Reference
Every term on the site, grouped by family and then listed A to Z. Each entry says what the thing is in one sentence and names the lecture that teaches it, which is where the diagram and the counter live. Use the search box for a word you heard and do not know. The count after each family is full / partial / short: full means the entry says why it is run and what beats it.
By family
- The floor and spacing (0 / 1 / 15 of 16). Where things are, and why five players standing in the right places is most of offense.
- Roles (0 / 0 / 7 of 7). The five numbers, and the blended roles that replaced them.
- Transition offense (14 / 0 / 0 of 14). Scoring before the defense is set.
- Transition defense (11 / 2 / 0 of 13). Rim, ball, then match up. In that order.
- Early offense (2 / 0 / 0 of 2). The first action after the break, against a defense that is back but not organized.
- On-ball screens (13 / 0 / 2 of 15). Screens for the player with the ball, and the family that grew out of the pick-and-roll.
- Off-ball screens (13 / 0 / 0 of 13). Screens for players without the ball, which is how shooters get open.
- Cuts and actions (20 / 0 / 4 of 24). The movements that are not screens: handoffs, cuts, seals, drives and the passes that follow.
- Sets and systems (13 / 1 / 1 of 15). Alignments, called plays, and the rule-based offenses that run without a call.
- Pick-and-roll coverages (9 / 0 / 0 of 9). How two defenders handle a ball screen. This decides a team’s defensive identity.
- Help and rotations (14 / 0 / 0 of 14). What the other three defenders do when the first two are beaten.
- Zones and junk defenses (10 / 0 / 1 of 11). Guarding areas instead of players, and hybrids built to erase one scorer.
- Presses (3 / 0 / 0 of 3). Full-court and three-quarter-court pressure, and what it is built to force.
- Special situations (6 / 0 / 2 of 8). Inbounds, timeouts, presses and zone offense.
- Late clock and endgame (3 / 1 / 0 of 4). What changes when the clock, not the defense, is the constraint.
- Analytics and trends (1 / 1 / 1 of 3). The measurements behind the choices, and what has changed recently. Every claim here carries a source.
- Rules and regulations (0 / 0 / 9 of 9). Rules with no tactical home of their own: the clock, the counts, the timeouts. Every cell cites a rulebook.
A to Z
| Term | Side | Phase | Status | Taught in |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1-2-1-1 press (diamond press) | defense | Special situations | full | 4.7 |
| 1-2-2 zone | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| 1-3-1 zone | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| 2-2-1 press (2-2-1 zone press) | defense | Special situations | full | 4.7 |
| 2-3 zone | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| 2-for-1 | offense | Late clock | full | 3.13 |
| 3-2 zone | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| 4-on-3 | offense | Half court | full | 3.3 |
| 4-out 1-in | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| 45 cut | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| 5-out | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Amoeba defense (amoeba) | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| At the level | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| ATO (after timeout) | offense | Special situations | full | 3.12 |
| Back cut (backdoor) | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Back screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Backcourt count | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Basket cut | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Blitz (trap, double team) | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| BLOB (baseline out of bounds) | offense | Special situations | full | 3.12 |
| Block | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Boomerang | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Box set | offense | Special situations | short | 3.12 |
| Box-and-one | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| Center (5) (the five, the big) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Chin | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Closeout | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Combo guard | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Corner (weak corner) | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Corner fill (fill the corner, run to the corner) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Corner three | offense | General | full | 2.2 |
| Court dimensions | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Crash or get back | offense / defense | Transition | partial | 4.1 |
| Cross screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Cross-match | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Cut | offense | Half court | short | 3.7 |
| Defensive three seconds | defense | General | short | rules |
| Delay (5-out delay) | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Diamond-and-one | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| Dig | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Double drag | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Double screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Drag screen (drag) | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Dribble drive motion (DDM, dribble drive) | offense | Half court | full | 3.9 |
| Dribble handoff (DHO, handoff) | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Drive (penetration) | offense | Half court | full | 3.10 |
| Drop coverage (drop) | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| Dunker spot (short corner) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Early offense | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Early seal | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Elbow | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Elevator screen (elevator doors) | offense | Half court | full | 3.6 |
| Fast break (primary break) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Flare screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Flash | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Flat screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.4 |
| Flex offense (flex cut) | offense | Half court | full | 3.9 |
| Floor balance (safety, get-back man) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Floppy | offense | Half court | full | 3.6 |
| Flow offense | offense | Early offense | short | 3.2 |
| Foul game (fouling up three, intentional fouls) | defense | Late clock | full | 4.9 |
| Free-throw lane (key, lane) | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Free-throw line | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Front the post (fronting) | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Gap (double gap, single gap) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Get action (get) | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Ghost screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.4 |
| Give and go | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Goaltending | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Gravity | offense | General | partial | 2.2 |
| Hack-a (Hack-a-Shaq) | defense | Late clock | full | 4.9 |
| Hammer | offense | Half court | full | 3.6 |
| Hedge (show, hard hedge) | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| Help side | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| High-low (hi-lo) | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Hit-ahead pass (pitch ahead, kick ahead) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Horns | offense | Half court | full | 3.8 |
| Ice (blue, down, push, iced) | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| Isolation (iso) | offense | Half court | full | 3.11 |
| Iverson cut (Piston cut) | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Jam the rebounder (pressure the outlet) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Junk defense (combination defense) | defense | Half court | short | 4.6 |
| Kick-out (drive and kick) | offense | Half court | full | 3.10 |
| L-cut | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Late clock | offense / defense | Late clock | partial | 3.13 |
| Leak out (cherry pick, cherry picking) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Length of the game | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Lift | offense | Half court | short | 3.7 |
| Load to the ball | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Lob (alley-oop) | offense | Half court | short | 3.3 |
| Loop | offense | Half court | full | 3.6 |
| Low man | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Man-to-man | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| Match up (find a body, find your man) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Match-up zone | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| Mismatch | offense | Half court | full | 3.11 |
| Motion offense | offense | Half court | full | 3.11 |
| Nail | offense / defense | General | short | 4.4 |
| Next (next switch, up-to-touch) | defense | Half court | full | 4.5 |
| No layups (make them shoot over you) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Numbers advantage (3-on-2, 2-on-1, odd-man rush) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Outlet pass (outlet) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Pace | offense / defense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Pack line (pack-line defense) | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Peel switch | defense | Half court | full | 4.5 |
| Pick-and-roll (PnR, ball screen) | offense | Half court | full | 3.3 |
| Pick-up point | defense | Transition | partial | 4.1 |
| Pin-down (down screen) | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Pinch post | offense | Half court | short | 3.7 |
| Pistol (21, Nash action) | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Point forward | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Point guard (1) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Points per possession (PPP, efficiency) | offense / defense | General | short | 3.1 |
| Pop (pick-and-pop) | offense | Half court | full | 3.3 |
| Post-up | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Power forward (4) (stretch four) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Press (full-court press) | defense | Special situations | full | 4.7 |
| Press break | offense | Special situations | full | 3.12 |
| Princeton offense | offense | Half court | full | 3.9 |
| Protect the rim first (build the wall, paint first) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Push (push the ball, push the pace) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Ram (ram screen, screen-the-screener) | offense | Half court | full | 3.4 |
| Read and react | offense | Half court | full | 3.11 |
| Restricted area | offense / defense | General | short | 4.4 |
| Rim runner (rim run) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Rip screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Roll | offense | Half court | short | 3.3 |
| Running the lanes (wide lanes, run wide) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Scram switch (kick-out switch) | defense | Half court | full | 4.5 |
| Screen (pick) | offense | Half court | short | 3.3 |
| Secondary break | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Set play | offense | Half court | partial | 3.8 |
| Shooting guard (2) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Short roll (short-rolled) | offense | Half court | full | 3.3 |
| Shot clock | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Skip pass | offense | Half court | full | 3.10 |
| Slip | offense | Half court | full | 3.4 |
| SLOB (sideline out of bounds) | offense | Special situations | full | 3.12 |
| Slot | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Small forward (3) | offense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Snake dribble | offense | Half court | full | 3.3 |
| Spacing | offense | General | partial | 3.10 |
| Spain pick-and-roll (stack pick-and-roll) | offense | Half court | full | 3.4 |
| Stack | offense | Special situations | short | 3.12 |
| Stagger (staggered screens) | offense | Half court | full | 3.5 |
| Stampede cut | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Step-up screen | offense | Half court | full | 3.3 |
| Stop the ball (pick up the ball) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Strong side (ball side) | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Stunt | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Switch | defense | Half court | full | 4.5 |
| Tag (tagged) | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Tandem defense (I formation, two-on-one defense) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| The hit | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| The paint (the key, the lane) | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Three-point line | offense / defense | General | short | rules |
| Top of the key (top) | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| Top-lock | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Trailer | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Trailer flip | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |
| Transition (transition offense, the break) | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Transition defense (getting back) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Transition take foul (take foul, Euro foul) | defense | Transition | full | 4.1 |
| Transition three | offense | Transition | full | 3.1 |
| Triangle offense (triangle) | offense | Half court | full | 3.9 |
| Triangle-and-two | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| Twist (re-screen) | offense | Half court | full | 3.4 |
| UCLA cut (UCLA screen) | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Under (go under) | defense | Half court | full | 4.3 |
| V-cut | offense | Half court | full | 3.7 |
| Verticality | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Weak side | offense / defense | General | short | 4.4 |
| Wedge | offense | Half court | full | 3.6 |
| Wing | offense / defense | General | short | 3.10 |
| X-out | defense | Half court | full | 4.4 |
| Zipper | offense | Half court | full | 3.8 |
| Zone defense | defense | Half court | full | 4.6 |
| Zone offense | offense | Special situations | full | 3.12 |
| Zone press | defense | Special situations | full | 4.7 |
| Zoom (Chicago action) | offense | Early offense | full | 3.2 |