1. Defensive Stance
A proper defensive stance is the base upon which good basketball defense is built. Bend your knees and get low to the ground. Your head should always be lower than the head of the player you are guarding. Spread the feet shoulders width apart and always keep the hands out from the body and moving into potential passing lanes. Keep your knees pointed toward the defender because if they open up you can unintentionally foul an offensive player with them. When moving in this stance never cross one foot over the other, but slide the feet to move into proper defensive position.
2. Close But Not Too Close
Playing effective defense in basketball is about staying close enough to the opponent to make him nervous but not close enough where you foul him or he can move by you with a single step. A defensive player should be able to reach and touch the offensive player at all times. Some coaches refer to this area as the bubble. So when you're playing defense imagine a bubble around the player of about two or three feet depending on the player and stay on the edge of that bubble until the player passes or shoots the basketball.
3. Ball, You, Man Defense
When you think about defense in basketball, you think about guarding the player with the ball. However, one of the most important aspects of basketball defense is the defense on a player when he does not have the ball. When defending your man when he doesn't have the ball, always position yourself between your man and the basketball. They call this maxim "Ball, You, Man Defense."
4. Man or Zone Defense
There are two main types of defenses in basketball. One is the man-to-man defense in which the player guards a single player and tries to defend that player the entire game. The other type of defense is zone defense, where players guard areas rather than a player. There are many types of zone defenses but they all employ essentially the defense of area strategy. The one thing that changes are the player's areas of responsibility. Finally, there are defenses that combine the two like the box-in-one defense where one player plays man-to-man defense and the rest of the team plays a zone.
5. Stealing the Basketball
Another aspect of defensive basketball is trying to steal the basketball from an opponent. This is difficult because the offensive player knows what they are going to do with the basketball, where as you have to guess. But there are ways to improve your odds of success. For instance, when they are dribbling the basketball never try to steal the basketball on the way up; only attempt a steal just as the basketball leaves the opponent's hand on the dribble.
A proper defensive stance is the base upon which good basketball defense is built. Bend your knees and get low to the ground. Your head should always be lower than the head of the player you are guarding. Spread the feet shoulders width apart and always keep the hands out from the body and moving into potential passing lanes. Keep your knees pointed toward the defender because if they open up you can unintentionally foul an offensive player with them. When moving in this stance never cross one foot over the other, but slide the feet to move into proper defensive position.
2. Close But Not Too Close
Playing effective defense in basketball is about staying close enough to the opponent to make him nervous but not close enough where you foul him or he can move by you with a single step. A defensive player should be able to reach and touch the offensive player at all times. Some coaches refer to this area as the bubble. So when you're playing defense imagine a bubble around the player of about two or three feet depending on the player and stay on the edge of that bubble until the player passes or shoots the basketball.
3. Ball, You, Man Defense
When you think about defense in basketball, you think about guarding the player with the ball. However, one of the most important aspects of basketball defense is the defense on a player when he does not have the ball. When defending your man when he doesn't have the ball, always position yourself between your man and the basketball. They call this maxim "Ball, You, Man Defense."
4. Man or Zone Defense
There are two main types of defenses in basketball. One is the man-to-man defense in which the player guards a single player and tries to defend that player the entire game. The other type of defense is zone defense, where players guard areas rather than a player. There are many types of zone defenses but they all employ essentially the defense of area strategy. The one thing that changes are the player's areas of responsibility. Finally, there are defenses that combine the two like the box-in-one defense where one player plays man-to-man defense and the rest of the team plays a zone.
5. Stealing the Basketball
Another aspect of defensive basketball is trying to steal the basketball from an opponent. This is difficult because the offensive player knows what they are going to do with the basketball, where as you have to guess. But there are ways to improve your odds of success. For instance, when they are dribbling the basketball never try to steal the basketball on the way up; only attempt a steal just as the basketball leaves the opponent's hand on the dribble.
