“You play defense with your feet, not with your hands.”

You may have heard your coach say something like that during your career. I know I’ve said it a few times in 20 years of coaching.

While well intentioned, that remark is off base.

Most coaches say something like that to discourage you from reaching in and fouling.

However, it would be more accurate to say that you play good defense with your feet AND your hands.

Here’s how you can use your hands to become a better defender:

7 Ways To Use Your Hands On Defense

• If you are guarding a player who’s in triple threat . . . get your hand above the ball.

  A lot of coaches want hands out or hands below the ball to swipe up. While those aren’t wrong, a hand above the ball is better.

  

  Here’s why. . . it reduces triple threat to a double (and potentially single threat). If your hand is above the ball, the offensive player can’t shoot. They also can’t throw a chest pass or overhead pass. Thus, they are reduced to dribbling or a bounce pass.

  By placing your hand above the ball, you’ve reduced their options and dictated the action to them!

• If you’re guarding a live dribble . . . get one 1 hand low & 1 hand wide.

  If you’re guarding a player with a live dribble, your hands have different jobs.

  The hand that mirrors the ball (in other words, your left hand if your opponent is dribbling with their right hand) should be wide. This creates a boundary and helps prevent your opponent from beating you to the dribble hand side.

  The opposite hand should be low and out in front of you. This helps prevent a crossover or change of direction move.

  

  As with the first scenario, this limits the offensive player’s options, making them easier to defend

• If you’re guarding a dead dribble . . . mirror the ball with your hands.

  Players commonly make a mistake in this situation. Sensing that the offense is in trouble, many defenders reach for the ball. Sometimes that works. More often, it results in a foul.

  Instead, mirror the ball with your hands. If the ball goes up, your hands go up. If the ball goes down, your hands go down.

  

  This limits passing options and increases the chances of a :05 call. If a pass is made, you are more likely to deflect it and create a turnover.

• If you’re boxing out . . . make goalposts out of your hands.

  It is really frustrating to watch one of my players make an effort to box out, only to have a rebound zip past their head because their hands are at their sides.

  When you box out, make goalposts out of your hands. This serves 2 purposes.

  

  First, by placing your hands above your head, they are ready to catch a rebound that bounces back high.

  Second, by getting your arms wide and high, you make it harder for the player you are boxing out to escape your boxout.

• If you’re chasing a dribbler . . . get your palm up and be ready to back tap.

  If you’re behind the ball, you need to be sprinting. You should never give up on a play.

  As soon as you recognize you’re beat, look for a chance to back tap. Look to chase down the dribbler and tap the ball out from behind.

  When you do this, your palm should be up and you should swipe up. That prevents you from being called for a foul.

  Always backtap with the inside hand

  Here’s some great examples of what a good backtap looks like.

• If you’re contesting at the rim . . . reach your fingers to the ceiling.

  This is another common foul situation. When players get called for fouls while contesting, it’s often a result of bringing their arms down.

  If you can stay vertical, you have a better chance of impacting the shot and avoiding a foul.

  

  To do this, stretch your fingers to the ceiling. By reaching for the ceiling, you maintain vertical alignment and legal defensive position.

• If you’re playing zone . . . get your hands as wide as possible.

  A lot of coaches say get your hands up when playing zone. While there is a time for that, having your hands out is generally a better plan.

  Why? Because it's direct line passes that beat zone. Passes thrown over the top allow time for rotations.

  

  When you get your hands out, passing lanes become narrower. Instead of throwing a hard pass, the offense now has to throw a higher and softer pass.

Use Every Tool At Your Disposal

The best defenders use everything they have to lockdown opponents.

Quick feet. . .

Quick hands. . .

And probably, most importantly, a quick mind.

By knowing how to use your hands in every situation, you become quicker and more disruptive.

That’s the type of defender coaches long for. . . and the type that never comes off the floor!

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First Douglas Reid says: 10/2/2025 at 2:03:26 PM Great article and video. Concise and informative. Slotting these drills into the warships makes for periodic reinforcements. Thanks, Break Through Basketball. Like     login   register

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