Basketball Warm-Up Drills for Practice, Games and Youth Teams

A basketball warm up should move the body through the actions players will use, add the ball, and finish at game speed. This guide sorts basketball warm up drills into three stages: dynamic movement, ball and shooting work, and team lines at full pace. It also covers the warm-up for youth teams and the places coaches disagree, mostly on static stretching and on how long a warm-up should last. Where coaches teach it differently, each approach is listed.

Why Dynamic Movement Comes First

A warm-up should bring the muscles up to working temperature and prepare players for full speed, and holding a stretch in place can lessen how a muscle performs right before play.

• Static stretching can cost performance. The three-group warm-up cites a vertical-jump study of 64 Division I football players in which the static stretching group did worse than the other three groups. It gives no reference for the study, so read it as a claim.
• Warming up is not stretching. The follow-the-leader warm-up says they are different things and calls the old seated stretching circle outdated.
• A warm-up has jobs. The down-and-back warm-up makes the same case for children. It quotes sports-science research on raising core temperature, heart rate and blood flow, activating the nervous system for coordination and reaction time, and loosening connective tissue.
• Train the full range of motion. Not just jogging, it argues, so players are prepared for the intensity of the session. These are claims, not a medical standard, and a certified trainer should shape any program that goes beyond this.

Move first, and save the held stretches for after play.

Dynamic Movement Warm-Up Drills

Every warm-up below runs on the floor with no ball. Players line up across the baseline and cover the court in a wave.

Moving groups. The whole team lines up across the baseline and runs each dynamic move down the floor in one wave, with room between players so everyone can hear the coach. It is a warm-up, so no three-second count applies.

Three groups in about five minutes. This warm-up fits into about five minutes:

• Stationary moves first. They last about 30 seconds each, such as arm circles, leg swings and low lunges.
• Slower moves on the run. Baseline to baseline with a jog back, such as the glute walk, walking high knees and lunges.
• Faster moves finish. Such as carioca, butt kicks and ankle pops.

The aim is to start players standing, get them moving and wake up several muscle groups. It lists twenty moves and suggests mixing them from day to day.

The follow-the-leader run. The whole team follows a leader through every basketball movement at about 50 to 60 percent effort, including slides, jogs or sprints, backpedals, a full-court X and zig-zags. It runs before every workout, practice and game for consistency, and it can last three to ten minutes.

• Dynamic flexibility. Toe walks, heel walks, the Frankenstein march, knee hugs, heel to backside, the over the fence and the low lunge, and avoid bouncy or jerky movement.
• Tight gyms. A stationary warm-up with line jumps, knee hugs, a scorpion, a partner stretch and wall leg swings, 20 seconds to a minute each.

Down and back. This warm-up alternates a jog or backpedal at rising speeds with a set of moves: toe walk and heel walk, a monkey shuffle, a crossover step, skips, lunges and step-overs, carioca, the Frankenstein walk and heel kicks, a 45-degree bound and a hand walk. Its list of extra exercises adds ankling, squats, side hops, lateral skips, side lunges, a scorpion, the frog and mountain climbers.

Landing built in. The follow-the-leader warm-up also has full-court angled runs that plant off the inside foot, one-step verticals with a soft landing and a line series for the ankles from side to side, front to back and to four corners. The landing checks to run before jump training are on movement screening for basketball.

One more fast route is a defensive slide. The feet should never come closer than six inches in a slide, which makes the warm-up a defensive-footwork rep. For more footwork work see basketball footwork drills and defensive stance.

Move the whole body before the ball comes out.

Ball, Shooting and Passing Warm-Ups

Once the body is moving, bring in the ball with drills that teach while they warm.

• Form shooting from close in. A USA Basketball Foundational Level routine (USA Basketball sorts levels by skill, not age) of five minutes that players can run every time they enter a gym. One-hand form shooting one or two steps from the rim, two-hand form shooting without jumping, two-hand form shooting with a jump four to five steps out, then a self-pass shot six or seven steps out.
• Vary the spots. USA Basketball says to vary the spots as long as form holds, and warns that going straight to three-pointers does not warm a player up properly.
• Triple threat with a partner. A USA Basketball Foundational Level drill. Partners line up across the lane lines in triple-threat position and run all three options, dribble, pass and shoot, with finger pads on the ball and eyes up.
• Two-ball partner passing. A USA Basketball Advanced Level drill. Partners face each other, each with a ball. They pass a right-hand chest pass at the same time, aiming at the other player's left hand so the balls do not collide, then alternate chest and bounce passes. The progression is a faster tempo and then one-hand passes at shoulder level.
• Warm-up team dribbling. A USA Basketball Advanced Level drill. Half the team lines up on the baseline and half at half court, each player with a ball. They dribble toward each other and back using half the floor, so heads must stay up to avoid a collision. The coach adds speed, combination moves or a coach who swipes at the ball as players dribble by.
• A 30-minute pregame. A 25 to 30 minute pregame template has five minutes of dribbling drills, five minutes of shooting from several spots with free throws, and a passing block of chest, bounce and one-hand passes. The rest of the day is on game day routine for basketball coaches.

Related pages are basketball passing drills, basketball shooting drills and basketball dribbling drills for beginners.

Make every warm-up rep a game rep.

Warm-Up Drills at Game Speed

More layup lines are on layup drills, and conditioning that follows the warm-up is on basketball conditioning drills.

The warm-up exists to get ready to play. Almost any drill that has players moving, hustling and sweating will do, and a team that starts slowly should check whether it is loafing through warm-ups. It also wants free-lance shooting of the shots each player will take in the game, then team free throws, with assistants involved so the energy stays up while the head coach handles the lineup and the scorebook.

Two-line layups. The left line dribbles in and shoots while 2, the first rebounder, runs to the basket, and 3 waits with the next ball. Both lines start well outside the arc so the drill has real running in it.

• Classic two-line layups. A shooting line and a rebounding line. The shooter dribbles in for the layup while the rebounder passes to the next shooter, and the lines swap. Switch sides after a couple of minutes, with the left hand and right hand, and add reverse and inside-hand layups. Passes are bounce passes and the lines start well outside the arc so there is running. Run it at game speed.
• Three-line layups. Players at the top of the key, one in the right corner and the rest at half court near the sideline, two balls. 1 passes to 2 and makes a sharp basket cut for the bounce-pass return and layup, and the lines rotate. Run it both ways.
• Backdoor layups. Tara VanDerveer's drill has three lines and a rebounder. The passer hits 1, who dribbles at 2, and 2 back-cuts for a bounce pass layup. After one trip, switch to air passes and add token defense.

Close-out warm-up. X1 rolls the ball out to 1 and sprints to close out on him. X2 and X3 wait under the basket for their turns, then the drill goes live 3-on-3.

• Simple close-out. Partners pair up, and the partner on the baseline has the ball and rolls it out. The closeout goes on the ball with a "ball" call three times, and partners switch after two or three reps.
• Close-out and live 3-on-3. In Kim Barnes Arico's Michigan drill, three offensive players at the top of the key and both wings, three defenders under the basket. X1 rolls the ball out to 1 and closes out, closes out again when 1 passes to 2, and so on through three close-outs, then play goes live 3-on-3 to a score or a stop. To make it competitive, split the team in two and give each side five to seven possessions.
• Cutter shooting. Players on the wings. The right-wing player cuts into the key for the pass from the left wing and shoots at the free-throw line or elbow. He rebounds and passes to the opposite line, and the next player goes. The drill stresses crisp passes and hard cuts, and varies it with a cut to the arc, a shot fake and a dribble.

Cutter shooting. 1 cuts from the right wing into the key for the pass from 2, catches near the free-throw line and shoots. The next two players in the lines go after him.

• Three-man weave. The old-fashioned full-court weave, used when the opponent leaves the floor. Players run wide, sprint and call the receiver's name on each pass.
• Competitive warm-ups. USA Basketball Performance Level says to keep score or time. Its full-court layup drill sets a goal of 50 made layups in one minute with a right-hand day and a left-hand day, and its full-court jump-shot drill sets 22 makes in one minute with two points for a made three.
• A three-line warm-up. A 12-minute warm-up with butt kickers, shoe slaps, carioca, exaggerated strides, V-cuts with jump stops and pivots, catch-and-face drills with different balls and bad passes, then rapid-fire free throws scored against a personal record.

Three-man weave. 3 passes to 2 as 1, who passed to him, loops behind him into the outside lane. Players run wide and call the receiver's name on every pass.

Finish the warm-up at game speed.

Basketball Warm Up Drills for Youth

A good warm-up is overlooked most at the youth level, which is the reason to make it a habit early.

• Time budget. Canada Basketball's youth program template gives 5 to 12 minutes to the warm-up inside a 75-minute session for ages 5 to 8 and a 90-minute session for ages 9 to 12, with 2 to 3 minutes for the introduction before it.
• Dynamic for children, static after. The down-and-back warm-up above quotes researchers who say it may be desirable for children to do dynamic exercise in the warm-up and static stretching in the cool-down, and builds its down and back sequence for that.
• Ball skills as the warm-up. USA Basketball sorts by skill. The triple-threat partner drill and the form-shooting routine above are both written for the Foundational Level, where USA Basketball says players are learning the basic basketball skills.
• Out of court time. A middle school schedule leaves stretching and warm-up out of the timed schedule and has players arrive 20 minutes early to stretch on the sideline or in a hallway, so court time is not spent on it.

For wider youth drills see basketball drills and games for kids and basketball practice plan, which has the template that holds the warm-up.

Make the warm-up a habit early.

How Long and Where Coaches Disagree

How long?

• About 5 minutes in three groups. The three-group warm-up.
• 3 to 10 minutes at 50 to 60 percent effort. The follow-the-leader warm-up.
• 5 to 12 minutes in a youth session. Canada Basketball's youth program.
• 12 minutes with ball work and free throws. The 12-minute three-line warm-up.
• 25 to 30 minutes before a game. The 30-minute pregame.

Static stretching?

• Dynamic before play, static in the cool-down. The three-group warm-up, and the down-and-back warm-up, which quotes researchers.
• Dynamic flexibility in place of static stretching. The follow-the-leader warm-up.
• Five minutes of static stretching inside the pregame routine. The 30-minute pregame.

What opens practice?

• Teaching, film or situations before the stretch. Jeff Van Gundy and Stan Van Gundy.
• The stretch first. Jay Wright, inside a 30-minute skill block.
• Individual work and free throws first. John Wooden, with stretching inside fundamentals.

Where does the stretch go?

• On the floor, as the first practice block. The three-group warm-up.
• Off the clock before practice starts. The arrive-early middle school schedule.

No one reconciles these lengths, so pick one and write it into the practice plan. The argument for routine is that doing the same thing every game is what calms a team, so consistency may matter more than the exact length.

Questions Coaches Ask

More Guides From This Batch

• Box Out Drills for Basketball: Footwork, Contact and Games
• Moving Screen Basketball: The Rule, the Call and How to Coach It
• Down Screen Basketball: How to Set It, Use It and Read It

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