Basketball Moves: Ball Fake

Series Summary

Basketball, b-ball, hoops—these are all names for one of the most popular games in America. Whether it’s professional play in the NBA, college games, the local high school team, a friendly round of one-on-one round, or an outdoor street game at the playground court, basketball is exciting and fast-paced, pitting player against player and skill against skill. Having strong fundamentals like dribbling, passing, and shooting is the key to the success of any aspiring player or team. Though flashy dunks, trick shots, and off the wall dribbling antics are fun to watch and have their place, they often create a “superstar” mentality that ultimately hurts the team if not put in check. What makes basketball great is the combination of individual talent and team strategy, ultimately producing a match that’s sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

In this free video basketball lesson, an experienced player demonstrates a range of basic skills, including passing, shooting and dribbling. He will also show you more advanced skills, such as shooting off the dribble and using the backboard to bank in a shot. Watch this video series and become a better basketball player.

Video Transcript

"Alright, the next move we'll discuss in the post up moves is the ball fake. Once you receive the ball in the post, it's good to give your defender a ball fake, be it right or left, so they, to distract your defender. Show you what I mean, call for the ball, make sure you're low, have a sense of where your defender is, and if you want to go left, you'll fake right, then go left. If you want to go to this side, you'll fake the opposite way. Call for the ball, fake, dribble. One more time. Pay, pay attention to my body position where I receive the ball and where my defender is, I have a good sense of where my defender is by either leaning back, or just looking, ok. Before I give the fake, I'm know where I'm a go, if I'm going this way, I'll fake to throw my defender off, then dribble around. One more time. The quicker you move the better. And, that's basic post up moves, ball fake. Ok, the next thing we'll discuss is the basic stance in the post up positioning and what you'll want to do is make yourself, have your feet at least shoulder length apart, bend your knees, have, have a sense or idea where your defender will be even if you're using an imaginary defender just for practice. Ok, get low, not too low like when you're dribbling but stand a little bit taller since you're in the post, and put your hands up when you're ready for the ball, to call for the ball. And once you receive the ball in the post, it's either; it's good to look to see where your defender is or lean back to get a sense of their location. Ok, and good positioning is always keep the ball away from your defender, ok. So its, you can either keep it out here or inside close to your body, even when you're dribbling, when you take your dribble make sure the ball stays in between you and your defender ok. And that's basic post up positioning."