Basketball Games For Fun. While intense basketball practices should also include difficult drills, film sessions, and scrimmages, incorporating both competitive and fun basketball games is always a great idea, especially for the beginner as well as youth basketball practices.
Basketball Games For Fun – Minnows and Sharks
Sharks and Minnows is an excellent basketball drill for younger players since it focuses on two crucial aspects of the game: ball handling and conditioning.
How Does It Work?
- Before the match starts, the coach chooses one of the team members to be the shark.’
- Except for the shark, the entire team forms a line on the baseline. The shark takes a position facing the team, somewhere between the free-throw line as well as the half-court line.
- When the coach blows the whistle, the players on the base point, also known as the “minnows,” must dribble the entire length of the court.
- While the minnows try to dribble to the opposite baseline, the shark tries to grab at the other players’ balls but also disrupts their dribbling.
- If a minnow’s ball is hit out of bounds or they do not reach the other side of the court, they are transformed into a shark.
- If a minnow creates it to the opposite baseline without needing their ball swiped away, they move on to the next round and repeat the process.
- This pattern will continue until the last player remains a minnow and is declared the winner.
- Sharks and minnows are commonly used as a warm-up for younger basketball players, but it is also seen as a quick and fun way to mix things up at all skill levels.
Basketball Games For Fun – Knockout Dribble
Dribble knockout is yet another enjoyable and simple basketball drill for a team to practice dribbling with their eyes up.
How Does It Work?
- All players start within the basketball court’s full perimeter.
- When the coach blows the whistle, the players start moving around and trying to knock other players’ balls out of bounds while retaining their own dribble.
- If a player picks up their dribble whilst also trying to eliminate another player, they are eliminated because a dribble must be held for the duration of the game.
- The coach will reduce the size of the playing field as the number of players remaining in the game decreases, such as going down to half-court, within the free throw lane, and within the aiming reticule for the final two players.
- The winner is the last player standing.
Read more: 3-On-3 Basketball Rules
Basketball Games For Fun – All Over the World
Around the World is a basketball shooting game that can be explained as a shootout between two or more people.
How Does It Work?
- Two or more players choose five different locations on the basketball court from which they will take turns shooting.
The first person will shoot as well as attempt to make the shot, with all players starting from the same spot. - If the first player succeeds, they progress to the second position. However, before they take the second shot, the 2nd person in line takes the first shot. If the 2nd player misses their first shot, they will continue to stay in that spot while the first shooter shoots from the 2nd position.
- But if they make it, they will also advance to the second spot (to summarize: if a player makes a shot, they progress to the next spot). If a player misses a shot, they continue to shoot at the same spot until they succeed.)
- The goal of the game is to create it from all five forward spots to all five backward spots before anyone else, which means the winner will still have made a total of 10 shots.
- Around the world is typically played with five spots all around the three-point line, however, if players would like to collaborate on shooting skills from different areas of the court, this shooting drill allows them to do so.
Basketball Games For Fun – Drag Race in Basketball
Basketball Drag Race is a sports drill that focuses on teaching a player how to dribble quickly and complete a layup under pressure.
How Does It Work?
- Divide the team into 2 groups of six players each, and line up at the baseline on contrary sides of the court.
- Assign a number from 1 to 6 to each player.
- Call out a number but also blow your whistle; the player corresponding to the number then sprints to midcourt, picks up a basketball, and dribbles in for a layup.
- The first player to make a successful layup earns a point for her team, while the 1st team to reach ten points wins.
Basketball Games For Fun – S-Dribble
One more basketball drill that is appropriate for players of all ages and skill levels is the S-Dribble.
How Does It Work?
- Line up six players on the court in the shape of the letter “S,” and the remaining players at midcourt.
- When the whistle blows, the first player in line will dribble over each player in the “S.” He will dribble to the right of the 1st player, then to the left of the next player, and so on until he has passed all six players.
- Eventually, have the dribblers form an “S” while the other six dribble.
Basketball Games For Fun – War
War is a high-intensity basketball drill that features one-on-one competition.
How Does It Work?
- Line up six players on one sideline and the other 6 players on the opposite sideline.
- Assign a number from 1 to 6 to each team of players.
- Shout a number but also blow your whistle, and both players will sprint to the center of the court.
- The first player to touch the basketball is on offense, and the second player defends him.
- When the first player makes a shot, as well as his opponent, stops him by obtaining a rebound or trying to steal the ball, they switch places.
- Following each offensive chance, two other players repeat the process.
- The team that scores 15 points first wins.
