An estimated 27.1 million Americans play the sport of basketball, according to Sports Business Journal. Individuals playing or watching the sport for the first time will likely want to familiarize themselves with the basics of offensive strategy.

1. A Basic
Introduction to
Offensive Strategy
in Basketball

2. An e st ima t e d 27.1 million Ame ric a ns pla y t he sport of
ba ske t ba ll, a c c ording t o S port s Busine ss J ourna l.
Individua ls pla ying or wa t c hing t he sport for t he first
t ime will like ly wa nt t o fa milia riz e t he mse lve s wit h t he
ba sic s of offe nsive st ra t e gy.
Ea rly offe nse s a re offe nsive ga me pla ns de signe d t o
ge ne ra t e e a sy ba ske t s e a rly in t he shot c loc k. T he y re ly
on a dva nc e pa sse s a s we ll a s quic k pa sse s a long wide
la ne s fre e of de fe nde rs, whic h oft e n oc c ur during fa st
bre a ks. Ea rly offe nse st ra t e gie s a lso ut iliz e unique
inbound pa sse s, a ll of whic h c ombine for a n offe nsive
ga me pla n t ha t brings t he ba ll int o t he offe nsive
ope ra t ing a re a in a s lit t le a s t wo se c onds.

3. Running an early offense presents many advantages. Advance
passes and other instances of transitional offense result in a
defense that is stretched thin and out of sync. Wide passing
lanes and spread defenses typically yield high-percentage field
goal opportunities. Early offenses can also take advantage of
mismatches generated by fast breaks, such as a smaller point
guard having to guard a larger power forward or center.
Early offenses require talented passers with stamina. Even so,
coaches must develop a set offense in case their initial strategy
does not create a scoring opportunity.

4. S e t o f f e ns e i s a ge ne r a l t e r m us e d t o de s c r i be t he o f f e ns i v e
pl a y s t e a m s r un w he n f a c e d w i t h a w e l l -po s i t i o ne d de f e ns e .
S o m e t e a m s e s c he w up -t e m po , t r a ns i t i o n ba s k e t ba l l
a l t o ge t he r a nd pr i o r i t i z e s e t pl a y s , w hi c h r e l y o n s t r o ng
c o m m uni c a t i o n s k i l l s a nd t e a m w o r k . S c r e e ns , a l s o k no w n a s
pi c k s , a r e pi v o t a l t o ge ne r a t i ng hi gh -pe r c e nt a ge s ho t s i n a
s e t o f f e ns e , a s a r e o f f -ba l l c ut s t o t he ba s k e t . C o a c he s a nd
pl a y e r s c a n s i gna l s pe c i f i c pl a y s us i ng ha nd s i gna l s o r c o de d
l a ngua ge .
S e t o f f e ns e s i nc l ude m o t i o n o f f e ns e s a nd z o ne o f f e ns e s .
M o t i o n o f f e ns e s , a s t he na m e i m pl i e s , a r e t ho s e t ha t c r e a t e
s c o r i ng o ppo r t uni t i e s t hr o ugh c o ns t a nt pl a y e r m o v e m e nt . A s
pl a y e r s c o nt i nue t o pa s s t he ba l l a r o und t he pe r i m e t e r , r un
a r o und s c r e e ns , a nd m a k e c ut s t o t he ba s k e t , o ppo s i ng
de f e ns e s m us t r e m a i n i n c o ns t a nt s t e p. M o t i o n o f f e ns e s a r e
de s i gne d t o c a pi t a l i z e o n a s i ngl e m i s s t e p f r o m de f e nde r s ,
w he t he r i t r e s ul t s i n a n o pe n s ho t o ppo r t uni t y o r a c l e a r l a ne
t o t he ba s k e t .

5. Zo n e o ffe n se s, o n t h e o t h e r h a n d , in vo lve
p la ye rs o c c u p yin g a sp e c ific sp a c e o n t h e
flo o r, su c h a s a skille d sh o o t e r w a it in g in
t h e c o rn e r o r a t a le n t e d c e n t e r c a mp e d
o u t n e a r t h e b a ske t . P la ye rs p a ss t h e b a ll
fro m o n e z o n e t o a n o t h e r, t h o u g h sc o rin g
o p p o rt u n it ie s a re mo re b a se d o n
in d ivid u a l ma t c h u p s c o mp a re d t o mo t io n
o ffe n se s. Th a t sa id , p la ye rs w ill a lso
mo ve b e t w e e n z o n e s so t h a t p la ys d o n o t
b e c o me st a g n a n t a n d p re d ic t a b le .

6. Spread offense, similar to a zone offense, sees five players
occupying a zone along the three-point line, with no players
on the inside. This play style is also known as 5 -out. Spread
offenses, sometimes reserved for late-game situations in
which the team with the ball wants to run time off the clock
to protect a lead, has players making safe passes along the
outside until the shot clock has almost expired.

7. As coaches and players familiarize
themselves with basic offensive strategies,
they can develop more nuanced strategies
based on player personnel. For instance, the
single post, 4-out offense is a set offense
anchored by an isolation player up under the
rim, with four shooters spreading out along
the perimeter. Other offenses include the
double post, 3-out; high post, 2 -3 high; and
1-4 high.