The seven basketball fundamentals every coach should teach are footwork, ball handling, passing and catching, shooting, finishing at the rim, rebounding and defense. Every play you’ll ever run depends on them. If your players can’t do these seven things, your plays won’t save you.
I coached for almost 40 years, and the teams that won the most were never the ones with the fanciest offense. They were the ones that did the simple things better than everybody else. So here’s how I think about each fundamental and how I’d teach it.
Why basketball fundamentals come first
There’s a reason I always said it’s about the Jimmys and Joes, not the X’s and O’s. Players win games. And players who can pass, catch, shoot and guard make any system look good.
Fundamentals also travel. A kid who learns to jump stop and pivot at 10 years old still uses it in a varsity game at 17. However, a set play you put in this year might be gone next year. That’s why I spent time on fundamentals every single day, at every level.
1. Footwork: the first of the basketball fundamentals
Everything starts with the feet. Stance, jump stops, pivots, triple threat and change of pace. Most turnovers I see in youth games are really footwork problems. A kid travels, gets tied up or loses balance because nobody taught them how to stop.
So teach the jump stop and the pivot early, then use them in every drill. For example, every catch in a passing drill ends with a jump stop. Then players pivot and pass. It becomes automatic.
2. Ball handling
Players need to dribble with both hands, with their eyes up and under pressure. Start stationary, then move to dribbling on the go, then add a defender.
Also teach purpose. A dribble should get you somewhere: to the rim, to a better passing angle or out of trouble. Dribbling in place just helps the defense.
3. Passing and catching
Good passing teams are hard to guard. Teach the chest pass, bounce pass and overhead pass, and teach players to pass away from the defender. Just as important, teach them to catch. Show a target, meet the pass and catch it with two hands.
Partner passing every day sounds boring, but it works. Then progress to passing on the move and passing against pressure.
4. Shooting
Shooting is built from close to the basket out. Start with form shooting a few feet from the rim. Balance, elbow in, eyes on the target and a good follow through. Then move back only when the form holds up.
Still, don’t just shoot for the sake of it. Track makes. Kids work harder when there’s a number on the line.
5. Finishing at the rim
Layups are the highest percentage shot in the game, and young teams miss a lot of them. Teach both hands, the correct footwork and how to finish through contact.
Then add pressure. A layup in a line is easy. However, a layup with a defender chasing you is what happens in a game, so practice that too.
6. Rebounding
Rebounding is effort and technique. Find a body, make contact, hold your ground and go get the ball with two hands. Teach players to assume every shot is a miss.
I always tracked rebounding in practice. Because what you measure gets done, a simple box out drill with a score changes how hard kids go after the ball.
7. Defense: the basketball fundamentals that win games
Defensive fundamentals are stance, slides, closeouts, help position and talking. You can’t play any defensive system without them, whether you play man, zone or something like our Funnel Down Defense.
Teach the stance first and hold players to it. Then add slides, closeouts and help rules one piece at a time.
How to fit basketball fundamentals into every practice
- Start practice with 10 to 15 minutes of fundamentals
- Use drills that combine skills, like passing into a jump stop and shot
- Add pressure and competition as players improve
- Track numbers so players see progress
- Don’t skip them in February, that’s when teams get sloppy
Also keep it simple. One of the biggest mistakes I see from coaches is trying to do too much. Pick a few drills that teach these seven basketball fundamentals well, and run them often.
Basketball fundamentals win games
Plays come and go. Fundamentals stay with players for their whole career. Teach these seven every day, and your team will be ready for whatever system you put in.
We have fundamentals drills, practice plans and video breakdowns at TeachHoops.com for every age group.
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