This drill helps you get to the rim faster and with fewer dribbles. And this puts more pressure on the defense.

You beat your on ball defender more easily. Help defense has to rotate quicker. And they have to move faster. This increases the chance of them being out of position.

This leads to more lay ups for you, more fouls on the defense, and more assists for you.

Check out the video clip with Don Kelbick from the Attack & Counter Skill Development System.

Drill Instructions:

Sprint to the chair.

Pick the ball and execute footwork move. (Examples: drop steps and step throughs.)

Then extend to the basket in one dribble.

Your first repetition starts on the three-point line.

Then after each repetition, you move the chair backwards. Typically, you stop around half court.

Make sure to switch sides to the drill with both hands.

Training Tips For The Drill:

Long and straight - As Don mentions in the video, great players like LeBron James go straight and long to the basket. When you move in a straight line and with length, this helps you get to the rim faster. Also, if you watch 2017 MVP Russell Westbrook, you noticed that he perfected this as well.

Ball leaves your hand before your pivot foot leaves the ground - If you pick up your pivot foot before the ball leaves your hand, this is a traveling violation.

Push the ball out - You want to extend the ball out towards the basket. Don't put it down by your feet. This enables you to reach the basket in one dribble, even from half court.

Additional Thoughts:

As Don says in the video, "You are right all of the time when you think that you can't." And "When you think you can't, you won't."

You need to attack the drill with no fear of failure. It doesn't matter if you make a mistake. With repetitions, you will get better and better. In fact, if you've never done this drill before, things are most likely to be sloppy at first.

Additionally, once you have done a few repetitions from half court, go back to the 3-point line and do the drill. It probably feels quite easy for you. So now getting to the basket within your half court offense is no problem! That's because there is a mental overload principle involved with this drill as well.

What do you think? Let us know by leaving your comments, suggestions, and questions...

Comments Most Likes First   Oldest First   Newest First soupala sane says: 7/12/2017 at 8:33:07 AM The farther the ball got away from the basket the more traveling violations that were taking place. Am I just seeing things. The foul line, top of the key is about as far away as I would do this drill Like   1 reply   login   register Joe Haefner says: 7/12/2017 at 9:35:49 AM You could be correct. It's very common for players to travel when they are introduced to this drill as they get further from the basket. 1 - Like Don said, it could a mental thing. It could be them doubting themselves that they can reach the basket in one dribble. 2 - It's a new drill. There are more mistakes when doing something for the first time. From my experience, as confidence and familiarity with the drill improves, there are less travels. But we can't also lose sight of the big picture. Being able to reach the basket from 40 to 45 feet on one dribble with some travels will equate to being able to reach the basket from 30 to 35 feet WITHOUT travels. Shoot... even the 3-point line is sufficient for a lot of youth & high school players! Like     login   register Stepan says: 7/12/2017 at 10:53:03 AM Truth be told, not only do they (LeBron & Westbrook) go "straight and long", they also happen to be incredibly athletic and thus able to sustain energy and stay explosive on those long strides... Which is not very typical, imho. I mean, it's not their secret, other guys try it too. The results may differ... It is not in opposition to the principle, of course. I just wonder sometimes if it makes sense to refer to big stars as the embodiment of fundamentals. They're sure good at them, yet it is a bit simplistic to say, "look, they do everything like I told you, see?". No problem going directly to the basket with one dribble when you can just jump over people in your way. ) For the rest of us, life may not look that easy. What I personally like to exemplify are slow, barely jumping creatures who still are able to deliver against much stronger and quicker opponents. How can they do that? Fundamentals! Pure and simple. They just don't have anything else to rely on! Hard to impress kids with those cripples, I admit that much. ) Like   1 reply   login   register Joe Haefner says: 7/13/2017 at 10:02:53 AM Haha... are you speaking of Mr. Larry Bird? Like   1 reply   login   register Stepan says: 7/19/2017 at 1:35:04 PM Not necessarily... Just the guy next door. On your team, on the opponent's team. Who's a bit chubby, maybe. Slow. Not even the brightest star on his team. Still able to score and contribute. Wtf does he even do here in this gym with us high flyers, fast runners? We can outjump him, we can outrun him, and easily. Yet he belongs here, and is better than so many of you, guys. On the professional level, it is rather guys like Jazz's Ingles or 76's Saric than Bird. Bird is more of a phenomenon and can hardly by judged by a standard measure. I'm not sure about his shooting form, for one thing. It is not something you would like to teach... A very strange technique. I wouldn't say to an ordinary guy, "watch the tapes with Bird and do as he did", no way. ) And guys like Ingles are just solid players. Nothing spectacular. And yet so good, given their level of physical talent. Look at Ingles's passing. Just basic passes, let alone some flashy assists from the highlight reel. Crisp, quick, always on target. A thing of beauty. Or his defense against much quicker players. Footwork, positioning, anticipation. Great player. Still so much better than most of us laymen in terms of athleticism and overall physical reflexes and instincts. Of course. But even if you're not made for the NBA, you can all the same be Joe Ingles of your small league, whatever it is or will be. Which is not bad, not bad at all. Just pay attention and train hard. Like     login   register Jim Morgan says: 7/13/2017 at 10:56:22 AM Love the drill! Like     login   register peter says: 7/14/2017 at 1:53:40 AM I like the drill. how ever I look forward to all the drills I receive. This one will be tested at our next training session. Thanks. Like     login   register Rudy Ramirez says: 7/17/2017 at 10:48:46 AM One of the most common criticism of NBA officials is that they do not call traveling. Why? Because NBA basketball is primarily entertainment the game of basketball is just the vehicle. True basketball is the college game. There is where our young players (and their coaches) should be focused. When Coach K teaches this then we should pay attention. Like   1 reply   login   register Stepan says: 7/19/2017 at 1:54:54 PM If you want to find a no-travel land, go to Europe... Collegiate players from well-ranked programs come here to play professionally and yet find it hard to adjust. I dare say the whole problem is much more in focus in Europe than it is in the US. The rules in NCAA and Europe are pretty much the same in this department. They are just applied more strictly this side of the ocean. And I'm not sure about the college game as some quintessence of pure basketball. Seems to me, it becomes more and more of a typical professional league as the years go by. Like     login   register

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