The answer to the above question should always be yes, if executed correctly. Ankle hops are great for basketball players to help improve their push-off and, as a result, increase their running speed and quickness. However, how ankle hops are executed is the key to whether they are of benefit. For example, to execute effective ankle hops, you should rely mainly on ankle joint extension to jump up and down or somewhat forward. The knees must bend slightly, but you must strive to eliminate knee action as much as possible and concentrate solely on ankle joint extension.
If you see someone doing ankle jumps effectively, you will see complete extension of the ankle with the toes pointed downward when he is up in the air. Landing is on the balls of the feet (almost mid-foot) and then almost immediately up again. There should be very little action at the knee and hip joints and the trunk should be basically erect.
However, ankle hops are executed quite a bit differently by some players. They go into a deep knee bend while balanced on the balls of the feet and then hop or leap as far forward as possible and land on the balls of the feet without allowing the heels to touch the ground. They then jump again and repeat for about ten jumps.
But jumping forward and landing only on the balls of the feet and holding that position can be extremely stressful to the muscles and joints. If you take very small hops forward, you can get by with it but the jumps should not be maximal unless you are physically prepared for the physical loads. At this time the jumps serve to develop greater strength, not speed or quickness.
When you go into a deep squat as advocated, you must rely on strong knee and hip joint extension for the leaping rather than ankle extension. It is extremely difficult to concentrate on ankle joint extension when you are executing a maximal jump with the knees and hip joint. Such “ankle jumps,” even though they are advocated as another form of plyometric training, are not true plyometrics. The landing and takeoff take much too long to be classified as true plyometrics. They are simply deep squat jump exercises.
See Explosive Running, Explosive Basketball Training, Explosive Plyometrics or Women’s Soccer for more details.