Deft means "showing cleverness and skill in handling things." What you want to see in football or basketball is some deft handling of the ball.
The original meaning of deft was "humble or gentle." From the same Old English source comes the word daft "silly or foolish." You can see how they diverged. A deft person might appear humble and quiet because they're focused and efficient in their display of skill. A daft person appears humble and quiet because they don't have anything to say. The uncomplimentary daft is a mainly British word, so you probably won't get the chance to confuse it with deft.
