Defensive Basketball Drills

Here’s a selection of my favorite defensive drills, including techniques for improving individual defense, team defense, and defensive communication. Give ’em a try – and make sure to leave a comment and let me know how they go!

Partner Closeout Drill

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Purpose Players practice close out fundamentals. Drill Setup Players pair off and stand 15 feet apart. One player has a ball. How it Works 1. Both players stand in triple…

Defensive Stance Chair Drill

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Purpose Players learn the proper fundamentals of a defensive stance Drill Setup Have your entire team stand with their backs to a bench, bleachers, or a row of chairs. If…

Transition to Defense Drill

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Purpose Players learn the footwork for quickly transitioning from offense to defense Drill Setup Two players line up, one on each side of the lane facing the basket. They stand…

One on One Drill

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Purpose Players learn to put defensive fundamentals into play in real game-like action. Drill Setup Set a line of offensive players at the wing. The defender stands on the same…

5 on 3 + 2

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Purpose To make the defense get two consecutive stops or a three-stop total before they rotate out. Drill Setup Five offensive players are across the baseline. Five defensive players are…

Shell Drill

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Purpose To work on team defense, communication and positioning Drill Setup Four offensive players spread out around the arc – two players free throw lane extended, and two out on…

Pick and Roll Defense – Fighting Over

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Purpose Teaching players how to fight over and properly defend the ball screen Drill Setup Split team into groups of four, two on offense, two on defense, with each group…

Transition Offense: The Hockey Drill

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In today’s video blog post, we are featuring a fantastic transition offense drill called “The Hockey Drill”. This is a 3-on-3 Full Court Transition Offense drill, and it’s purpose is…

Wing Denial Drill

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Play Type: Defensive Drill Purpose: This defensive drill demonsrates an aggressive, attack defense that will deny passes out to the wings. It explores the timing and execution – every detail…

Half-Court Half-Court Drill

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Play Type: Defensive Drill Purpose: Our next defensive segment starts with the ball and going hard, staying in the four quadrants. This drill is called half court-half court because we…

One of the great tragedies of basketball is that the most important jobs in the game often get the least credit. We’ve all heard that defense wins championships, but scoring sells shoes. And because of this, players who excel in certain areas – your great screeners, the dominant rebounders, and the lockdown defenders – rarely get their due in the media and with the fans.

That’s a mistake you can’t make as a coach. A lot of the time you’ll hear sports commentators talk about how being good at defense is just about effort. And while that’s true to a certain extent, it’s not just about trying hard. And frankly, saying so is an insult to the great individual defenders who spend all that extra time perfecting their craft.

If you’re interested in some more advanced training, make sure you check out the Team Defense Drillbook and Individual Defense Drillbook as well.

More Defensive Basketball Drills

Featured Product

The Team Defense Drillbook is jam-packed with 26 fun and effective defensive basketball drills to help you lock down your opponents and win more games this season.

You'll learn the best way to teach basic team defense principles, competitive practice ideas to help your kids take pride in their "D" - and advanced in-game strategies to shut down your competition. All explained with simple, step by step instructions and diagrams that any coach can understand.

Best of all, it’s delivered in PDF format, so you can get instant digital access… right over your computer screen, smartphone, tablet, or eReader… from anywhere in the world with an Internet connection!