3-on-3 (Must Screen)

Scrimmage/finisher

Play competitive 3-on-3 with a rule that forces screening actions.

12 min 6+ Half court
TeamworkU12U14U16

Game guide

6+ · 1 ball, half court

Get everyone ready

3-on-3 · one ball1–3 attack 4–6. Everyone is shown. The team must set an on-ball or off-ball screen before scoring; coach observes from the sideline. 123456

● Player / attack■ DefenceGold: ball

Illustrated steps · 5 seconds per step at 1×

Set up

Two teams of three, half court, winner stays.

A coached example. In live play, players make their own decisions; the outcome can change.

Look for: Set real, legal screens.

Playback options
Illustrated steps · 5 seconds per step at 1×
Coach’s notes & group organisation

Two teams of three, half court, winner stays.

  1. A team must set at least one on- or off-ball screen before scoring.
  2. Play live to a make or a stop.
  3. Defence must communicate and defend the screens.
  4. Games to 4 baskets, then rotate.

Suggested reset

Secure the same ball after a basket, turnover or ball out and restart with the agreed possession rules. Reset any per-possession passing requirement. Rotate waiting players or teams between possessions at the agreed score or time, with a fresh check or inbound after the substitution.

Coaching cues

  • Set real, legal screens.
  • Use the screen — cut or come off it hard.
  • Defence: talk through every screen.

Adapt the challenge

Easier: Require only an off-ball screen (easier to set).

Switch it: Make the defence switch every screen and let the offence hunt the mismatch.

Ice it: Require the defence to ice every side ball screen and force the ball to the baseline.

Harder: Only count baskets scored directly out of the screening action.

What this drill teaches

Making screens a habit, not a lesson. The must-screen rule means no basket counts without one, so screening stops being something players know about and becomes something they reach for — while the defence gets live practice talking through them.

In games: Transfers all your screening work into real games — teams that only screen when the coach calls it start creating their own actions on game day.

What good looks like
  • Legal, planted screens with real contact — not moving drive-bys
  • Cutters using the screen hard, shoulder to shoulder
  • Defenders calling every screen out loud before it lands

U12: require only off-ball screens and expect them slow and soft. U14–U16: on-ball actions, defences switching or icing on command, baskets only from the screen.

Equipment

1 ball, half court

Setup

Two teams of three, half court, winner stays.

Steps

  1. 1A team must set at least one on- or off-ball screen before scoring.
  2. 2Play live to a make or a stop.
  3. 3Defence must communicate and defend the screens.
  4. 4Games to 4 baskets, then rotate.

Coaching points

  • Set real, legal screens.
  • Use the screen — cut or come off it hard.
  • Defence: talk through every screen.

Why kids love it

Forces players to use what they've learned about screens in a live, competitive setting.

Variations

Easier

Require only an off-ball screen (easier to set).

Switch it

Make the defence switch every screen and let the offence hunt the mismatch.

Ice it

Require the defence to ice every side ball screen and force the ball to the baseline.

Harder

Only count baskets scored directly out of the screening action.

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