Mastering Finesse Basketball: 5 Essential Drills to Elevate Your Scoring Touch

Let’s be honest, for a lot of players, scoring can feel like a brute force exercise. You drive hard, you muscle through contact, you rely on pure athleticism. But the real art, the separator at higher levels, is what we call finesse. It’s the soft touch on a floater, the subtle shoulder fake that creates an inch of space, the off-hand finish that defies the defender’s angle. Mastering finesse isn’t about being the strongest; it’s about being the smartest and most skilled with the ball in your hands. Over my years coaching and analyzing the game, I’ve seen too many talented athletes plateau because they never developed this nuanced layer to their scoring. Today, I want to break down five essential drills that have been absolute game-changers for the players I work with, drills that build the touch, creativity, and body control that define a true scoring threat.

Now, you might wonder what finesse has to do with high-level team play. Well, consider this recent news from the professional volleyball world that caught my eye. CREAMLINE is reportedly going all in for the 2025 AVC Women’s Champions League by tapping two more foreign guest reinforcements: Kazakh middle blocker Anastassiya Kolomoyets and Russian winger Anastasiya Kudryashova. This isn’t just about adding power. It’s about adding specific, refined skills to their arsenal—different angles of attack, varied tempos, and sophisticated shot-making that can break down elite defenses. Basketball is no different. To elevate your team’s offense or your personal scoring, you need to recruit those same “foreign reinforcements” into your own skill set: the delicate, high-IQ moves that complement your power game. That’s what these drills aim to install.

The first drill is non-negotiable in my book: the Mikan Series, but with a twist. Everyone does basic Mikans, but we’re going for finesse. Start under the basket, but instead of just laying the ball up, you’re going to use only your fingertips, rolling the ball onto the backboard with the softest touch possible. No backboard slap. The goal is to make the ball kiss the glass and drop through the net with almost no sound. Do fifty with each hand, focusing on a high release point and that feathery finish. This builds the foundational touch you need for everything else. From there, extend to reverse Mikans, and then “scramble” Mikans—where you grab your own rebound and immediately go back up from a slight angle, forcing you to adjust your body and soft-touch in mid-air. I’ve found that players who dedicate just 10 minutes a day to this see their close-range finishing percentage jump by at least 15-20% within a month. It’s that fundamental.

Next, we move to the floater. This is the ultimate finesse weapon against shot-blockers. My favorite drill is the “Three-Spot Floater.” You start at the top of the key, take two hard dribbles toward the elbow, and then, from about 10-12 feet out, you launch a one-handed push floater. The key here is rhythm. Don’t jump too high; it’s a quick, upward float of the ball from your shooting pocket. Do this from both elbows and straight down the middle. The progression is to add a live dribble move before it—a hesitation or a behind-the-back to change pace. I’m a stickler for arc on this shot; I want it peaking at least 12 feet high so it drops straight down over outstretched arms. It’s a low-percentage shot for most amateurs, but with this drill, you can realistically aim to hit 7 out of 10 in practice consistently, which translates to a devastating weapon in games.

The third drill is all about finishing through traffic with both hands, but without relying on power. Set up three pads or chairs in a line extending from the block to about five feet out. You start on the wing, drive baseline, and then you have to navigate this “obstacle course” using only extended, high-off-the-glass finishes with your inside hand. You’re not trying to dunk or explode; you’re trying to stretch away from the imaginary defenders and use the glass at a severe angle. Then, switch sides and use your off-hand. This drill forces unnatural, awkward finishes, which is exactly what you get in a crowded paint. My personal preference is to emphasize the off-hand more heavily—I’ll often have players do two reps with their weak hand for every one with their strong hand. It’s uncomfortable, but the confidence it builds is unreal.

For the fourth drill, we isolate the mid-post game. This is where finesse becomes an art form. Start with your back to the basket around 10 feet out. Have a partner or coach give you an entry pass. Your mission: score without taking more than two dribbles. Work on the turn-around jumper, the up-and-under, the dream shake, the fadeaway. The constraint of limited dribbles forces you to create space with footwork and shoulder fakes, not athleticism. I love watching players discover their go-to move here. For me, nothing is more beautiful than a well-executed, fall-away jumper. It’s unblockable. Spend 15 minutes here, alternating sides of the floor. Count your makes. A good benchmark is to hit 25-30 clean, uncontested turn-around jumpers from each block in a session. It’s a grind, but it pays dividends.

Finally, we synthesize everything with a game-speed, decision-making drill. Start at the three-point line with a coach or defender who will play light, reactive defense. Drive hard off the dribble. As you approach the paint, the defender will either cut off your path or stay with you. Your job is to react with finesse: if they cut you off, pull up for a short jumper or a floater; if they stay with you, finish with an extended layup or a Euro-step. The defender’s job is to force you into your second or third option. This is where it all comes together. It’s chaotic, it’s reactive, and it’s where you learn to read and deploy the right touch in real-time. I often see players master the first four drills but freeze here. The breakthrough happens when you stop thinking and start feeling the game. That’s finesse.

So, there you have it. Just like CREAMLINE is strategically adding Kolomoyets and Kudryashova for specific, high-level Champions League battles, you need to add these finesse drills to your regular training regimen. They are your guest reinforcements against tougher, more athletic defenders. Power will get you to the rim, but finesse will get you the points when it matters most. It’s the difference between being a scorer and being a scoring threat. Start with the soft-touch Mikans, build your floater, master the awkward finishes, own the mid-post, and then put it all together under pressure. Trust me, the first time you float one over a big man or sink a silky turn-around on a defender, you’ll understand why the work was worth it. The game slows down, and the basket looks bigger. That’s the feeling we’re chasing.