Basketball Rebounding Drills for Your Off-Season
Think about great basketball players best known for their rebounding prowess. Some names that probably come to mind are Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman and Kevin Love. Although there are plenty of others, these three players were unique, because they were all considered undersized for their position, yet they still led their teams and even the league in rebounds per game.
To become great at rebounding, you must have desire—but you also need to learn proper rebounding skills. This is where rebounding drills come in. Just as shooting and ball handling are learnable skills, so is rebounding. Basketball rebounding drills are a great way to get lots of reps and train your body to do things the right way. If you want to excel at something, you have to put in the time and work hard at it.
Defensive rebounding is all about positioning and boxing out before you go up to grab the ball. Don’t try to out jump your opponent. Instead put your body on him and drive him away, then release to get the ball. On offense, you either want to drive the man boxing you out under the basket or use some kind of swim move to get the inside position when the shot goes up.
Once you get the rebound, you need to be able to do something with the ball. If you are on offense, you should be able to go back up and score or kick it out to an open teammate. When you rebound on defense, you need to practice how to chin the ball, then either dribble it out yourself or make an outlet pass to a teammate to start the offense.
These rebounding drills will help you practice your footwork while teaching you to react quickly. They are designed to give you the tools you need to become great at rebounding, but the desire to rebound has to come from within. Every time a shot comes off the rim, you should be thinking, “this is my ball.”
Basketball Rebounding Drills
Backboard Tips
This drill helps to develop soft hands and good touch for offensive tip-ins.
Tip Dunk Drill
It takes good timing to be able to tip dunk an offensive rebound, and this is a good drill to practice your timing.
5-Spot Offensive Rebounding Drill
When rebounding on offense, you’re coming in from different angles. So you need to be able to quickly determine whether you can finish with a tip dunk or bring the ball down before you go back up to finish.
Kevin Love Rebounding Drill
The ability to gather the rebound and finish around the basket while being fouled or bumped takes practice. This drill will help you learn how to do that.
Superman Basketball Rebounding Drill
This is a great drill for working on rebounds out of your area. The ball is not always going to come down in your area of the court, but that shouldn’t keep you from chasing down the rebound.
Reaction Rebounding Drill
Usually the first person to react to the rebound has the best chance at getting it. This drill will help you develop your reaction speed.
Photo: U.S. Navy
RECOMMENDED FOR YOU
MOST POPULAR
Basketball Rebounding Drills for Your Off-Season
Think about great basketball players best known for their rebounding prowess. Some names that probably come to mind are Charles Barkley, Dennis Rodman and Kevin Love. Although there are plenty of others, these three players were unique, because they were all considered undersized for their position, yet they still led their teams and even the league in rebounds per game.
To become great at rebounding, you must have desire—but you also need to learn proper rebounding skills. This is where rebounding drills come in. Just as shooting and ball handling are learnable skills, so is rebounding. Basketball rebounding drills are a great way to get lots of reps and train your body to do things the right way. If you want to excel at something, you have to put in the time and work hard at it.
Defensive rebounding is all about positioning and boxing out before you go up to grab the ball. Don’t try to out jump your opponent. Instead put your body on him and drive him away, then release to get the ball. On offense, you either want to drive the man boxing you out under the basket or use some kind of swim move to get the inside position when the shot goes up.
Once you get the rebound, you need to be able to do something with the ball. If you are on offense, you should be able to go back up and score or kick it out to an open teammate. When you rebound on defense, you need to practice how to chin the ball, then either dribble it out yourself or make an outlet pass to a teammate to start the offense.
These rebounding drills will help you practice your footwork while teaching you to react quickly. They are designed to give you the tools you need to become great at rebounding, but the desire to rebound has to come from within. Every time a shot comes off the rim, you should be thinking, “this is my ball.”
Basketball Rebounding Drills
Backboard Tips
This drill helps to develop soft hands and good touch for offensive tip-ins.
Tip Dunk Drill
It takes good timing to be able to tip dunk an offensive rebound, and this is a good drill to practice your timing.
5-Spot Offensive Rebounding Drill
When rebounding on offense, you’re coming in from different angles. So you need to be able to quickly determine whether you can finish with a tip dunk or bring the ball down before you go back up to finish.
Kevin Love Rebounding Drill
The ability to gather the rebound and finish around the basket while being fouled or bumped takes practice. This drill will help you learn how to do that.
Superman Basketball Rebounding Drill
This is a great drill for working on rebounds out of your area. The ball is not always going to come down in your area of the court, but that shouldn’t keep you from chasing down the rebound.
Reaction Rebounding Drill
Usually the first person to react to the rebound has the best chance at getting it. This drill will help you develop your reaction speed.
Photo: U.S. Navy