What is a Pick and Roll in Basketball? How To Run a Pick and Roll

By

Mat Issa

Mat Issa Sports Editor

Mat Issa is based in Sterling Heights, Michigan. Yes, he spells his name with one "t." He's obsessed with NBA history, so much so that he's dedicated nearly two years of research to his two mini-series', "Blazing the Trail" and "The Quest for the Best." Right now, Mat goes to law school and writes about the NBA for The Analyst, Forbes, and of course, Basketball Insiders. His work has also been featured in ESPN, SB Nation, FanSided, Basketball News, ONE37pm, and Raptors Republic. Also, he's a lifelong Spartans fan. Go Green!

All posts by Mat Issa

Sports Editor

and

Nick Raffoul Sports Editor

Following his graduation with an Honors in Business Administration, Nick redirected his focus from conventional stocks and bonds to the world of sports team performance investments. He employs a unique blend of advanced statistics and historical data to construct intricate sports investment models, pinpointing value opportunities and consistently yielding profits. Nick's contributions extend beyond a single platform, as his work can be discovered on outlets such as Pistons Powered, Winners And Whiners, and numerous other publications.

All posts by Nick Raffoul

Nick Raffoul Fact Checker

Updated 13 Mar 2024

How do we rank gambling sites?

How Do We rank?

Check out

• Copy link
• Whatsapp
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Telegram
• LinkedIn
• Email
• Reddit

The pick and roll is one of the oldest basketball plays in the books. It’s seen at all levels — middle school, high school, college, and the pros. Heck, you will even see it spammed at pickup games at your local LA Fitness.

But how does it work? What are the different variations of the play type? And who are the best in the NBA at executing it? In this article, we answer all those questions (and more).

What Is The Pick And Roll In Basketball?

In its simplest form, a pick and roll is a sequence where the ball handler receives a screen from another player on their team (that is currently on the court).

The pick and roll is important/effective because it provides the ball handler with an automatic advantage over their defender, as the screen gives the defender an obstacle they need to navigate before they can reconnect with the ball handler. So, no matter how fast or skilled the ball handler is, they can use this play to gain a momentary advantage over the defender.

How To Run Pick And Roll Basketball To Perfection

In theory, the pick and roll is a super easy play to run. The screener sets the screen, and the ball handler uses it. Sounds simple enough. However, for the play to create a clean shot, both the screener and ball handler need to read the defense and react to their coverage properly.

Take the clip below, for instance. Here, the screener (in this case, Dereck Lively II) accurately reads that the screen navigator, Deni Avdija, has a good angle to maneuver around the screen. So, instead of trying to adjust himself to make contact (and risk an offensive foul), Lively decides to slip the screen and roll to the rim.  

Meanwhile, Luka Doncic notices that Daniel Gafford is cheating toward him and that Landry Shamet is staying home and not tagging the roll man. This means the lob pass is open, which Doncic does a great job of cashing in on. 

How To Set An Effective Screen In The Pick and Roll

In the last clip, Lively wasn’t in a good position to make contact on the screen. That’s why he slipped it. This tactic is a nice way to get a head start on a roll to the rim, which can lead to two easy points when you’re running a pick and roll with a gifted passer like Doncic. But there are also times when you want to make some good old-fashioned contact on your screen.

As Mike Prada highlights in his book, “Spaced Out: How the NBA’s Three-Point Revolution Changed Everything You Thought You Knew About Basketball,” screening is one of the most misunderstood aspects of the game of basketball. A lot of times, fans will call screens illegal when it is actually perfectly within the rules.

For a screen to be legal, the screener needs to be in position for just a split second before they make contact with their intended target. When healthy, Steven Adams is one of the best screeners in basketball. And a big reason for this is his timing on these screens.

In the clip above, Adams does a great job of re-angling his screen at the very last second, making it super difficult for Matisse Thybulle to anticipate his presence. This gives Adams’ partner, Ja Morant, a runway to leave Thybulle in the dust.

Types of Pick and Roll Actions

Along with there being a lot of little intricacies involved in the pick and roll action itself, there are also a bunch of different ways to run it. Here are some of the main ones.

Middle Pick and Roll

The most simple type of pick and roll you can run is the middle pick and roll. As the name implies, a middle pick and roll is just a pick and roll run in the center of the court.

Along with being simple, running the action in the middle of the floor allows the ball handler and screener to read where the help is coming from, since they don’t have their back turned to either part of the floor. Here is an example of Jrue Holiday and Giannis Antetokounmpo running a middle pick and roll last season:

Wing/Side Pick and Roll

Another way to run a pick and roll is from the wing/side of the court. This is also known as the “empty corner pick and roll” because the strong side (the side of the court where the ball is) corner is often unoccupied.

Unlike the middle pick and roll, you can’t read the entire floor super easily. But you don’t need to because the help can only come from one side of the floor (the weakside). Back in the day, John Stockton and Karl Malone were masters of the empty corner pick and roll.

Step Up Pick and Roll

In the first two pick and rolls, the screener was screening the ball handler toward the middle of the floor. The middle of the floor is a golden place for the offense because if the ball handler can touch the paint, he can force the defense to collapse and spray the ball out to open shooters on the perimeter.

So, some teams will try to counter these pick and rolls by ICEing the screen, which basically means they force the ball handler to reject the screen and drive toward the sideline/baseline instead of the middle.

Offenses will neutralize ICE coverage by flipping the screen to guide the ball handler in the direction the defense is trying to force him. As the old adage goes, “If you can’t beat them, join them.” This is especially effective if the ball handler is a speedster (like Anthony Edwards) and can tightrope the baseline on their way to the rim.

Snug Pick and Rolls

So far, all the pick and roll we’ve looked at are plays that started behind the 3-point line. This is usually the preferred point of origin for these sequences as it maximizes the amount of spacing on the court (think about the offense the Seven Seconds or Less Phoenix Suns were running).

However, to get the most out of these perimeter pick and rolls, the ball handler needs to be a threat to stroke it from downtown. If they aren’t, the defense can mitigate the efficiency of the action by instructing the defender guarding the ball handler to go under the screen.

In these instances, offenses will try to run pick and rolls inside the arc (aka snug pick and rolls) to make it harder for the defense to go under the screen (because if they are even a split second late in their execution, the ball handler will have an easy finish at the rim). This is something we’ve seen teams featuring Russell Westbrook deploy in the past.

As you can tell from the clip above, the close proximity to the basket often forces defenses to switch the pick and roll, which leads to favorable matches for the offense.

Adding More Players To the Pick And Roll

Most people associate the pick and roll as a two-man dance. And while this is often true, the game has progressed so much over the last few years that there are variations of the action that include three or (sometimes) four players. Here are a couple of those.

Staggered Pick and Roll

The most common three-man version of the pick and roll is the staggered pick and roll, or, as the cool kids call it, the “double drag.” This variation of pick and roll involves the ball handler getting not one, but two screens. 

This action is dangerous because it adds to the offense’s optionality. In a regular pick and roller, the screener has the option to set a hard screen and then roll, slip the screen and roll, or pop out for a jumper. In a double drag, you have two guys choosing between one of these three options. They could do the same thing. They could do different things. Who knows. I’ll tell you who definitely doesn’t: the defense. 

The Atlanta Hawks are famous for running a ton of double drag with Trae Young.

(Sidebar: There is also a variation of the double drag that involves one ball handler and three screeners, aka the “triple drag.”)

HORNS Pick and Roll

Like the double drag, a HORNS pick and roll includes two screeners. The only difference is that instead of both screens being on the same side of the ball handler, there is one screener on each side of the ball handler. People also refer to this ballscreen variation as a double pick and roll.

In this type of pick and roll, it’s the ball handler who has the optionality. Rather than the screeners deciding which one of them will screen, slip, or pop, it’s up to the ball handler to determine which screen they want to use.

Pick and Roll with a Roll and Replace Action

Another (arguably more dynamic) version of the three-man pick and roll is the pick and roll with a roll and replace action. In this variation, you get the standard pick and roll we’ve become familiar with (usually from the middle of the floor). But as the screener is rolling to the rim, you have a third guy (who usually starts from under the rim) popping out to the 3-point line. Like this:

With one player driving downhill, one rolling to the rim, and one sprinting to the 3-point line, this type of pick and roll creates a massive strain on the defense (as it’s hard to account for three scoring threats at once). And oftentimes, it leads to a high-level shot.

Spain Pick and Roll

If you’ve ever scrolled through NBA Twitter before, you’ve surely heard the term “Spain pick and roll” floated out there once or twice. Well, now it is time to see what those people are talking about!

Essentially, a Spain pick and roll is just an evolved version of the roll and replace action we discussed above. The big difference here is that the third player, before popping out to the 3-point line, sets a down screen for the roller. Like this:

This adds a whole other variable that the defense needs to worry about, as now you not only need to track the three offensive players but also you need to decide how you will defend the second screen being set.

Spain/Roll and Replace Double Drag Pick and Roll

As the name implies, what we’re looking at here is a double drag combined with a roll and replace or Spain pick and roll.

So, you have one ball handler, two initial screeners, and then one popper/screener coming in a little later on in the possession. Good luck, defense.

Pick And Roll Options

No matter what type of pick and roll you run, the play will only be as successful as the player running it is at reading and reacting to the defense. Here are some general rules for how the ball handler and screener can react to some of the coverages the defense might throw at them.

For Ball Handler

Between the two roles, the ball handler is usually the one with more decision-making power. Since they are the ones with the ball in their hands, they are the one who ultimately decides whether they are going to pass, shoot, or drive. Remember, with great power comes great responsibility.

To understand how to handle this responsibility, let’s look at some pick and roll possessions from the ballscreen wizard himself, Hall of Famer Manu Ginobili.

As you can see from the montage above, when the defense hedges the ballscreen, you can split the defense (first clip in the montage above). When the defense plays you in a drop coverage, that opens the door for a pull-up jumper (second clip). When the defense sends help from other areas, you look for where it’s coming from and hit the teammate that they left open (third and fourth). And if they switch the pick and roll, you attack the extra space created by the mismatch (fifth).

For Screener

The screener doesn’t have as much to read when fulfilling their role. But making the right decision on their end is still very important to completing a successful pick and roll. As a roller, you usually have four options on the decision tree: 1) setting a hard screen and rolling, 2) setting a hard screen and popping, 3) slipping the screen and rolling, or 4) slipping the screen and popping.

For instance, when the defense is in a drop coverage, you want to set a had screen and either roll (first clip in the montage below) or pop (second clip). And if the defense is sending two defenders at the ball handler, it is better to slip the screen and roll (third) or pop (fourth).

Pick And Roll Tips

Here are a couple of practical tips you should keep in mind when executing any of these pick and roll types.

For Ball Handler

This goes for both the ball handler and the screener(s), but you need to make sure you are executing these actions quickly. This isn’t your senior year of high school. You can’t just go through the motions and hope to get the job done. It isn’t enough to just run a pick and roll. You need to be mindful that you are playing with pace and purpose.

A more ball handler specific tip is to make sure that you are staying as close to the screener as possible. The less room you leave between you and the screener, the harder it is for your defender to navigate the screen.

Also, it is important to know when not to use a screen. If a defense is cheating and getting into their coverage, it can be a good idea to reject the screen and make them pay for being over-aggressive. Like this:

For Screener

As we discussed in the clip about Adams, the best screeners don’t fully set their feet until the very last second. It’s like a pitcher in baseball. They hide their pitch until the very last second in order to avoid the hitter seeing what they are about to throw.

You don’t want the screen navigator to see your screen coming from a mile away. If they do, they will be able to take a second to determine the most efficient pathway around the screen. However, if you blindside them at the very last second, they have little to no time to anticipate it (see the Adams clip we shared above).

Best Pick And Roll Players In The NBA

Best Pick and Roll Ball Handlers

To fully and honestly answer this question, we would need hours and hours of film study. Unfortunately, that is beyond the scope of this article. Fortunately, though, NBA.com does track pick and roll ball handler efficiency, giving us a good proxy of who the best in the practice are.

Of the 48 players averaging at least four pick and roll ball handler possessions per game (we use this filter to weed out all the low-volume guys), here are the 10 most efficient players in this play type (as of March 12, 2024):

2023-24 Top 10 Pick and Roll Ball Handlers (Minimum Four Possessions Per Game)*

*Data Provided by NBA.com

Best Pick and Roll Rollers

NBA.com also tracks the efficiency of pick and roll rollers. Their volume is lower than that of ball handlers. So, our threshold was only two roll man possessions per game (as opposed to five). Now, here are the 10 most efficient players in this play type (as of March 12, 2024):

2023-24 Top 10 Pick and Roll Rollers (Minimum Two Possessions Per Game)*

*Data Provided by NBA.com

Since roll man efficiency only looks at how well players did on the scoring portion of the pick and roll and not the screening facet, we should also spotlight the 10 players with the most screen assists (as of March 12, 2024):

2023-24 Top 10 in Screen Assists*

*Data Provided by NBA.com

***Keep in mind that this intended as a primer on the pick and roll. The list of variations/counters/tips is not exhaustive.