The Crossover Dribble.. cross 'em up!

The crossover dribble has become one the most entertaining and exciting moves in basketball in the last two decades.

It's such a great feeling shaking someone out of their shoes with a quick deceptive move.

A basic crossover is simply dribbling from one hand to the other very quickly.

Sometimes a “crossover” can refer to simply going from one direction to another without even dribbling (in the triple threat position)

It can be used to fake out the defender and/or change directions and driving by them.

Another variation is a between the legs dribble. This way, your body protects the ball from the defender.

The crossover dribble has mostly become known and revered as a tool/technique/weapon to get by your defender, sometimes leaving your defender looking pretty bad.

The basic physics of this technique involve:

• moving the ball from one side to the other
• SHIFTING YOUR BODY'S MOMENTUM from one side to the other

Remember, anything you do, the ball goes with you. Therefore, the goal is to get that ball to the other side quickly, keeping it protected, and then getting yourself moving.

Let's take it step by step:

1. If you’re right handed, start with your right hand dribbling the ball.
2. Lean a little to the right in order to "bait" your defender into thinking your going that way
3. Once that happens QUICKLY dribble the ball to your left hand(almost like an explosion.. BOOM!)
4. Now shift all your momentum to the left
5. Step over to the left with your RIGHT foot, then LEFT, then so on

   



6. Keep your body BETWEEN the defender and the ball with your off arm (in this case, your right arm) protecting from any reaching by the defender

*Keep the ball low at all times, below knee level. The LOWER you dribble the harder it is for the defender to get a deflection or steal.

*If your dribbling skills are not so good, you might find yourself losing control of the ball, especially with your weak hand during the crossover; just work extremely hard at ball handling and you'll get there eventually.

There are so many variations of a good crossover dribble; feel free to be creative once you’ve mastered the basics. Don’t fall victim for over dribbling and showing off; make each dribble count.

Here's a very cool video of Dwayne Wade of the Miami Heat talking about the art of the crossover; pay attention to his movements and footwork.

Go to The Killer Crossover


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