Basketball Passing Drills

Basketball passing drills can be either stand-alone drills focused on teaching a specific type of pass, or more complex drills that require players to use a variety of passes in game-type situations. Both types of drills are necessary - players need to learn fundamentals before they can put them to use, but they also need to practice using the passes in situations similar to what they will face at game time.

One thing your passing drills need to do is always reinforce the basic fundamental skills of passing. Check out the Passing Fundamentals page for instruction and drills that focus on how to pass properly.

Once you have had a few practice sessions focusing on the fundamentals, and really enforced proper form for each type of pass, begin introducing more complex basketball passing drills. Continue to emphasize best form and good concentration, to build muscle memory so that, when the players are in the game, good mechanics become second-nature. But the more advanced drills will also add in some game-like aspects - players will be on the move, will be required to use different types of passes, may have to choose the type of pass to use depending on the situation thrown at them.

Another drill that combines basic fundamental passing skills with more complex passing drills is the Fast Break Baseball Pass drill. This essentially teaches players how to throw the baseball pass to a moving target - a player sprinting down court - and although the focus is really on proper form, it does resemble a game situation.

Two more drills you can try are more complex than the previous drills. These are the 4 Corner Passing drill and the Diamond Passing drill. Both are good drills for teaching how to pass and receive on the move - particularly the 4 Corner Passing drill - but also require players to move in a preset, slightly complex pattern in between passes, which also serves to introduce players to the idea of strategy and offensive movement.

Remember in all these drills to constantly enforce good fundamental form. At the beginning, when you are just introducing the drills, stop the drill if you feel your players' form is falling apart. The more often the drills are run, the less often you will need to stop them, so long as the basic skills are enforced from the beginning.

In a basketball game, there will be many situations in which players will not be able to use proper passing form - they will need to adapt their passing style to suit the situation. But without a base of good form, they will have little control and great difficulty passing effectively.

Good passing form will often seem a little stilted in practice, not quite "game-like." But enforcing it in practice is much better than having to watch your players throw around-the-back passes or scoop passes out of bounds and off teammates ankles. Good form will carry over into the game and will help your players pass better and your teams win more often.