There are a whole lot of rules within the game of basketball. So much so, you’d have to take a very long time to learn every single of them. One of the most common questions when it comes to this great sport is whether or not you could use both hands to dribble the basketball. So what’s the answer to this question?

The only time you could dribble with two hands is when you catch the ball and go to take your very first dribble. You can use both hands to push the ball down. After that, you have to dribble with one hand or the other. The only time you could touch the ball with two hands again is when you pick the ball back up to either pass it or shoot.

That’s not to say that you can’t switch hands while dribbling. Once you have a dribble going, you could also switch hands, as long as you’re not doing it by picking up the ball with both hands. You would have to do it off the bounce. This is also known as a cross over.

What Happens If You Get Caught Dribbling With Two Hands After Your First Dribble?

If you are caught dribbling with two hands after your first dribble, if the ref sees, it will be the other teams ball. The ref will blow the whistle and stop play, then reward the other team the ball back.

How Can You Use This Initial Dribble To Your Advantage?

There are a few ways you could use this initial two had dribble to your advantage.

Fast Break

If you catch the ball on a fast break, you’ll be able to use both hands in order to throw the ball ahead. Throwing the ball ahead will allow you to create space between you and the defenders in order to get an open layup.

Use it as a power dribble

If you have the ball in the post and you haven’t dribbled yet, you could use the two hands as a power dribble. This could be done by catching the ball (in the post), establishing a pivot foot, then using both hands to push the ball hard down into the ground as you turn. This will allow you to turn around and face the basket with much more force than you would have been able to with one hand.

Why Are You Not Allowed To Dribble With Both Hands In Basketball?

If you look at the nature of the game today and how easy it is to dribble with each hand, you might be wondering why you’re not allowed to use both hands. The reason for this is not because it’s unfair (it actually may be harder to dribble the ball with two hands), but because it would be hard to judge when a player terminates their dribble.

The rules today say once you terminate your dribble, you either have to pass or shoot. It would get very confusing for referees and other officials to determine when a player’s dribble has ended.

When basketball started becoming extremely popular, post players were the dominant ones. So when this rule was made, it was most likely made to not give post players an unfair advantage.

Let’s take Shaq for instance. If he was able to dribble the ball with two hands, it would be even harder to stop him in the post because he’d constantly be able to dribble without being able to differentiate when his dribble is done.

On top of all this, ball movement would be very stagnant if players were able to continue their dribble for a very long time. The double dribble rule makes it so teams pass the ball around a lot more. An unselfish offense makes for a very beautiful basketball game.

Is There Any Other Time Where Players Can Dribble With Two Hands?

Free Throw Routines

Players can dribble the ball touching two hands when they go to take free throws. This routine is more so to get a rhythm, and a few players take a couple dribbles, allowing the ball to touch their shooting guide hand as the ball comes back up. This helps players get a good feel for the ball.

The rules in terms of dribbling go out the window while players are doing their free throw routine, but it’s important to note that you can only use two hands to continuously dribble when you are taking your free throws.

During Practice

When players practice, they practice dribbling with two hands. This isn’t like you would expect though. This requires players to dribble two separate balls with each hand.

This drill helps with:

• Working on both hands at the same time, which is extremely efficient
• Working on you off hand which is important to develop
• Increasing the speed of your dribble
• If you could move around dribbling two balls, one ball during a game would be that much easier.

Conclusion

So now you know that they only times you could dribble with two hands is when you’re taking your first dribble, or when your in the middle of your free throw routine.

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