I'll get straight to it: here are 37 types of basketball screens, each with a clear explanation and animated example.
Want to draw your own version? Use the basketball play designer, or follow the screen-away animation tutorial.
Foundational off-ball screens
1. Screen away
A screen away happens when a player passes the ball, then screens for a teammate on the opposite side. It is one of the easiest ways to introduce purposeful movement after a pass.
The cutter can curl, back cut, or replace toward the ball depending on the defender's position.
2. Pin-down screen or down screen
A pin-down is set for a player moving from the baseline toward the perimeter. The screener usually faces the baseline while the cutter rises toward the wing or top.
Teach the cutter to walk the defender down first, then explode off the screen. The common reads are curl, straight cut, fade, and back cut.
3. Wide screen
A wide screen is a high cross screen that sends a weak-side cutter across the floor toward the ball. The screener works near the top of the lane so the cutter can arrive with space on the opposite wing or slot.
Some teams use "wide pin-down" more loosely for a pin-down set near the sideline. In this guide, wide screen follows the FIBA and Basketball Action Dictionary definition shown in the animation.
4. Back screen or rip screen
A back screen is set behind a defender to free a cutter toward the basket. "Rip screen" is a common name for the same action.
The passer needs to see the cut early. If the ball arrives after the cutter reaches the rim, the advantage is usually gone.
5. Cross screen
A cross screen sends a player across the lane, most often from one block to the other. It is a staple of post-entry sets and baseline out-of-bounds plays.
The cutter should stay low, brush the screener's body, and seal immediately on the new block.
6. Flare screen
A flare screen sends a perimeter player away from the ball toward the sideline or corner. The screener takes away the defender's path back to the shooter.
The pass should lead the cutter away from the defense. If the defender jumps over the screen, the cutter can reject it and back cut.
7. UCLA screen or up screen
A UCLA screen frees a guard to cut from the wing or slot down the lane. It is also called an up screen because the screener steps up from the elbow or post.
The first read is the layup. If that is covered, the cutter can post, clear through, or flow into a handoff on the other side.
8. Brush screen
A brush is created when a cutter passes so close to a stationary teammate that the teammate's natural position momentarily obstructs the defender. That teammate does not need to stop and hold a conventional screen.
Timing and proximity matter more than force. The stationary player cannot lean, widen, or move into the defender, or the action risks becoming an illegal moving screen.
9. Double screen or parallel screen
A double screen places two screeners beside one another to create a wider obstacle. When the screeners are aligned next to each other, coaches may call it a parallel screen.
The two screeners must close the gap without leaning. The cutter reads the defender and chooses the cleanest shoulder.
10. Stagger screen
A stagger uses two screeners at different depths along the same route. The cutter changes angle while the defender has to navigate one screen and then another.
The cutter should make a fresh read at each screen. Curling the first does not mean the second screen must be used.
11. Blade screen
A blade, also called a Maggette cut, is a curved cut from the weak-side perimeter or corner toward the rim. It commonly happens while a pick-and-roll occupies the defense on the other side.
The cutter bends behind the help defenders instead of running in a straight line. The action is not a separate stationary screen; the name describes the cutting route and the pressure it puts on the low help.
12. Shot screen
"Shot screen" describes the purpose more than the geometry. It is a screen designed to produce an immediate catch-and-shoot opportunity.
The route, pass, and footwork should be timed so the shooter arrives balanced and ready before the defense recovers.
13. Screen your own
In a screen-your-own action, a player vacates an area and screens the defender responsible for that space. A teammate then replaces behind the screen.
It is useful against switching principles and zones because it screens the defender who would normally bump or take the replacing cutter.
Combination and named screening actions
These actions use the foundational screens above, but the sequence creates a new problem for the defense. The name usually describes the order, the second screen, or the location of the final advantage.
14. Elevator screen
An elevator screen uses two screeners like opening and closing doors. The shooter runs between them, then the screeners step together after the shooter clears.
The screeners cannot close early or move into the defender. The timing should make the gap disappear legally after the cutter passes through.
15. Hammer screen
A hammer action pairs a baseline drive with a weak-side back screen for a corner shooter. The drive pulls the defense toward the rim while the screen frees the opposite corner.
The skip pass is difficult, so the driver must stay under control and see the weak side before leaving the floor.
16. Screen the screener
Screen the screener means exactly what it says. A player sets the first screen, then immediately receives a second screen.
Defenders often relax after guarding the first action. The second screen attacks that moment before they can recover or communicate a new matchup.
17. Flex screen
A traditional flex action combines a baseline cross screen with a down screen for the original screener.
The first cutter threatens the rim. The second cutter rises toward the elbow or wing. Repeating those two screens creates the familiar flex continuity.
18. Ram screen
A ram screen is an off-ball screen that frees a teammate to set an immediate ball screen. The defense has to navigate contact before it can organize its pick-and-roll coverage.
The ball screener should arrive directly out of the ram action. A pause gives the defense time to switch assignments or call the coverage.
19. Ricky screen
A Ricky action uses the same screener for the same cutter twice. Traditionally, the first action is a back screen toward the basket and the second is a down screen that sends the cutter back in the opposite direction.
The defender has to navigate two screen angles without losing the same matchup. A pin-down flowing into a dribble handoff is more commonly called Chicago or Zoom action.
20. Twirl screen
A twirl begins from a staggered-screen look. The first cutter curls the first screen, and the player who set that first screen immediately turns and becomes the next cutter off the second screener.
That exchange changes the identity of the cutter in the middle of the action. The defense prepares to chase one player through both screens, then has to transfer its attention to the first screener.
21. Veer screen
In a veer action, the big sets a ball screen and then veers away to screen a perimeter defender instead of rolling normally.
This can free a shooter while the handler keeps the defense occupied in the lane. It is especially effective when the weak-side defender tags the roll early.
22. Wiper screen
A wiper action uses the same screener for the same cutter twice. The first screen is a flare that sends the cutter away from the ball; the screener then flips the angle and sets a cross or wide screen that brings the cutter back toward the ball.
The cutter's route sweeps back across the floor like a windshield wiper. The timing between the two screens should be continuous enough that the defender cannot fully recover between them.
Ball-screen types and pick-and-roll variations
A pick-and-roll, pick-and-pop, short roll, and slip are related, but they are not all the same kind of label. Some names describe the screen's location or angle. Others describe the screener's timing or what happens after contact.
The examples below separate those ideas so you can teach the exact detail that changes.
23. High ball screen
A high ball screen is set near the top of the floor. It gives the handler room to attack either direction and gives the roller space down the middle.
Corners should stay occupied so help defenders have a longer decision to make.
24. Side ball screen
A side ball screen is set for a handler on the wing. The defense usually has a clear choice between allowing the middle, forcing baseline, switching, or trapping against the sideline.
Spacing on the opposite side determines whether the help can crowd the roll.
25. Angle ball screen or slot ball screen
An angle screen is set diagonally in the slot rather than square to the sideline. The angle directs the handler toward the nail or middle.
Small changes in the screener's hips can change the entire driving lane. Teach the screener to arrive at the angle the handler actually needs.
26. Flat screen or butt screen
A flat screen is set behind the on-ball defender with the screener's back toward the basket. Some coaches call it a butt screen.
Because the handler can use either side, the on-ball defender cannot shade one obvious direction. The handler creates the final angle with the first dribble.
27. Step-up ball screen
A step-up screen comes from below the ball on the side of the floor. The screener arrives with the back roughly parallel to the baseline, creating an angle for the handler to turn the corner along the baseline.
The handler should stay close to the sideline before the screen arrives, then attack tightly off the screener's hip. Some teams use the term for a slightly different angle, but this is the FIBA convention demonstrated here.
28. Drag screen
A drag screen is an early ball screen in transition. A trailing big runs into the action before the defense can match up and communicate.
Pace is the advantage. The screener should not slow down to make the action look like a half-court set.
29. Double drag screen
Double drag adds a second trailing screener. The handler attacks two consecutive screens while one screener can pop and the other rolls.
Those opposite exits stretch the defense horizontally and vertically at the same time.
30. Ghost screen
A ghost screen is a fake ball screen. The screener approaches with a believable angle, then leaves before contact and pops into open space.
It is most effective when the defense is ready to switch or show. Both defenders react to a screen that never arrives.
31. Touch screen
A touch screen uses very brief contact before the screener releases into the slip or roll.
It lives between a full screen and a complete fake. The goal is to delay the defender just enough without letting the coverage settle.
32. Slip screen
On a slip, the screener cuts to the basket before fully setting the screen. It punishes defenders who jump out early, switch above the action, or top-lock the screener's route.
The handler must recognize the opening early. Waiting for contact defeats the purpose of the slip.
33. Inverted ball screen
An inverted ball screen reverses the normal roles. A guard or smaller player screens for a bigger ball handler.
The role reversal can force an uncomfortable switch, create a post mismatch, or let the smaller screener pop to the perimeter.
34. Spain ball screen or stack pick-and-roll
Spain pick-and-roll adds a back screen on the rolling screener's defender. Some coaches call it stack pick-and-roll.
The handler attacks, the big rolls, and the back screener pops. The defense must cover the ball, the rim, and the perimeter while navigating two screens.
35. Wedge screen or wedge roll
A wedge screen is an angled back screen, commonly set by a guard, that sends a big from the top of the floor toward the low block. The angle creates an early post seal or interior catch.
In a wedge roll, the big continues out of that cut and immediately sets a side ball screen. That continuation can resemble ram action, but wedge is defined by the first top-to-block back screen rather than simply freeing a future ball screener.
36. Gortat screen with a hostage dribble
A hostage dribble and a Gortat screen are related, but they are different jobs. The handler uses a hostage dribble to keep the on-ball defender trapped on the back hip while driving downhill.
The rolling big then sets the Gortat screen by sealing the drop defender in front of the ball, not the trailing on-ball defender. Together, the two actions protect the handler from behind and in front while opening a lane to the rim.
37. Corner ball screen
A corner ball screen is set near the deep sideline or short corner. It often helps a handler escape pressure and regain a route toward the middle.
Because the baseline and sideline act like extra defenders, spacing and the screen angle matter more than usual.
Build and share your own screen examples
Every animation in this guide was created as an independent play in Elite Hoops, then embedded directly into this post. You can use the same workflow for a playbook, coaching site, scouting report, or team resource.
Create a free Elite Hoops account, draw the action frame by frame, add your coaching notes, and choose Embed Play from the Share menu when you are ready to publish it.
