How a Plastic Bag Helped Kyrie Irving Develop His Dazzling Ball-Handling
Kyrie Irving might have the best handles in NBA history.
In a recent poll of more than 127 active NBA players conducted by The Athletic, 77.1% of respondents named Irving the best ball-handler in the league.
Although he’s worked tirelesly with professional trainers like Micah Lancaster and Sandy Pyonin, all Irving needed growing up was a simple household item to work on mastering his dribble—a plastic bag. He would tie a ball up inside a plastic bag and then practice his dribbling with the implement.
RELATED: Kyrie Irving’s Guide to Dribbling
Irving says he got the idea from watching a Baron Davis documentary in which he saw the two-time NBA All-Star use the trick to train his ball-handling. The plastic bag does a few things that makes dribbling more difficult. One, it makes the ball more slippery. Two, it reduces the bounce of the ball off the floor. Three, the ball will take unpredictable bounces, especially with the knot tied to keep the bag on. Generally speaking, the tighter the bag’s tied on the ball, the less difficulty and unpredictably added. The looser, the greater.
[youtube video=”z-BGdfe-F34″] [youtube video=”I2L8UV7c0-Q”]Ultimately, using a plastic bag can help you gain better control over the basketball once you take the bag off. The ball will feel stickier on your hands and fingers and bounce more desirably, ultimately allowing you greater control. Coach Rocky from ILoveBasketballTV shows you what the plastic bag trick looks like in action:
[youtube video=”ubJwLDh6cpY”]Photo Credit: Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
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How a Plastic Bag Helped Kyrie Irving Develop His Dazzling Ball-Handling
Kyrie Irving might have the best handles in NBA history.
In a recent poll of more than 127 active NBA players conducted by The Athletic, 77.1% of respondents named Irving the best ball-handler in the league.
Although he’s worked tirelesly with professional trainers like Micah Lancaster and Sandy Pyonin, all Irving needed growing up was a simple household item to work on mastering his dribble—a plastic bag. He would tie a ball up inside a plastic bag and then practice his dribbling with the implement.
RELATED: Kyrie Irving’s Guide to Dribbling
Irving says he got the idea from watching a Baron Davis documentary in which he saw the two-time NBA All-Star use the trick to train his ball-handling. The plastic bag does a few things that makes dribbling more difficult. One, it makes the ball more slippery. Two, it reduces the bounce of the ball off the floor. Three, the ball will take unpredictable bounces, especially with the knot tied to keep the bag on. Generally speaking, the tighter the bag’s tied on the ball, the less difficulty and unpredictably added. The looser, the greater.
[youtube video=”z-BGdfe-F34″] [youtube video=”I2L8UV7c0-Q”]Ultimately, using a plastic bag can help you gain better control over the basketball once you take the bag off. The ball will feel stickier on your hands and fingers and bounce more desirably, ultimately allowing you greater control. Coach Rocky from ILoveBasketballTV shows you what the plastic bag trick looks like in action:
[youtube video=”ubJwLDh6cpY”]Photo Credit: Juan Ocampo/NBAE via Getty Images
Read more: