Do you want to know what are the best basketball agility drills? Do you know why basketball agility drills are essential? 

A lot of basketball players would like to know what drills they need to perform to get faster, improve their footwork skills, get quicker, improve their coordination, and, most important, change direction with minimal deceleration. We are going to be discussing a few ways that you can work and all these to become a better player.

This article will be a complete guide to help you to choose what agility drills are best for you and your game. In this article, we are going to be showing you how agility is helpful and how you can use it to improve your performance on the court.

First Things First: Why is Agility Important in Basketball?

Basketball agility training is crucial. Agility basketball drills can be used to improve many aspects of a player’s game. Basketball is an extremely dynamic sport, and the players need to be equally dynamic if they want to compete efficiently. 

Regardless of their size, basketball players that are quick, fast, coordinated, have good footwork, and able to change directions easily are generally better than those who cannot do these things. Agility training can help athletes get quicker, get faster, and, most importantly, change directions at the drop of a dime without losing too much speed.  

Regardless of the age of the player, basketball conditioning and agility drills can significantly improve the player’s productivity on the court. Agility warm-up and the training exercises must be included in a team’s workout.

Three Agility Warm-Ups for Basketball

Let’s now look at three agility drills that can be used during warm-ups.

1. 45-degree cone runs. 

Cones can be placed at 45-degree angles for the length of half of the court. To execute this drill, a player would start at the first cone and then sprint towards each corn in the 45-degree angle set up.
It usually is best when this exercise is timed. It should also be done in sets so that the player will go as hard as possible and have enough time to rest between sets.

2. Bleacher Hops.

Most basketball courts have access to steps or bleachers. Having players warm up on these structures can be extremely good for their agility in changing planes.
Different drills can be incorporated on to the bleachers or steps. A straightforward speed run up all the bleachers or steps is usually good enough, or different variations of footwork can be incorporated.

3. Speed and Agility Ladder. 

Speed and Agility Ladder is one of the most commonly used agility training devices. Basketball agility training can be done using an Agility ladder on the court. 

Three Reactive Agility Drills for Basketball

Many footwork variations can be done to focus on different agility types. For speed agility, players can practice running through the ladder without touching the rungs. For jumping agility, players can practice different high jump steps through the spaces between the rungs.
Reactive basketball agility drills are commonly used to improve players’ reaction times. A player’s ability to react quickly in such an ever-changing game is key to their effectiveness on the court. Let’s now take a look at three reactive drills that can help players to improve their reactive agility.

1. Step/Box instruction reaction drill. 

To complete this drill, a player will stand before a single step or a box roughly about 8 inches high. Both the area in front of the box and the box itself should be divided into three squares (left, center, and right). The coach will instruct the player which box to stand on by saying top-right, bottom-center, bottom-right, top-center, and so forth. The player should get in the box with both legs one after the next as fast as possible.

2. Five-point cone.

The idea behind the five-point cone is quite similar to that of the step box. Four cones are placed in the shape of a square approximately 12 feet apart. One cone is placed in the center of the square. Each cone should be assigned a number. The player we’ll start at the central cone. The coach will then instruct the player what cone they should run to, and the player will run from the central cone to the one instructed by the coach as fast as possible and then run back to the central cone. The action is then repeated.

3. Two-player cone race.

This drill is done with two players, one as an initiator and the other as a reactor. There should be two lines of cones parallel to each other, approximately five cones in each line. Both players will start at the same cone in their respective lines. The initiator would run to different cones, and the reactor should make sure he gets to the same cone as fast as possible.

Three Basketball Agility Drills for Kids 

Basketball agility drills and quickness drills for children and youth are best done in entertaining ways. When doing a basketball agility drill for youths, the drills should be able to keep their focus and attention. 

Let’s look at three agility drills for kids.

1. Jump rope.

The jump rope is a valuable tool that can be used to improve jumping agility and overall coordination. Children usually like the jump rope because an additional element is involved in the drill, the rope.

2. Split the Circle.

This is a drill that utilizes the center circle of the basketball court. The player will start on the outer edge of the circle at any point and run all the lines, including the central line in the circle. When they are back at the exact point where they started, they will come to a jump stop in a defensive stance.

3. Stair runs.

Stair runs can be used with kids because they are quite simple to execute. This will help them to improve jumping agility, strength, and quickness.

FAQ on Basketball Agility Drills

How Can You Improve Your Agility in Basketball?

It is excellent that you would like to know how to improve your agility. Improving your agility will help you to perform better in various aspects of basketball. There are a few different things that you can do to improve your agility. We highly recommend that you do different drills that will help you to build different muscle groups. Different agility drills will work on different types of agility, such as speed, quickness, jumping, reaction, changing direction quickly, and coordination. You can make drills competitive by doing some against your teammates, or you can use time limits in which each exercise should be completed. Remember to do your drills in different sets to ensure that you get the best from your workout. Do as many sets as necessary. 

How Do You Move Your Feet Faster in Basketball?

Well, some agility drills can specifically help you to move your feet faster while playing basketball. If you’re able to move your feet more quickly, you can get away from defenders and keep up with offensive players as well. If you do drills that are specifically used to improve your foot speed, then overtime your quickness and speed will improve. You can utilize cones to help you with exercises for foot speed. You can arrange codes in different formations and sprint from cone to cone. The Speed and Agility Ladder is one of the most efficient tools that can be used to increase your speed. Different variations of footwork exercises can be incorporated into ladder exercises.

Land and go exercises can also be useful for foot speed Improvement. You can jump off boxes or steps and then sprint forward as fast as you can.

Utilizing resistance bands in, hold and go exercises will help you to build up your explosion and subsequently, your speed. Work with a partner for these exercises. Your partner will hold you back with the resistance band while you are sprinting on the spot. Your partner will then suddenly release you, and you should be catapulted forward.

How Can You Increase Your Jumping Agility? 

Agility training can also be used to improve your jumping agility. There are quite a few agility exercises that help you to improve your jumping agility and even straighten the muscles that are used when jumping. These will help you to jump higher and faster. These exercises can be done by using the jump rope, the bleachers, or steps at your court or the Agility Ladder. You can do high knee exercises through the Agility Ladder. You can do different jump variations on the bleachers or steps at your court. You cannot use the jump rope to do the various high knee jump sequences.

How Long Does it Take to Improve Agility? 

There is no definitive answer to this question. Similarly, to anything that takes repetition and dedication, the time it takes to improve your agility will vary. There are different factors that will affect how long it takes an individual to improve in a particular agility area. The time it takes you to improve will depend on the amount of work you put in and the type of exercises that you perform. Of course, the player that puts in the most work and does the most exercises for the area that they watch to improve will improve the fastest.

How Often Should Agility Training be Done? 

We must first point out that agility training is a continuous process. If you wish to improve your agility, you should continuously do agility training. How often you should be doing agility training will depend on the amount needed to get you where you are trying to go. We would suggest you do it as often and as intense as you can endure, but we also strongly recommend that you coordinate with a team doctor or your doctor so that you don’t overdo the limits of your body.

What are the Best Exercises for Agility?

There are hundreds of agility training drills available out there for us to do, and there are many more that we can create by ourselves. These three videos are demonstrations of the best drills that can help to improve your shooting agility, speed, quickness, and your overall coordination.

1. Agility and Defense Cone Drills

2. Beneficial Agility Drills Video Demonstration:

3. Agility Training Drills for Basketball Speed:

How to Choose the Best Basketball Agility Drills For You

When choosing the best agility drills for yourself, you should consider your current size and agility. Make sure that you select drills that your body can physically handle. Another thing to consider when choosing agility drills is the resources at your disposal. For example, If you have access to the stairs and or bleachers, try to utilize them in your drills. 

If you don’t have a jump rope or a Speed and Agility ladder, you may not want to work on drills that rely heavily on these. Also, try to work on exercises that will help you to improve the areas that you lack the most.

Wrapping Things Up: The Best Basketball Agility Drills

The best basketball agility drills are those that can efficiently improve your speed, quickness, coordination, jumping, footwork, and ability to change direction quickly. Some exercises by themselves may not be as practical as they would be if you incorporate a time limit or a competitor. These two factors help to push you faster and harder so that you get the most from the drill. There are hundreds of basketball drills that can be equally efficient, but they all depend on the dedication that you put in while doing the drill. Until next time ballers, keep pushing yourself. Remember it doesn’t count unless you’re feeling the burn. 

Did you find this helpful? Then check out our other basketball FAQ posts here.

> How to Start Playing Basketball Again: Making a Return

> How to Start Playing Basketball: The Ultimate Guide

> How to Get Better at Basketball: Tips & Drills