offense
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.
How it runs
A corner cut opens two different screening options
1. Bring the corner player through the lane
1 holds the ball on the side. 2 cuts from the ball-side corner below the basket, then comes up through the lane to the top.
Notation
- Offense
- Defense
- Coach
- Neutral
- Ball
- Cone
- Cut
- Dribble
- Pass
- Screen
- Hand-off
- Shot
- Def. slide
A representative opening from Popovich’s public Loop demonstration. It uses the corner-to-top cut followed by two different screens; later continuations and related Zip entries are not all shown. Defenders are omitted; captions state the chosen read. Spacing is illustrative.
Original CoachAssist teaching illustration, not a complete playbook. Arrows show the action from the displayed starting positions. Read each caption before advancing.
Reads and decisions
- Read denial and screen pursuit; reverse the route or flow into another advantage rather than forcing a catch.
What to emphasize
- The public 5-on-0 demonstration emphasizes timing, legal screening, passing and communication.
How to teach it
Choose current readiness, not gender or an assumed ceiling. Simplify whenever players need it.
New to basketball
- One idea to notice: The cutter and connected screeners communicate the route.
- Use a manageable ball, short passing distances and a comfortable shooting range. Rehearse only one movement at a time; screening begins without contact.
- Let players explain or point to the open space. Stop for a short demonstration, then let them try again without a score or speed quota.
Level progressions are original coaching adaptations, not claims that a cited coach uses this exact sequence.
Tradeoffs, counters & terminology
- Loop, Zip and Floppy describe related entries/actions, not an interchangeable universal playbook.
Documented coaches & teams
Gregg Popovich · San Antonio Spurs
Historical public examples document this motion family; entries and personnel changed across seasons.
Matching drills · steps and diagrams
Teaching level changes the lesson above, not these drills automatically. Check each drill’s players, equipment, skill and coaching adaptations before running it.
Popovich Loop 5-on-0 Walkthrough
Court diagram · view the drill first
System-specific breakdown: Rehearses the reviewed corner loop, reversal and connected screens with five attackers. Walk through legal positioning before adding speed or defenders.
Rehearse the Loop entry: a corner player circles a post player to receive the ball, then teammates respond to off-ball screens.
5–15 players · 5–12 minutes · basketballs
Purpose
Rehearse the Loop entry: a corner player circles a post player to receive the ball, then teammates respond to off-ball screens.
Set it up
A wing ballhandler, two corner players and two post players walk through before adding defense. Name which post leads the action and which follows. Spare balls and waiting players stay outside the active routes.
Run the drill
- Agree on a short timed interval and begin at walkthrough pace. Use one active ball and one group in the playing area; add controlled opposition only when players understand the routes and can stop safely.
- Corner guard loops around the lead post toward the top and receives the wing pass.
- The following post player screens toward the baseline for the opposite wing; the leading post player screens for the original passer.
- Read available cutters; otherwise continue the selected motion.
- End the repetition on a controlled finish, dead ball or coach stop. Clear the ball and landing area before restarting; rotate roles and rest within the planned interval, without extending it to reach a target.
Scoring
Optional: within a short coach-chosen timed interval, count sound decisions, controlled catches or completed defensive possessions. Stop at the planned time or sooner; no required makes, winning streak or exercise penalty. Rotate roles and allow rest regardless of the score.
Coach the details
- Teach timing before speed.
- This is one public Loop example.
- Stop and name the next read when the first cutter is denied.
- Use comfortable passing and shooting distances and an appropriate ball. Progress by demonstrated control, not speed: keep eyes on the play, leave stopping/landing space, and stop if a route or loose ball creates a collision risk.
- Screens begin without contact. Establish a balanced, stationary position with the time and space required by the competition rules; keep arms in and do not lean, hold, shove or step into an approaching defender. Decline the action when legal clearance is unavailable.
Variations & provenance
- Original CoachAssist display adaptation: these edited steps, workload limits and optional scoring are coaching adaptations, not a claim that the cited author prescribed this exact version.
- The teaching-level selector does not automatically adapt these drills for age or ability. A coach must choose suitable roles, equipment, contact, space and progressions; simplify or defer anything the group is not ready to perform.
- Provenance (source-based): Core teaching idea is supported by the linked public source. Coordinates, timings and rotation logistics are original SportsPlay teaching aids, not reproduced source diagrams. Coach review is required.
Pin Down Four Reads
Court diagram · view the drill first
Supporting fundamental: Adds isolated off-ball coverage reads needed after the Loop entry; it does not replace the five-player walkthrough.
A screen for a low cutter offers a curved cut, a straight cut, an outward cut or a cut behind the defender, depending on the guided defense.
4–12 players · 8–15 minutes · basketballs
Purpose
A screen for a low cutter offers a curved cut, a straight cut, an outward cut or a cut behind the defender, depending on the guided defense.
Set it up
Four players: passer, screener, cutter and guided cutter defender; a coach indicates the coverage. Use one ball and rehearse one cut at a time. Spare balls and waiting players stay outside the active routes.
Run the drill
- Agree on a short timed interval and begin at walkthrough pace. Use one active ball and one group in the playing area; add controlled opposition only when players understand the routes and can stop safely.
- The defender shows the agreed cue; the screener becomes stationary before the cutter leaves.
- When the defender follows behind, consider curving around the screen; if the route opens, consider the straight cut.
- If the defender leaves space or stands above the cutter to block the route toward the screen, consider moving outward or cutting behind the defender only when that space is clear.
- Pass to an available target for a controlled shot or reset. Rotate all four roles.
- End the repetition on a controlled finish, dead ball or coach stop. Clear the ball and landing area before restarting; rotate roles and rest within the planned interval, without extending it to reach a target.
Scoring
Optional: within a short coach-chosen timed interval, count sound decisions, controlled catches or completed defensive possessions. Stop at the planned time or sooner; no required makes, winning streak or exercise penalty. Rotate roles and allow rest regardless of the score.
Coach the details
- These are possible reads, not guaranteed scoring outcomes.
- The diagram’s four paths are alternatives. A sound read still counts as learning when a shot misses.
- Use comfortable passing and shooting distances and an appropriate ball. Progress by demonstrated control, not speed: keep eyes on the play, leave stopping/landing space, and stop if a route or loose ball creates a collision risk.
- Screens begin without contact. Establish a balanced, stationary position with the time and space required by the competition rules; keep arms in and do not lean, hold, shove or step into an approaching defender. Decline the action when legal clearance is unavailable.
Variations & provenance
- Original CoachAssist display adaptation: these edited steps, workload limits and optional scoring are coaching adaptations, not a claim that the cited author prescribed this exact version.
- The teaching-level selector does not automatically adapt these drills for age or ability. A coach must choose suitable roles, equipment, contact, space and progressions; simplify or defer anything the group is not ready to perform.
Sources & evidence notes
The system description and source links are reviewed references. Level progressions and evaluation ideas are original CoachAssist teaching adaptations, not tested prescriptions or a named coach’s complete playbook. Supporting drills develop ingredients; they do not automatically install the whole system.
Evidence status: established. Sources support the specific claims described here, not every possible version of the system.
- Run Gregg Popovich's Motion Offense!
Kevin Fitzpatrick, featuring Gregg Popovich · Championship Productions · 2015-10-28
Relevant public drill description visible in indexed search text; direct retrieval returned 403. Paid footage not reviewed.
- Learning the Spurs playbook: scoring with off-ball screens
Jeje Gomez · Pounding The Rock · 2014-03-18
Public written coaching reference; undated unless specified. No linked paid video reviewed.