Learn the basketball closeout: sprint to the shooter, brake with short steps, hand up and then defend safely. With rules, mistakes and milestones.
A closeout is the sprint toward an open shooter. You brake just in front of him with small steps and raise a hand to disturb the shot and, at the same time, prevent the drive. Your goal is not the block but the harder shot.
The honest answer to “Do I always have to stop the shot?”: no. A measurement with ten Spanish professionals showed that shooters release the ball faster and higher against an opponent (larger release angle, shorter flight time) [2]. So even a reasonably good closeout changes the shooter's technique. That is a gain.
At the same time the closeout is one of the riskiest actions: you run fast, brake abruptly and end up close to the opponent. We come to injuries in the safety section.
The closeout is a sprint with a brake: get there fast, but arrive under control.
You may take a position not already occupied by an opponent. Against a player with the ball, time and distance do not apply: he must expect you to step into his path, but you may not cause contact when doing so [1]. A legal guarding position means: you face the opponent and both feet are on the floor [1]. With more than one metre of distance the ball holder does not count as “closely guarded” [1].
Milestone: You explain the rule in your own words before you start.
Sprint in a slight arc toward the shooter, not head-on at his feet. Brake over the last one to two metres. Standard practice is a distance of about an arm's length. Milestone: Ten closeouts without a ball; at the end you stand in a defensive stance and are no longer moving.
Brake with four to six small, quick steps (choppy steps, standard practice), hips low, weight on the balls of the feet. Both feet go slightly apart so you can step aside. Milestone: After the sprint you stand in a defensive stance without sliding two steps.
Raise one hand to the shooter's face; the other stays lower and ready for the drive. Do not jump: whoever is lured out of position by a shot fake has jumped too early. Milestone: Your partner shoots five times, you disturb every shot without touching him.
If the shooter responds with a dribble, you slide sideways with him. A change of direction you do not expect loads the knee more, as was the case in a study of 24 female players [5]. So expect the fake and keep your knees bent. Milestone: Closeout plus three slides, partner dribbles in the direction of his choice.
A player in the air has the right to land at the same place. Whoever moves under a jumping player and causes contact usually commits a flagrant foul, and in extreme cases a disqualifying foul [1]. It is also an injury question: landing on an opponent's foot was the leading cause (55 %) in 445 analysed videos of ankle injuries in indoor sports, and in basketball 76 % of the analysed cases were contact injuries [3]. In an analysis of four cases from NBA games, the player stepped on an opponent's foot each time and rolled the ankle strongly outward (inversion) [4]. So never stay standing under the shooter. This guide explains and motivates; it does not replace supervised training or a coach.
Steer the shooter to his weaker side. While braking, keep one shoulder slightly toward the middle, the hand on the side of his strong hand. This is coaching experience and influences the drive without you having to jump.
About an arm's length as a practical rule of thumb. The rulebook names one metre as the limit at which a ball holder is “closely guarded” [1]. If you stay further away, the shooter gains time; if you are too close, you risk fouls and a drive.
Mostly not. Jumping makes you vulnerable to the shot fake. One hand is enough to change the shooter's technique: against an opponent, professionals released the ball faster and higher [2]. Stay down and put the hand up.
Both belong together. The hand disturbs the shot, the body position takes away the drive. Practical experience is to keep the hand up and set the feet at an angle so you deny the drive.
Start without a ball and at controlled speed, then with a partner, and only last in games. A ten-minute programme beforehand with agility and strength cut ankle and knee injuries in adolescents by 36 % [6].
Taking a Charge: The Legal Position in Front of the Attacker