Ball Screen Basics
Introduce the ball screen — the most used action in modern basketball.
- Duration
- 12 min
- Steps
- 4
- Equipment
- 3 items
- Difficulty
- Intermediate
How to run it
- 1
A teammate sets a screen on your defender at the top of the key.
- 2
Drive tightly off the screen's shoulder; your defender is momentarily blocked.
- 3
Read: if the big's defender steps up, pass to your rolling screener for a layup.
- 4
6 reps each side; switch screener and ball-handler.
Coaching points
- Wait for the screen to be set — don't go early.
- Rub your defender off the screener's shoulder, no gap.
- Read the big's defender: step up = pass to roller, stay = drive.
Equipment
- Basketball
- Screener
- Defender
Why it works
The ball screen is the foundation of modern offense. The nugget: it creates a 2-on-1 — your defender is blocked, so the big's defender has to choose between you and the roller, and you attack whichever they don't take. In a game, every team runs ball screens; a kid who understands the read (drive vs pass to roller) runs an offense, not just a play. This is the gateway to all advanced pick-and-roll play.
Ball Screen Basics
Purpose: Introduce the ball screen — the most used action in modern basketball.
▶How to run it
- 1A teammate sets a screen on your defender at the top of the key.
- 2Drive tightly off the screen's shoulder; your defender is momentarily blocked.
- 3Read: if the big's defender steps up, pass to your rolling screener for a layup.
- 46 reps each side; switch screener and ball-handler.
✓Coaching points
- ✓Wait for the screen to be set — don't go early.
- ✓Rub your defender off the screener's shoulder, no gap.
- ✓Read the big's defender: step up = pass to roller, stay = drive.
▢Equipment
★Why it works
The ball screen is the foundation of modern offense. The nugget: it creates a 2-on-1 — your defender is blocked, so the big's defender has to choose between you and the roller, and you attack whichever they don't take. In a game, every team runs ball screens; a kid who understands the read (drive vs pass to roller) runs an offense, not just a play. This is the gateway to all advanced pick-and-roll play.