3 Player Passing

One of the foundational skills of basketball that is sometimes overlooked is passing. Players run drills on dribbling and shooting to improve their offense but passing is something that can be left behind. This could be for any number of reasons but it is something that needs practice and drill work.

Passing drills do not have to be complex or take a lot of time. Passing drills can be done early in practice to get the players moving and working. I like to have a foundational skill drill for about 5 minutes right in the beginning of practice. I like to have some kind of passing drill every week and this is one that I keep coming back to because it works so well.

This drill is done with 3 players. There can be a bunch of groups on the floor all at once working at the same time. By only having 3 players in the drill, each player will get a bunch of reps in a very short amount of time. It is a quick and easy drill so it is a great drill that will not use much practice time. This keeps practices working in a very efficient manor.

The drill has 3 players in a line. Player 1 starts with the ball. Player 2 is in the middle. And player 3 is behind player 2. Player 2 starts with a closeout to player 1. Player 1 has to create a passing lane without moving to complete a pass to player 3. Player 2 is trying to get a touch on the pass.

When player 1 passes the ball to player 3, player 2 takes the spot where player 1 was at. Player 1 is following their pass and closing out to player 3. Player 3 now has to complete a pass to player 2. Player 2 figures out how to get a pass to player 1 by passing around player 3. Player 2 then closes out to player 1 and the drill continues in this way for the duration of the drill.

Quick passes and sprints to close outs will allow each player to get a bunch of passes in a short amount of time. As a coach, I will adjust things to make it more difficult or to focus on some aspects of passing or defensive closes out. I will have the player closing out count to 2 or 3 after their close out before the player with the ball is allowed to pass. The offensive player can move the ball around but not pass. This makes the defensive player follow the ball with their hands to get in the habit of trying to get their hands to mirror the ball and hopefully get more deflections on passes.

I will also have the player with the ball be allowed to take 1 or 2 dribbles to create space to make the pass easier. This teaches the players how to create space quickly to get passes through the defense. It also teaches the offensive players to learn how to create just enough space to get rid of the ball pressure to cut back on turnovers. These little things can really cut down on turnovers in a game.

This is a nice quick and easy passing drill to run in practice. Players need to learn how to pass the ball without having deflections. Players also need to be able to get rid of pressure defense but stay calm and make good passes out of the pressure. All of these little things make a team better. And this drill can be done in just a few minutes while giving a bunch of passing reps to each player. It will also help defensively by getting the players a bunch of close outs as well. This is a great drill that will benefit any team and players of any age.