginners: I’d start by perfecting the art of sitting in a defensive stance and staying strong in it, even when you’re tired. To do this, start by bending your knees, pushing your butt back, and holding your arms out to the sides. The key is to keep your head and eyes up so you can see what’s in front of you; don't let your head drop, as that can throw off your balance. We're going to hold this stance for one minute, rest for one minute, and then repeat five times. This will take you ten minutes total. Five minutes of work, and five minutes of rest in between.
NBL Drills D Stance
© Andrew Robinson
Intermediate/Advanced: After we’ve perfected the art of sitting in a stance, we now will add in movement. We’ll measure out a distance of about 5 meters (the width of the key on a FIBA basketball court) and we will set a timer for :30 seconds. During this :30 second timer, we will see how many times we can slide 5 meters and back while sitting down in our defensive stance. The key is to not cross your feet, but to push off your back foot, and cover as much distance as possible while maintaining your form, and balance. This drill will improve your lateral quickness, while working on your conditioning at the same time.
Complete five rounds of :30 second intervals, while resting for :30 seconds in between. This should take you no more than 5 minutes (30 seconds of work, and 30 seconds of rest, five times).
NBL Drills Slides Left
© Andrew Robinson
NBL Drills Slides Right
© Andrew Robinson
5. Film Study
They say save the best for last, and I'm not exaggerating when I say the one thing I regret the most is not watching more basketball film when I was younger. You can learn so much simply by watching the game, and I didn’t quite grasp this fully until I was well into my twenties. But luckily for you, I’m going to teach you how to watch the game, and get better!
Beginner: It sounds simple, but just turn on an NBA game. But don’t just watch for entertainment. Watch the moves that players make to create shots. Watch the small tricks players use to get open against good defense. Watch the ways defenders guard their opponent, and the intensity in which they play. We’re not watching just highlights, we’re watching the players who have had long careers. Maybe the boring role player who only scored 8 points, but he had 7 assists, and 3 steals and has played ten years in the NBA. How has he lasted so long? You may not be able to do everything that these guys do on the court, but If you can take just one or two things away from studying the game, and then take that to your backyard to practice over and over, then you’ve gotten better!
Intermediate/Advanced: If you’re at the level where you’re playing basketball, have a parent or a coach record your games. When you get home, watch them back. Not to clip highlights or cool moments, but to dissect where you could’ve improved or done differently. Watch how your jumpshot is coming off the rim, is your elbow straight? Are you holding your follow-through on every single rep? Did you give 100% effort on every defensive play? Were you in the right position? And be honest with yourself, this is the time when it’s okay to critique yourself, because the film never lies!
How to build a basketball training session without a hoop
This is an approximately ninety minute training session that combines skill development and film study for a basketball player that doesn’t require a hoop!
- 5 minutes - stretching/warmup (high knees, light job, hamstring stretch, etc.)
- 3 minutes - beginner stationary ball handling (ball pounds, ankle, hip, shoulders)
- 3 minutes - intermediate stationary ball handling (crossover, behind the back, etc.)
- 3 minutes - advanced stationary ball handling (two ball dribbling, ankle, hip, shoulder)
- 10 minutes - beginner defensive stance (hold defensive stance for one minute x5)
- 5 minutes - intermediate defensive slides (dynamic defensive slides. 5 meters x 30 secs.)
- 8 minutes - beginner single arm passing (3 sets of 50 passes with each hand)
- 8 minutes - intermediate two hand passing (3 sets of 50 chest passes & Bounce passes)
- 5 minutes - beginner form shooting (100 reps standing form shots )
- 7 minutes - intermediate form shooting (100 reps lying on your back)
- 30 minutes - film study (watching an NBA game, or your own game & taking notes)
How to improve your basketball skills without a court
If you follow this model, you will undoubtedly become a better basketball player. The main takeaway I want you to leave with today is that excuses are never acceptable. Don’t have a basketball court? No problem! We can still get better! Obviously getting access to a gym to practice finishing at the basket, and improving your jumpshot is necessary and will have to be incorporated at some point. But if you were to implement this routine into your week, let's say maybe once or twice a week, in addition to your on court time, you’ll improve not only physically, but also mentally as you build a healthy relationship with a consistent work ethic. Now go out there, and get to work!
Want to learn more? Be sure to follow Andrew Robinson on instagram!
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