Flex is the offense my high school coach ran, and I still think it's the best way to teach a team how to screen. Two screens, one pass, and the whole thing starts again. Players who learn Flex learn to set a screen with their feet, read a defender off a down screen, and reverse the ball without being told.
It's also the most scouted offense in high school basketball, which is why this guide spends as much time on the counters as the pattern. Every play below is animated, so step through them and save what you'll use.
The pattern
Flex starts from a box or a 2-2-1 look: two players at the elbows or the top, two on the blocks, and the ball with a guard. Two screens run every time the ball reverses.
- The flex screen. The player on the ball-side block screens along the baseline for the player on the weak-side block, who cuts across to the ball-side block looking for the pass and the layup.
- The down screen. The guard who just passed the ball screens down for the flex screener, who pops out to the elbow or the top for a jump shot.
That's it. Pass, flex cut, down screen, pop, and now the ball is on the other side with the same shape waiting. The screener on one pass is the cutter on the next.
Here's the base continuity, run twice across so you can see it repeat.
The reads that keep it honest:
- The flex cutter reads his defender. Defender trails, cut tight and expect the layup. Defender cheats under the screen, curl over the top. Defender jumps to the ball, back cut.
- The down screen receiver reads the same way. Trail, curl. Under, pop and shoot. Switch, the screener seals and the pass goes inside.
- The passer never stands. He screens down or fills the spot the popper left.
Six ways to enter it
The continuity is easy to guard when the defense knows the first pass. Entries change where the first pass comes from so the first flex screen hits a defense that isn't set.
Box entry
The box entry starts with two on the blocks and two at the elbows. The point guard passes to an elbow stepping out, and the player on the far block runs the first flex cut. It's the cleanest entry for a young team because nobody has to move before the first pass.
Dribble entry
When the wing is denied, the point guard dribbles at the wing, the wing clears to the baseline, and the dribble becomes the first pass. The wing who cleared is now the flex screener, so the denial has just put him exactly where the pattern wants him.
Horns entry
Start in Horns with the bigs at the elbows, pass to an elbow, and the point guard cuts through to set the first flex screen. If you run Horns already, this gives you Flex without teaching a new alignment.
Double screen entry
The first flex screen becomes a double: both players on the ball side screen for the cutter. It's harder to switch, and when the defense does switch it, two defenders are now out of position instead of one.
Lob entry
When the defense starts going under the flex screen to beat the cutter to the block, the cutter goes over the top and the pass is a lob. The screener's job is the same, and the only change is the pass.
Duck-in
After the flex cut, the cutter ducks into the lane and seals instead of continuing through. On a switch, this is a layup; on a trail, it's a post-up with the ball already reversed to the elbow.
The counters
A defense that has seen Flex three times does one of four things. Each one has a built-in answer.
They trail the cutter through the screen
Curl. The flex cutter comes tight off the screen and curls into the lane instead of running the baseline. The trailing defender is behind him, and the screener's defender has to decide whether to help.
They go under the down screen
Fade. The down screen receiver fades to the corner instead of popping to the elbow. The defender who went under is now on the wrong side of the screen, and the pass is a skip.
They switch the flex screen
Slip. The screener leaves the screen a half step before contact and dives to the rim while his defender is stepping out to switch. Against a team that switches everything, this is the first counter I call.
They jump to the ball on the pass
Backdoor. When the wing defender is denying the reversal pass, the wing back cuts and the elbow passer hits him. The cut is the counter; the pattern restarts from wherever the ball lands.
Flex against a zone
Flex is a man offense, but the cut across the baseline still works against the bottom of a 2-3 zone, and the pop to the elbow attacks the gap the zone leaves at the high post. The difference is which option comes first. Against a zone the pop is the primary look: the screener pops to the high post, catches, and either shoots, finds the cutter under the zone, or skips to the weak side.
Teaching it
I teach Flex in four stages, and the stages are more important than the plays.
- The two screens, 4-on-0. Flex screen, down screen, reverse, repeat. Players learn the pattern until they can run it with their eyes closed.
- The reads, 2-on-2. The flex cutter and the screener against two defenders who trail, go under, or switch. The cutter calls out the read before he moves.
- The entries, 5-on-0. Add one entry per practice. The entry is where most of the turnovers happen, so I'd rather have three clean entries than six sloppy ones.
- The counters, 5-on-5 with a scouted defense. Tell the defense to switch everything one possession and trail the next. The offense has to find the counter without a timeout.
The mistake I see most is the flex screener setting the screen and watching. He's the next cutter. The moment the cut goes by, he's looking for the down screen.
Wrapping Up
Flex isn't fashionable, and it doesn't need to be. It teaches screening and reversal better than any offense I know, and once your players own the counters, the predictability stops being a weakness.
Every play above is live in Elite Hoops. Open one, step through the screens, and tap Save to add it to your playbook. The play designer is where I drew them all, and it's the fastest way to draw your own entry.
