Screen Guide
Every type of screen, one play each.
A corner ball screen is set near the short corner or deep sideline to help a trapped handler escape or attack baseline space.
After setting the ball screen, the big veers away from the roll to screen the defender of a nearby perimeter player.
An angle or slot ball screen is set diagonally in the slot to direct the handler toward the middle.
Traditional flex action pairs a baseline cross screen with a down screen for the player who set the first screen.
A step-up screen arrives from below the ball on the side, with the screener's back roughly parallel to the baseline so the handler can attack baseline.
A brush cut uses a stationary teammate's natural position to momentarily obstruct the defender without that teammate setting a conventional screen.
A wide screen is a high cross screen that frees a weak-side cutter toward the ball side.
Two screeners open a lane for the shooter and close the doors only after the shooter has cleared.
An off-ball ram screen frees a teammate to arrive immediately into an on-ball screen.
A flare screen sends a perimeter player away from the ball toward the sideline or corner.
A flat screen is set with the screener's back toward the basket, giving the handler a choice of either direction.
A shot screen is any screen designed specifically to deliver an immediate catch-and-shoot opportunity.
The same screener screens the same cutter twice: first a flare screen away from the ball, then a cross or wide screen back toward the ball.
A down screen, often called a pin-down, frees a player moving from the baseline toward the perimeter.
After passing, 1 screens away for 3. The cutter reads the defender and comes toward the ball.
A wedge is an angled back screen by a guard that sends a big from the top toward the low block. In wedge roll, the big continues into an immediate side ball…
A ghost screen is a fake ball screen where the screener leaves before making contact.
A back screen is set behind a defender so the cutter can attack the rim. It is also called a rip screen.
A cross screen sends a player across the lane, usually from one block to the other.
A baseline drive is paired with a weak-side back screen that frees the opposite corner for a skip pass.
In Ricky action, the same screener screens the same cutter twice: traditionally a back screen followed by a down screen in the opposite direction.
Double drag uses two consecutive transition ball screens, often with one screener popping and the other rolling.
Spain pick-and-roll combines a high ball screen with a back screen on the rolling screener's defender; the back screener then pops.
A drag screen is an early ball screen set in transition before the defense is organized.
A double screen places two screeners beside one another so a cutter must be chased around a wider obstacle.
A side ball screen is set on the wing with spacing that forces the defense to choose between middle, baseline, switch, or trap.
A touch screen is brief contact that immediately flows into a slip or roll.
A hostage dribble keeps the on-ball defender behind the handler. The rolling big adds a Gortat screen by sealing the drop defender in front.
The first screener immediately becomes the cutter and receives a second screen from a different teammate.
A stagger uses two screens at different depths so a cutter changes direction and the defender must navigate both.
A smaller guard sets the ball screen for a larger ball handler, reversing the usual personnel roles.
A high ball screen is set near the top of the floor, giving the ball handler room to attack either side.
A UCLA screen, also called an up screen, frees a guard to cut from the wing or slot to the rim.
A slip screen sends the screener to the rim before the screen is fully set, usually when the defense jumps out early.
A player screens the defender responsible for the area that player just vacated, helping a teammate replace into the space.
A blade (or Maggette) cut is a curved weak-side perimeter cut to the rim, commonly used while a side pick-and-roll occupies the help.
A twirl begins as a stagger: the cutter curls the first screen, then that first screener turns and cuts off the second screen.