Stephen Curry tricks
Stephen Curry possesses some incredible ball-handling skills, but his best trick involves making defenders jump out of their shoes (literally). Read this article to find out how Stephen Curry makes defenders jump. Then, in the comments section below, write your own blog post based off this topic and publish it to your blog or website if you have one! If you don’t have a blog or website yet, you can share your post on social media like Facebook or Twitter and tag it with #StephenCurryblogpost.
Footwork
The first step Curry uses to deceive defenders is footwork. You see, footwork is often overlooked but without it, you don’t have a foundation to work off of. When dribbling, he uses quick crossovers to fake defenders out and get them to jump just enough for him to shoot right over them (or pass). He usually times his crossover right when he gets by his defender and once he realizes they’re off-balance and jumpy, he shoots right over them. His offensive arsenal contains many other ways to get past defenders such as back-door cuts, behind-the-back dribbles and ball fakes among many others. The reason why they work? They all incorporate deception.
Shifting weight
Shifting your weight will throw off the defender and make him jump. If you’re right-handed, put your weight on your left foot as you dribble behind your right leg. As you come around to the front of your right leg, shift your weight back to the right so that both feet are now planted firmly on the ground. When you release the ball, do it with a flick of the wrist to throw off the defender even more. This move is also great because you don’t have to change direction in order to shake loose from a defender that’s trying to keep up with you. To practice shifting your weight in basketball, try moving laterally for about 30 seconds as though someone is guarding you and then try shooting free throws.
Fake moves
One of Curry’s signature moves is his fake, and he uses it to get defenders to jump. He’ll take two or three dribbles and make a couple feints before pulling up for an open jumper. Defenders are taught to read a player’s eyes, and because Curry constantly fakes in one direction before going in another, defenders have no choice but to jump—and hope they can recover once they land. The result: They jump early enough that it leaves them with too much ground to cover as Curry blows right past them. This play is also known as the Durantula, named after fellow NBA star Kevin Durant who pulls off nearly identical moves (but can’t do it on a 7-foot-tall rim).
Height advantage
In addition to his elite handles and jumpshot, there’s one thing that sets Curry apart from most other players in the NBA: he’s really tall. At 6 feet 3 inches, he has a 5-inch height advantage over many of his defenders. If you watch closely when any defender is guarding him on an off-ball screen, you can see that they almost always start out with their hands high. This works to their advantage because it allows them to challenge shots and (hopefully) contest any drives by going straight up with their arms.
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If you want to level up your shooting accuracy, we got you. We created the 6ixShooter Academy. A one-stop basketball training program to help elevate your game and become an unstoppable shooter with coach Seth McCoy a.k.a 6ixShooter. CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE
