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Library of Schemes
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5-out motion offense
Video availableFive-out starts all five offensive players outside the paint. It is a starting arrangement, not one exclusive offense. Players can pass, cut, screen, dribble toward a teammate to trigger a cut or handoff, and move to support a drive.
View breakdown →Brad Stevens: public offensive principles
Stevens publicly emphasized decisions based on the defense and player development instead of scripting every possession. Published analysis describes quick ball movement, spacing, ball screens near the top, and handoffs. His after-timeout plays also used decoy movements and decisions around screens.
View breakdown →Dribble-drive motion offense
Video availableDribble-drive motion uses four players outside the paint and one near the basket on the opposite side from the ball. Players drive through gaps between defenders, then choose a layup, a short pass near the basket, or a pass back outside. It is a team offense, not simply dribbling practice.
View breakdown →Drive-and-kick offense
The ball handler drives toward the basket. If another defender leaves a teammate to help, pass to that open teammate. Players without the ball move to keep passing lanes clear. Teams can use this in dribble-drive motion, ball-screen offense or against a zone.
View breakdown →Flex offense
Flex is a repeating sequence: one player cuts along the baseline using a screen near the basket, then another teammate screens downward for the first screener to move up toward the ball. Passing the ball to the opposite side repeats the sequence.
View breakdown →GET: pass ahead and take a handoff back
Pass to a teammate and follow for a handoff back. Jerusalem's 2021–22 examples continue into different screens; some were defended successfully.
View breakdown →Ghost screen: show a screen, then leave
The screener approaches as if setting a ball screen, then leaves before setting it. Pedro Martinez's Manresa examples use the defense's early reaction to create space.
View breakdown →Gregg Popovich: public offensive families
Popovich described an offense that changed as coaches and players found useful options. Public examples include Strong, Weak and Loop. These plays use cuts and screens away from the ball to set up a pass near the basket or a ball screen.
View breakdown →Horns / A-set offense
Horns begins with the ball handler at the top, two teammates near the corners of the free-throw line, and two in the corners. These starting positions can lead to many plays; the name alone does not specify the next action.
View breakdown →Microball: clarify personnel and principles
The reviewed sources do not define one standard microball offense. A coach may mean a small lineup or a set of plays used by that team. Ask what the coach means before assigning player positions or actions.
View breakdown →Pace-and-space offense
Pace-and-space means moving the ball upcourt before the defense gets set. Teammates spread wide, then use a drive, pass or screen to attack. Five-out, four-out/one-in, Horns, Pistol and early ball screens can all fit this style.
View breakdown →Pick-and-roll offense
A teammate screens the ball handler's defender, then cuts toward the basket or moves outside for a shot. A screen near the top, sideline, corner of the free-throw line, or during a fast break changes which defenders must help.
View breakdown →Pistol / 21 offense
Pistol starts as the ball handler advances, with a wing teammate on the ball side and another teammate arriving behind the play. Begin with a pass to the wing, a handoff, or a screen between guards; continue with a ball screen or a screen that frees a teammate to move away from the ball.
View breakdown →Princeton offense
Video availablePrinceton connects several series, not one fixed play. Chin uses ball reversal and a back screen. Point works through a high-post passer. Low first looks for a post entry. Teams choose how these series connect.
View breakdown →Princeton Point series
Video availablePoint gets the ball to a high-post passer. The player who made that pass can go Over, Under or Away. These are alternative routes, not consecutive steps. Explain each route because team calls vary.
View breakdown →Ram screen: free the next ball screener
One player sets an off-ball screen for a teammate who is about to set a ball screen. A Bonn timeout example adds a late change of screen angle; that change is a separate choice.
View breakdown →Read & React offense
Rick Torbett's framework links teammates' movements to the ball: passing and cutting, then support movement on drives. Additional layers can be taught as players are ready.
View breakdown →Spain pick-and-roll
A ball screen with a third player screening the defender who guards the rolling screener. That third player then moves outside. Murcia's 2022–23 examples show this inside a longer entry, not as a complete offense.
View breakdown →Split-action offense
Video availablePass to a teammate near the basket or free-throw line. Two teammates outside then cut or screen for each other. The player with the ball watches who gets open.
View breakdown →Spread offense: clarify the version
Spread can mean spacing around a ball screen, a repeating play, or five players spread out to keep possession. Gels' Spread Delay is for controlling possession without a shot clock. Wissel's version uses drives and ball screens.
View breakdown →Spurs Loop / Zip family
Popovich's public Loop teaching starts with a player cutting from the corner through the paint to receive a pass from the opposite side, then using a sequence of screens. Related Zip/Loop plays include a cut from the baseline up toward the free-throw line or a route using screens along the baseline.
View breakdown →Spurs Motion Strong
In the documented Strong play, the ball handler passes to a teammate arriving behind the play and screens on the original ball side. A pass to the opposite side and a second screen help the corner player get open.
View breakdown →Spurs Motion Weak
In the documented Weak play, the ball handler passes ahead and cuts toward the opposite wing. Passing the ball back across the court can lead to a cut from the baseline up toward the free-throw line, using a screen from a teammate arriving behind the play.
View breakdown →Triangle offense
A wing, a corner teammate, and a player near the basket form a triangle on the ball side. Two teammates stay on the opposite side. Players choose passes, cuts, and screens based on the defense; simply standing in a triangle is not the whole offense.
View breakdown →Veer: screen for a teammate after a ball screen
Instead of rolling to the basket, the ball screener moves into a screen for a teammate away from the ball. Bonn's 2022–23 playoff example connects this with a ghost action.
View breakdown →Zone offense
First identify the zone. Spread out to create clear passes, move the ball from side to side and look for a teammate inside. Depending on the zone, put extra receivers on one side or drive between defenders.
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