This two ball basketball dribbling drill is a great way to challenge yourself and improve the tight, quick effectiveness of a player’s ball handling. By using two basketballs and completing the moves continuously, basketball players will be able to work on receiving the dribble into each crossover move to enhance the quality of their dribble moves.
While you will be executing the combination move as if you only had one ball, the added second ball will increase the difficulty and rhythm that you must maintain to keep both dribbles alive. To be a great ball-handler in basketball, you must be able to execute a series of moves in a tight space while keeping your eyes up, the ball low, and your body on balance. This basketball drill will help you improve on all of those skills.
Drill Basketball Overview
Drill Name: Two Ball Crossover Rhythm Basketball Dribbling Drill
Equipment Needed: 2 basketballs.
Similar Basketball Drills and Resources
- Two-Ball Behind the Back Crossover Basketball Dribbling Drill
- Two-Ball Between the Legs Behind the Back Basketball Dribbling Drill
- Two-Ball Reverse Between the Legs Behind the Back Basketball Dribbling Drill
Goals of the Drill
- Work on ball handling and developing both hands.
- Push beyond your comfort zone.
- Work on different dribble combo moves.
Coaching Points
- Maintain a low, athletic stance throughout the drill (typically 30-second repetitions). Try not to move up and down with your body as you are executing the crossover dribbles.
- Keep your eyes up and looking down the court.
- Use your fingers to pound the ball hard with each dribble.
- Focus on keeping the crossover dribble low and tight.
- Mistakes are okay; challenge yourself to keep eyes up, pound the ball, and increase speed. You should turn the ball over 2-3 times if you are pushing beyond your comfort zone.
- If consecutive, continuous crossover dribbles are too advanced, you can add in 1-3 stationary dribbles between each crossover move.
- Make sure to keep a consistent rhythm and still focus on the details of the drill.
Basketball Drill Instructions
- The player will start in an athletic stance with a basketball in each hand.
- The player will execute three different crossover combination moves consecutively (doing each combination twice).
- The three combination crossover moves are: between the legs crossover, behind the back crossover, and reverse between the legs crossover.
- The player will be dribbling both basketballs simultaneously; as they crossover one basketball from right to left (or left to right), the other ball is maintaining the dribble back and forth between hands in front of their body.
- Continue this set of crossover dribbling moves for the desired amount of time and then switch the direction of the crossovers and which hand starts the moves.
Recommended Time, Scoring, and Repetitions
- Typically 30-45 seconds per hand will be a good time for a player to go through this basketball drill.
- To vary the drill, you could change the number of repetitions of each combination move or change the order of combination moves.
- To modify the basketball drill for less advanced players, you can add an extra 1-3 stationary dribbles between each combination move.
- This will allow the player to regain rhythm and control of the dribble.
- To increase the basketball drill’s difficulty, you could have the players complete the two ball moves while walking forward.
Two Ball Basketball Rhythm Dribbling Drill Conclusion
Great basketball players want to challenge themselves to push beyond their comfort zone, and this drill does precisely that. This is a great basketball dribbling drill for players to do on their own. Whether they are looking for basketball drills to do at home or are in a gym and have limited space, this is a great drill to use.
As long as the player has a basketball and flat area, they can get better using this dribbling drill. Not only will this basketball drill help players work on dribbling the basketball, reception of the dribble, and ease with the ball, they will also improve their strength in an athletic stance, rhythm, and timing.
