You can tell your team to “move the ball” a thousand times. But until you drill ball movement in practice, it won’t show up in games.
The difference between teams that move the ball and teams that don’t isn’t talent — it’s training. These five drills embed ball movement into your team’s muscle memory.
Drill 1: 21-Second Passing (No Dribble)
Setup: 5-on-5 half court. No dribbling allowed. Offense must make at least seven passes before they can shoot. Defense plays live.
Why it works: When you take away the dribble, players are forced to move without the ball, set screens, and make quick passing decisions. After a few possessions, players start to see passing lanes they never noticed before.
Coaching point: Count the passes out loud. After seven passes, the offense can shoot on any good look. Players quickly learn that ball movement creates better shots than individual moves.
Drill 2: The Shell Passing Drill
Setup: 4-on-4 shell defense. Offense starts with the ball on the wing. The offense must reverse the ball (wing → top → opposite wing) and then attack. The defense must close out properly on each pass.
Why it works: This teaches the most fundamental ball movement pattern: side-to-side reversal. The defense learns close-outs, and the offense learns how quick ball reversal creates open driving lanes and kick-out threes.
Drill 3: Spurs Screen-and-Move Drill
Setup: 3-on-3 half court. After every pass, the passer must set a screen for a teammate (not the person they passed to). Defense plays live.
Why it works: This is the core of the Spurs offense. Screening after passing keeps all six players (three offensive, three defensive) moving constantly. It builds the habit of “pass and do something” instead of “pass and stand.”
Drill 4: Touch-and-Go
Setup: 5-on-0 half court. The ball starts at the top. Each player must touch the ball within 8 seconds, and the fifth touch must be a shot attempt. Players set screens to get open.
Why it works: This drills urgency into your ball movement. No one can hold the ball for more than a second. Players learn to catch, look, and move the ball immediately.
Progression: Once the offense masters 5-on-0, add defenders. Start with token defense, then build to live play.
Drill 5: The Hockey Assist Game
Setup: Scrimmage with modified scoring. A made basket counts as 1 point. An assist (the pass before the shot) counts as 1 point. A hockey assist (the pass before the assist) counts as 2 points.
Why it works: When the hockey assist is worth the most points, players stop looking for their own shot and start looking to move the ball to create a better opportunity. The team that moves the ball wins, every time.
Making Ball Movement Stick
These drills work — but only if you run them consistently. Ball movement should be drilled every practice, not just when your team is struggling offensively.
For the complete ball movement system including all the Spurs plays, diagrams, and coaching progressions, grab How to Coach the Offense of the San Antonio Spurs on Amazon.
Related Reading: