The first part to being successful in transition is developing fast break skills – collecting the defensive rebound, making the outlet pass, and getting your players out into their lanes and down the court.
But the second part – a part which many coaches ignore – is creating high percentage shots inside your primary and secondary break. By attacking the defense before they are set, you can create good shots that might otherwise not be available if you walked the ball up the court.
Below is a simple transition play that will work for all ages and ability levels. If you’re more interested in half court offense, make sure you check out our tutorials on the 1-4, 4 out, 5 out and 3-2 offensive sets.
6 Seconds or Less
The Phoenix Suns were famous for their seven seconds or less offense, with the goal being to get Steve Nash out in transition, spread the floor out, and allow him to do what he does best. And if you’ve got the personnel to make it work, you’re definitely going to want to add this simple read – it’s hard to even call it a play – to your offense.
It starts with the inbounds. Your inbounder needs to be able to grab the ball out of the hoop before it touches the ground, get one foot out of bounds and hit the point guard in stride heading down the other way.
The other players need to get up the court quickly, with your two best three point shooters sprinting to the corners. The third player will come out and set a flat screen above the three point line.
Next the ballhandler will continue to penetrate, firing off a pass to either of his shooters as soon as one of their defenders comes off their man to stop the drive.
The beauty of the flat screen is that it allows our ballhandler to read the defense from a distance while coming in at full speed and allowing them to make a solid decision – going left or right with the ball.
If neither defender steps inside to stop the ballhander, he should continue all the way to the rack, and finish with a layup.
If you enjoyed that play and want to see more, make sure you check out the Fast Break Domination package. It’s packed with 22 drills and plays to help you speed up the tempo, and get tons of easy buckets in transition.