The Pick and Roll in Basketball, Explained

A Pinoy Sports Notes guide to the screen, the roll and the ways teams defend it

Watch a well-coached basketball game for a few possessions and you will see the same two-player action again and again: one teammate sets a screen for the player with the ball, then turns and runs toward the basket. That is the pick and roll. It looks simple, but the timing, the angle of the screen and the defence's choice all change what happens next.

The two jobs: the ball-handler and the screener

The ball-handler dribbles toward the screen, using the teammate's body as a temporary wall so the defender cannot stay in front. The screener must be set and stationary; a moving screen is a foul. After the ball-handler has used the screen, the screener "rolls," opening toward the basket for a short pass, a layup or a dunk.

The action works because it forces two defenders to make a decision at the same time. If the ball-handler's defender is delayed by the screen, the handler can turn the corner for a shot or a drive. If that defender fights over the screen quickly, the rolling teammate may be open for a moment. If both defenders stay with the ball, someone else on the weak side may be free.

Pick and pop, and other variations

Not every screen ends with a roll to the rim. In a pick and pop, the screener steps away from the basket instead, usually for a jump shot. Some teams slip the screen: the intended screener never actually makes contact and cuts early, especially if the defence is already switching. There are also "ghost" screens and delayed handoffs that use the same idea — create a 2-on-2 problem — without a textbook roll.

Spacing around the action matters as much as the two players involved. If the other three offensive players crowd the lane, the roll has nowhere to go. If they stand in the corners and on the opposite wing, the defence has to choose between helping on the roll and leaving a shooter.

How defences try to stop it

Coaches have a short list of coverages, and you can often name them from the first step the defence takes:

"Ice" or "down" coverage is a sideline variation in which the defence forces the ball-handler away from the screen and toward the baseline, where help is waiting.

What counts as a legal screen

The screener has to give the defender a chance to avoid contact. That usually means being in a legal guarding position, set in time, and not extending the hips, legs or arms into the defender's path at the last moment. Officials will also watch the ball-handler for a charge, an offensive foul, or a travel as they turn the corner. A well-run pick and roll is clean; a rushed one often ends at the foul line.

Reading the action on a live game

Once you know the pattern, you can anticipate the next pass: a pocket pass to the roller, a kick-out to the corner, a baseline drive, or a skip pass. Sports pages such as BYBET will simply record the made basket, the assist or the turnover; the play itself is decided in those two or three seconds around the screen.

The short version

Published by Pinoy Sports Notes. This article is an educational description of a common basketball action; officiating follows each competition's rulebook.