NBA Tips: The Best Crossover to Get Wide Open Shots every time
Start by standing with your feet shoulder-width apart and the ball between your ankles, both hands on the ball at all times in order to protect it from defenders. If you’re right-handed, dribble the ball with your left hand, slowly swinging your right hand back as if you’re about to go into a baseball slide or football stiff-arm move. Once you get about two feet of separation between you and the closest defender, bring the dribble up to waist level with your left hand and go from there.
Why do we need a great crossover?
Having a go-to crossover will help you get open shots on the court. It allows you to escape the defender and create more space. If you want open shots you need some sort of a shot fake, an offensive move like a crossover, or a step back to get the defense off-balance. When you are able to do that, it makes it easier for your teammate to make an accurate pass for a wide-open shot. Having a go-to move can really help when things aren’t going so well on the court. Say a defender is giving you trouble one on one- having something in your pocket that can be used will not only make the defender change his tactics but will take him out of the play completely because he has no idea what’s coming next.
Practice Makes Perfect
You can’t just rely on instinct to create a good crossover. A ball-handler has to practice and practice his or her creativity to get a good crossover every time. This makes it much easier to escape tight defense and get wide-open shots. Plus, if you don’t have a good crossover, it’s going to be extremely difficult for you to even make it into your game! Make sure you practice your crossover until it’s perfect; that way you can execute whenever your team needs a shot. Then, all of your hard work will pay off when you see your teammates running down the court to catch up with open shots!
Derrick Rose – Great Example
Although Rose was fast, his crossover allowed him to get by any defender. When he gained a step, he was already in a position to shoot or pass. He would often use one crossover to get by his defender, and another just to make sure he had time to set up his shot and be effective. This is very tough for defenders to stop because even if they know what’s coming, it’s hard to stop and very difficult for them not to be out of position on their follow-through. Derrick rose used many other moves as well (drive left then crossover right into a jump shot, etc.) but you can never go wrong with an in-and-out dribble that crossed over two times then finished at your favorite spot on the floor.
Help From A Pro
Study film! There are tons of teams with great ballhandlers, take advantage of it. You can’t just go out and do these types of moves, especially if you’re a beginner, but seeing someone else do it is always helpful. Watching games and studying videos is probably going to be one of your best friends as you learn how to use these new types of dribbles in your game. When I see an interesting crossover or hesitation move, I write it down on my phone so that I can practice it later on.
Clippers Players Practice Their Crosses
Paul George is known for his ability to get open as a scoring guard, and there’s no secret to his success. His long wingspan allows him to get his shot off over any defender, and he has mastered dribbling moves like crossover and step-back. Even Chris Paul of Clipper’s fame isn’t safe from PG’s crossing abilities. As you can see in practice here, George uses quick footwork to elude defenders before using a between-the-legs dribble move that makes it impossible for his defender (Chris Paul) to stay in front of him. He also throws in an extra pump fake before pulling up from behind the arc with room to spare.
Breaking Down the Movement
When learning how to crossover, be sure to break down each step of a crossover separately. That way, you can focus on mastering each step individually before putting them all together. Once you’ve got your crossovers mastered as individual steps, it’s time to put them all together in one cohesive movie. In order to master a seamless crossover dribble, work on incorporating multiple steps into your crossover motion rather than taking one big step with each foot.
3 Ways To Improve Your Skills
If you’re looking to improve your crossover and get wide-open jump shots, check out these three ways to get there. 1) Add ball fakes – One of my favorite things to add to a crossover is a quick ball fake at least two dribbles before I cross over. That way, when I do cross over, it looks that much better because it seems like I’m going in a different direction than where I am really going. 2) Increase speed – Perhaps counterintuitively, increasing your speed can make your crossovers and moves more effective. Why? 3) Add ankle-breakers – Finally, adding ankle-breakers (such as between-the-legs or behind-the-back passes) is an awesome way to show off while also being deadly effective. These passes are also very useful in getting past defenders who think they have a beat on you. A good crossover coupled with an ankle breaker will leave most defenders flatfooted and out of position for an easy shot!
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