How to block more shots in basketball

Defense wins games, and one of the most exciting defensive plays you can make is to block an offensive player’s shot. Blocking shots will force the opposing team to respect your defensive presence and you will be able to create more scoring opportunities for your team.

Here are some tips to help you block more shots on the basketball court.

Increase your vertical jump

When I was in high school, I used to rely mostly on my athletic ability to get blocks. I didn’t think much of it at first, but I realized that bans will earn you the respect of your peers and your competition. The opposing team will think twice before throwing a weak layup when you’re on the prowl hoping to send the ball across the court.

A high vertical jump allows you to get more blocks without having to focus too much on timing and patience. For the average guy, getting a block requires great timing and focus, but when you have jumps, you can get blocks despite a lack of focus or timing.

When you can jump out of the gym, getting blocks becomes inevitable. As long as you’re serious about defense, you’ll get blocks left and right.

Time/Patience

There are two ways to block a shot; in a 1v1 situation and in a help defense situation.

To get locks in either situation, you need to have a good time. Good timing requires you to play disciplined defense and it requires you to be patient.

Don’t jump until the offensive player’s feet leave the ground or the ball leaves his hands. Don’t be a jumping machine, you can get blocks without jumping if you play defense well. I can’t tell you how many times I blocked someone without even jumping.

Basketball rewards disciplined players who are serious about defense, so if you want to get more blocks, you need to be patient and focus on defense.

Experience

Blocking shots requires you to anticipate what the offense is going to do. So basically, you have to be able to read and react to what the offense throws at you.

This means you have to be in the right place at the right time and rely on your past experiences and your opponent’s previous behaviors to dictate where you need to be to make a good defensive play.

Jump up and don’t lean into the defender. After playing organized basketball for years, I realized that referees will almost automatically call out the crowd if you lean into a defender while jumping to block.

The more experience you have, the better. So, play 1v1 and lots of pick up games and look for opportunities to block shots and you will become a better shot blocker.