During a dribble the dribbler keeps the ball on the side of his body that is away from the defender. To dribble, the ball is pushed down by spreading the fingers by a light pressure. All players should learn to dribble equally well with both hands without looking at the ball.

The change-of-pace dribble

This dribble is one of the most common in basketball and is used to make the defender think that the dribbler is slowing down or going to pick up his dribble and stop, or he is looking for a teammate to pass to, but still keeping his dribble, he explosed by the defender at top speed.

The low or control dribble

It is used whenever the player is closely guarded. This type of dribbling simply entails keeping the ball low to the floor and in the player's control. The ball is dribbled on the side of the body away from the defender. The palm of the dribbling hand is kept over the ball.

The high or speed dribble

When a player is in the open court and needs to go as fast as he can with the ball, he uses the high/speed dribble. In such case the dribbler is not closely guarded and while running fast, he pushes the ball in front of him and lets the ball bounce at hip level. With this type of dribble the dribbling hand is not directly over the ball as in the low dribble, but behind it.

The crossover dribble

It entails dribbling with one hand, then, as the dribbler gets close to his defender, pushing the ball out in front of him, over to the other hand, and exploding past him. This move is a very good way to beat a defender, but, since the ball is unprotected as he makes the crossover, it can be stolen by the defence if the move is not executed smoothly.

The behind-the-back-dribble

This type of dribble is used when the dribbler changes direction in order to get loose from the opponent. The dribbler moves the ball from one side of his body to another by swinging it behind and across his back.

The between-the-legs dribble

This dribble is a quick way to move the ball from one hand to the other between the legs when a dribbler is closely guarded or when (being overplayed and) he wants to change direction.

The reverse dribble

This dribble (also called spin dribble or roll dribble) is also a type of dribbling to change direction and to bounce the ball from one hand to another when the dribbler is closely guarded. To use it effectively it must be executed quickly when the dribbler pushes the ball to the floor and rotates around his defender.