Tips On Basketball First Step

The sport of basketball is very fun, rewarding, and competitive as well. It's fun to have to basketball in your hands, and everyone loves the offensive side of the sport. It's fun to score the basketball and have your skills to a high level where you can score at will. It's important to know what you need to do, and where you need to go on the basketball court, especially when the ball is in your hands. When you are able to determine where you need to get to on the floor, then the first step will help you to get there. If you're playing as a guard in basketball then being quick is very important and the first step is no different. All of the top guards in the world are able to do this effectively, and you need to be able to execute this quickly from your triple threat position.

All of the worlds greatest players, or and your favorite players have one thing in common. They are able to break defenders down off of the dribble and from the triple threat position which increases their chances to score and is one of the things that makes them star guards. With that being the case, when it comes to the first step, what exactly is it, and why should you add it into your game?

Developing A Basketball First Step

You know what you are going to do with the basketball, and the person that is playing defense on you in most cases is not sure of what your move is going to be. The time that it takes for your move to be picked up by the defender so he can react to stop you, give you an advantage. This split second time is what determines a blocked shot compared to a made shot, a successful first step, to a non successful first step.

The whole goal of the first step is to get your body past your defender. When this happens, and especially in a half court situation, the only thing they can do is foul you or hope that their teammates will be there to help them out.

Attacking The Closest Foot- When you have the ball and you're in your triple threat position, this is what you should be looking for in a player that's guarding you. You want to if possible use your first step on the defenders foot that is closest to you. When you do this, your defender will have to drop back his foot to attempt to get back into a proper defensive position on you to keep you from scoring the basketball, this takes more time for the defender, which gives you an advantage of getting completely past him.

You can also add in fakes as well as jabs with this as well. You might just be able to back up the defender, which will give you a open jump shot.

The Misdirection- The goal of this is to jab your foot forward while leaning down low in the direction you're jabbing, and quickly going the other way. You can even take the ball and rip it to the side you're faking on which will make the fake more effective. The whole goal of this is to make the defender think you're going to drive to the basket, and then simply going in the other direction. Basketball players from the low levels, all the way up to the highest levels are using this move, and is something that you should consider adding into your game to mix up your first step attacks.

You can also consider adding in pump fakes to get the defender off balance, or jump towards the shot fake thinking you're actually shooting the basketball. Which is very beneficial if you're a great shooter. This can also help with using the first step to make it easier to get past your defender.

In conclusion, remember to execute this move as quickly as you can to help ensure that you get past the player. There are also tons of training as well as drills that will help you with your foot speed and quickness to make your first step even more effective. The quicker you are, the more difficult you will be to defend. Also when you're making your move past the defender, you want to get as close to him as possible. If possible, brush his forearm and shoulder, with your forearm and shoulder. This will help to make sure that you're taking the straightest line to the basket as possible.