This defensive basketball drill will help players work on their defensive slide technique, conditioning, and lateral quickness. The cones will help remind the player to stay low as they defensive slide and give them a challenge to beat every time they do the drill. If you do this basketball drill during practice or basketball training, you can also turn it into a competition between the players. You can set a penalty for the loser of the drill like running or push-ups. This will really help make sure that the players are giving all they have.
Make sure, though, that the players are not sacrificing technique as they begin to compete and speed up. You don’t want to develop any bad habits. Playing defense is often looked at as a chore by most basketball players, but hopefully, this drill will help eliminate some of that negativity and get more players excited about playing defense.
Basketball Drill Overview
Drill Name: Cone Drop Defensive Slide Basketball Drill
Equipment Needed: 4-5 cones.
Similar Basketball Drills and Resources
- 4 Cones Basketball Defensive Drill
- Lane Slide to Close Out Basketball Defensive Drill
- Lane Slides Basketball Defensive Drill
Goals of the Drill
- Work on defensive slide technique and conditioning.
Coaching Points
- Don’t raise up out of a defensive stance and maintain good defensive slide technique the entire time (don’t: click heals together, cross feet over, or let your weight be out of balance).
- Work on getting a good drive off of your leg and be ready to change directions quickly.
- You can do the drill against another player or time yourself and try to beat your record each time.
Basketball Drill Instructions
- Place the row of cones on one side of the lane line and have the player stand on that same lane line.
- The player will drop down into a defensive stance.
- When the drill starts, the player will grab the first cone in the line, defensive slide across the lane, set the cone down on the other lane line, and then slide back.
- They will repeat this until all the cones are moved one by one to the opposite lane line.
- As soon as the last cone is placed down, the drill is over.
