How to Be an Effective Passer in Basketball

Passing is an essential skill for every player and team to embrace. A strong passing team creates more opportunities to score. Without effective passing, the team must rely on the one-on-one skills of the players. In the long run, the passing teams will always be more successful than the one-on-one teams. Here are steps to being an effective passer.

Things You'll Need

  • Basketball Team
  • Team Attitude

Instructions

    • 1

      Keep your head up. As simple as this seems, all of the rest of the passing tips are ineffective without keeping your head up. Build confidence in your ball-handling skills so you can keep your head up while dribbling.

    • 2

      Always be surveying the court. Find a focal point and let your peripheral vision help you to see the entire court and all of your teammates. A good rule of thumb is to focus on the bottom of the net and you should be able to see all of your teammates in a half-court offensive set.

    • 3

      Seek teammates that have a better scoring opportunity than you. With every pass, there is a dose of risk that goes along with it (e.g. turnover). In order to take that risk, you should focus on making passes to teammates that are in the best scoring position and have an open passing lane.

    • 4

      Do not telegraph your pass. By focusing your vision on the teammate you will be passing to, you give advance warning to the defense and it may result in a stolen pass or at least the defense will be in strong defensive position upon the catch.

    • 5

      Use pass fakes and shot fakes. Keep the defense off balance by faking passes and shots. These fakes will get the defense out of position to create passing lanes and also create more space for your teammate to work upon catching your pass.

    • 6

      Make the correct pass with proper fundamentals. Recognize the passing lane that the defense is allowing and make the proper pass (e.g. chest, bounce, overhead). For example, if the opponent is guarding you with high hands, a bounce pass is probably the most effective pass.

    • 7

      Believe in your teammates. As a passer, your responsibility is to deliver a good pass to the player with the best opportunity to score or create a scoring opportunity. Trust that your teammate will fulfill his/her role when catching the pass-it is up to the coach to decide who is on the court and to put them in a position to be successful.

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