Step-Up Screen
Side ball screen with the screener's body angled toward the sideline.
Step-up is a variant of the side pick-and-roll where the screener’s body angle dictates the ball-handler’s path. Instead of allowing the ball-handler to refuse the screen and go baseline, the step-up screen is set with the screener’s back to the baseline — making the only direction the ball-handler can attack the middle of the floor.
What makes step-up effective is the predictability. The defense knows the ball-handler is forced into the middle, so the help is pre-positioned there. But that means the weak-side defenders are committed to middle help — which means the skip pass to the weak-side corner is open. Step-up trades a tough drive for an easy kick-out three.
Modern NBA offenses run step-up screens specifically against teams that funnel ball-handlers baseline. By making the baseline option physically impossible, the offense forces the defense out of its preferred coverage. European clubs use step-up heavily for the same reason — international defenses tend to ICE ball screens (force baseline), and step-up turns that scheme into a vulnerability.
Key principles
- Screen set on the wing, screener's back to the baseline
- Ball-handler must use the screen — sideline cuts off the alternative
- Roll toward the middle of the floor, away from baseline help
- Forces the defense to commit middle help; creates skip-pass kick-outs