Passing Fundamentals: The Secret Sauce of Winning Basketball
Dajuan Harris, Jr. makes a pass to the wing in a Kansas Jayhawks basketball game vs. the Houston Cougars on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025, at Allen Fieldhouse. Photo credit Kansas City Star.
Passing is the heartbeat of great basketball. It keeps the game flowing, opens scoring opportunities, and builds trust between teammates. But passing isn’t just about moving the ball—it’s about moving with purpose.
First, let’s address the big question: Why not just give the ball to your team’s star, let them dribble coast-to-coast, and throw down a highlight-reel dunk for ESPN? Because, as fun as that sounds, basketball is a team sport. And the best teams—whether it’s the ’96 Bulls, the 2014 Spurs, or your LTD squad—win by passing the rock.
Let’s break down why we pass the ball and then look at the different types of passes that can make you the Magic Johnson of your team (short shorts optional).
Why Bother Passing the Ball
1. Moves the Ball Faster Than Dribbling
You can be the fastest dribbler in the league, but the ball in the air will always beat the ball on the bounce. That’s physics, baby. Quick, sharp passes zip past defenders before they can react—especially deadly against a zone defense that's trying to clog the paint.
Case in point: Shai Gilgeous‑Alexander and the Oklahoma City Thunder in their 2025 championship run. SGA, the Finals MVP and NBA MVP that season, would lead scissors-style ball movement—swiping from side to side until a defender slid out of position and a shooter like a cutter or corner three popped open for a catch-and-shoot moment. That’s passing speed at work.
Or look at Nikola Jokić, the ultimate passing center. At 6′11″, he surveys the court after collecting a rebound, and one slow-motion overhead bounce to a cutter or skip pass to the perimeter completely unravels even complex defenses.
Each of these guys shows that crisp passing—not dribbling—is the real secret sauce.
2. Engages More Players in the Offense
Passing forces the defense to respect every single player on the court. When everyone touches the ball, everyone becomes a scoring threat. This keeps your teammates mentally locked in and physically ready to knock down shots or cut to the hoop.
Take Steve Nash as an example. For those who don’t remember, Nash was the engine of the early 2000s Phoenix Suns’ “Seven Seconds or Less” offense—a system built on blistering pace and constant ball movement. Nash wasn’t the tallest or the fastest, but he had a sixth sense for finding open teammates. Whether it was threading a bounce pass through three defenders to Amar’e Stoudemire for a dunk or kicking the ball out to Shawn Marion in the corner for a three, Nash made everyone on the court a threat to score. He won back-to-back MVP awards in large part because of his ability to involve all five players in the offense, making the Suns nearly impossible to guard.
3. Creates Defensive Confusion
Every pass forces defenders to adjust, rotate, and (if you’re doing it right) make mistakes. Quick ball movement against a man-to-man defense can open up driving lanes, while patient passing against a zone can shift it until a gap appears for a cutter or a kick-out three.
Last season’s Duke Blue Devils led the ACC in assists per game with 16.79 assists and posted an exceptional assists-to-turnover ratio of 1.63:1. Their fluid passing created constant defensive shifts and scoring opportunities.
How did Cooper Flagg become the #1 pick in the NBA draft? His teammates used excellent passing to set him up to let his natural skills shine.
4. Leads to Higher-Percentage Shots
A tough, contested jumper can instantly become an easy layup if you see the open man and deliver the right pass. Watch Nikola Jokić sometime—he’ll catch the ball at the elbow, see a defender fronting his big man, and lob it perfectly over the top for an easy dunk. That’s passing turning defense into helplessness.
5. Encourages Teamwork and Trust
Every time you pass, you’re telling your teammate, “I believe you can score.” That builds chemistry and trust faster than any pep talk.
No one embodied that better than Magic Johnson. Sure, his no‑look passes are still highlight-reel gold, but his true genius was making every teammate feel like a star. Magic’s passing wasn’t about showmanship—it was about confidence and connection. He had an uncanny ability to anticipate where a teammate wanted the ball, often before they even knew it themselves.
Over his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, Magic piled up 10,141 assists, averaging 11.2 per game—still the highest career assist average in NBA history. His vision fueled the “Showtime” Lakers of the 1980s, where stars like Kareem Abdul‑Jabbar, James Worthy, and Byron Scott thrived because Magic kept everyone involved. The result? Five NBA championships and a legacy as one of the greatest team-first players in the sport.
When you pass like Magic, you’re not just moving the ball—you’re moving your team closer to victory.
6. Helps Control the Pace of the Game
Passing doesn’t just move the ball — it moves the game. The team holding the ball decides whether the night turns into a track meet or a chess match, and the pass is the gear shift that makes it happen.
Last season, Alabama showed how passing can turn a rebound into a race. Under Nate Oats, the Crimson Tide were among the fastest-paced teams in the country. The moment they grabbed a defensive board, the ball was out and up the floor — not with dribbles, but with quick outlet passes that hit streaking wings in stride. Two or three sharp passes later, the ball was at the rim before the defense had time to organize. It wasn’t reckless; it was precision speed fueled by trust in each other’s passing.
On the other side of the spectrum, Kansas demonstrated how passing can slow things down and control a game’s rhythm. The Jayhawks would work the ball patiently around the perimeter, probing for the right opportunity. Guards like Dajuan Harris Jr. didn’t rush; instead, they swung the ball from side to side, forcing the defense to shift, communicate, and eventually crack. That patience — sometimes stretching a possession deep into the shot clock — often ended with a clean look inside or a wide-open jumper. By controlling the pace with deliberate passes, Kansas made opponents play their game, not the other way around.
Whether you’re running-and-gunning like Alabama or surgically dissecting a defense like Kansas, the common thread is the same: the pass controls the tempo, and the tempo controls the game.
7. Increases Basketball IQ
Passing isn’t just a physical skill — it’s mental. The more you pass, the better you get at reading defenses, predicting movements, and making split‑second decisions. Over time, great passers start to “see” the game differently. They don’t just react to what’s happening — they anticipate what’s about to happen. It’s like playing chess while everyone else is still figuring out the rules to checkers.
No one embodied that court vision and basketball IQ better than John Stockton, the NBA’s all‑time assists leader. Stockton wasn’t flashy. He didn’t need no‑look passes or behind‑the‑back flair to dazzle crowds. Instead, he was a surgeon with the basketball — precise, calculated, and utterly relentless in dissecting defenses.
Over his 19‑year career with the Utah Jazz, Stockton racked up a staggering 15,806 assists — a record that may never be broken. Stockton’s greatness came from his ability to think two passes ahead. If a defender overplayed, he already knew where the help would come from and who would be open next. That kind of mental sharpness doesn’t happen by accident — it’s built through years of studying the game, learning tendencies, and trusting your teammates.
For young players, Stockton’s career is proof that you don’t have to be the tallest, fastest, or flashiest player to control a game. You just need the vision, patience, and precision to make the right pass at the right time — over and over again.
The Types of Passes (and When to Use Them)
1. Chest Pass
How it works: Hold the ball at chest level, step toward your teammate, and snap your wrists to send it straight into their shooting pocket.
When to use it: Best for quick, accurate passes to a nearby teammate without a defender in the lane. Great for swinging the ball around the arc against a zone defense to find the open shooter.
Pro Example: Think John Stockton feeding Karl Malone on the pick-and-roll—fast, direct, and impossible to defend when executed right.
Extra Tip: Against a defender fronting your post player, a quick chest pass from the top of the key to the wing can set up the perfect lob.
2. Bounce Pass
How it works: Aim for the floor about two-thirds of the way to your teammate. Snap your wrists so the ball bounces waist-high into their hands.
When to use it: When defenders have their hands up, in tight traffic, or to hit a cutter slashing through the lane.
Pro Example: Magic Johnson to James Worthy—bounce pass through traffic for a wide-open dunk.
Extra Tip: Against aggressive perimeter defenders in man-to-man, the bounce pass is your sneaky ticket to feeding the post without getting the ball picked off.
3. Overhead Pass
How it works: Bring the ball above your head, step forward, and throw it over defenders.
When to use it: To pass over tall defenders or quickly reverse the ball from one side of the court to the other. Excellent against a trapping zone.
Pro Example: Kevin Garnett loved this pass to kick the ball out to shooters after grabbing a rebound in traffic.
Extra Tip: If your big is being fronted in the post, an overhead lob from the wing can lead to an easy catch and score—just make sure help defense isn’t lurking.
4. Baseball Pass
How it works: One-handed throw, like a baseball pitch.
When to use it: Perfect for long-distance, fast-break situations when you’ve got a teammate sprinting ahead of the defense.
Pro Example: Kevin Love to LeBron in transition—legendary.
Extra Tip: Use sparingly. If it’s off target, it’s basically a turnover wrapped in a bow.
5. Push Pass
How it works: Hold the ball in one hand at shoulder height and push it quickly to your teammate.
When to use it: Great for quick, off-the-dribble passes when a defender is right in your face.
Pro Example: Chris Paul uses this to thread the ball to a rolling big before the defense can react.
Extra Tip: Effective when attacking a zone from the top—draw the defense in, then push pass to the open shooter on the wing.
6. No-Look Pass
How it works: Look one way, pass another.
When to use it: To freeze defenders and surprise teammates—works best when you’ve built chemistry and trust.
Pro Example: Magic Johnson, Jason Williams (“White Chocolate”), and Larry Bird all turned this into an art form.
Extra Tip: Dangerous if overused—pull it out when you know it’ll work, not just to get on TikTok.
At Livin’ the Dream, we know that a flashy handle or a deep three will get cheers — but a perfectly timed pass wins games. That’s why we put such a strong emphasis on teaching the fundamentals of passing, not just the mechanics but also the decision-making that separates average passers from elite ones.
One of the best ways to sharpen those skills? The LTD Skills Academy. In Skills Academy, players break down every aspect of their passing game — from footwork to vision to timing — and learn how to read the floor like a pro. We drill both the basics and the advanced techniques so that when game time comes, you can make the right pass at the right moment, every time.
Because here’s the truth: the pass may not always make the highlight reel, but it’s the highlight of winning basketball. And at LTD, winning — on and off the court — is what we’re all about.
