Jumping higher in the sport of basketball is something that most players work on constantly.
It only makes sense when you're trying to score on a 10 foot basket that the higher you can jump the better chances you have of being a better player and doing more things on the court.
But when it comes to jumping higher on the court it can be counterintuitive.
When I say this I mean, so many athletes work on jumping higher without the ball.
But don't work on it with the ball.
And in the process they don't jump high when they shoot.
So below are a few areas you'll want to work on.
Jumping High When Shooting If you want to jump higher when shooting, it's simple.
On every shot you take in practice work on jumping as high as you can.
While this may feel uncomfortable at first, over time you'll get used to it.
Over the course of a few months you'll jump much higher on your jump shot.
When you take a layup attacking the basket, always jump as high as you can in practice and finish as close to or high above the rim as you can in practice.
Rebounding is another area that you will want to work on.
When practicing, work on a simple drill for rebounding that goes like this.
Toss the ball off of the backboard and try to go up as high as you can to catch it and while in the air tap it against the backboard with two hands.
Start at about the foul line with this one.
And simply toss the ball off the backboard in an underhand fashion and then go up and rebound it with two hands and tap it against the board.
Do this drill jumping off two feet.
This will help you jump higher for rebounding in basketball.
If you can't tap it against the backboard just grab it and come down with it and then repeat the drill.
The main thing with these drills is you want to jump as high as you can in practice when doing this stuff.
And then it will translate into you jumping higher in the game.
Remember you play how you practice.
Another good drill I like for improving explosive jumping power attacking the basket is a drill where you start at the foul line.
From there you simply attack the basket taking one dribble and then you jump as high as you can to lay the ball in.
Do this off of one leg and off of two legs.
Alternate on both sides of the basket working on both hands.
Again, there are several things you can do to help you jump higher on the court.
But of all of them I recommend you incorporate the ball as much as possible.
It is good to do plyometrics and strength training also.
But if you don't also work on jumping high when shooting, rebounding etc.
you won't be really maximizing your full potential in this area.
If you look at some of the best players in the NBA, you'll notice that they get great lift on all of their shots.
And by working on this you too will get your shot off more over defenders and score more points.
One last tip is you can also try shooting over some type of shot blocking apparatus - a pole or dummy defender to force you to jump higher.
Or you can have a partner stand with their hands up and work on jumping high to shoot over them.
The taller that imaginary defender is the better.