Fun Basketball Games for Practice: Scored Games for Any Team

Fun basketball games for practice are drills with a score, a clock or a goal attached. The score is what makes players hustle, and the game format is what makes them compete against a number, a partner or a team instead of waiting in a line.

This guide is for a whole team at any level, from a middle school squad to a varsity program. It covers shooting games, defense-only games, rebounding games and passing games, then the rules that decide whether a game builds skill or just noise. Games for young children, such as tag and relay formats, are on the fun basketball drills for kids page.

Fun Basketball Games for Practice at a Glance

What Makes a Practice Game Work

A few design rules sit under every game on this page.

1. Give every drill a point rule and a number of rounds. The point rule is the point criteria, how points are scored, and the rounds are the innings, how many timed rotations the drill runs.
2. Make the consequence real. A timed sprint, push-ups or a lost possession is something a player would rather avoid. A reward can carry its own price, such as a free throw for the winner who owes push-ups if he misses.
3. Handicap the side with the advantage. Make the half-court defender touch the ball handler first or give the offense a head start, so the stronger group cannot coast.
4. Winners keep the floor. Leave the better unit on the court and send the loser off or onto defense.
5. Keep eliminated players in the game. Give them a job, a second court or a way back in, so no one stands out.
6. Scale one game before writing a new one. Move the shooting spots, add a dribble rule or change the team size.

The work to put contest last in the learning order is on the basketball practice plan page, and the case for fewer players per game is on reasons to use small-sided games.

Write the rules down before the whistle so nobody argues about the score.

Shooting Games

Around the World

Around the World is a shooting race that fits any level, because you move the spots to match the shooter.

• Shoot the nine spots. The two blocks, the two short corners, the two wings, the two elbows and the free-throw line.
• Move on after a make. A player moves to the next spot only after a make, a miss passes the turn, and the first to make all nine wins.
• Work the usual order. Start with one block and then the other, then work around the arc through the remaining seven.
• Move the spots. Move the spots in or out and the same game fits a beginner or a varsity shooter. Skilled shooters can use spots beyond the three-point line.

Around the World. A player (A) works the nine spots in order, both blocks first and then around the floor. A make moves him on and a miss gives the turn to the opponent.

Two variations raise the stakes. In All or Nothing, a player who misses can gamble on a second shot from the same spot, and if he misses that one too he goes back to the start. In the challenge variation, a defender runs at the shooter from a set distance to contest, without blocking or fouling.

Beat the Pro, 3 Minute Shooting and Plus/Minus

Three timed or counted games put a number in front of each shooter.

• Beat the Pro. The shooter starts with a free throw, then shoots mid-range from elbow to elbow. Each make is 1 point for him and each miss is 2 for the pro. The goal is 11 before 6 misses.
• 3 Minute Shooting. Three minutes, 30 seconds at each of six spots, alternating 15-footers worth 2 points and threes worth 3. The goal is 100 points.
• Plus/Minus. The shooter picks a target and each make is plus 1 while each miss is minus 2. When he reaches the negative of his goal, the drill ends with a penalty. Good shooters aim for plus 12 and great shooters plus 15. Because a miss costs more than a make pays, it pushes players toward better shots and not just more shots.

Shoot-Out

Three players work together, so no one is waiting. Good passes and rebounds lead to good shots, so the scorer's job matters.

• Shoot three spots. The shooter works three spots for 20 seconds each, about 9 feet from the basket, at the free-throw line and behind the three-point line, and moves back at each whistle.
• Count the late shot. A shot released after the whistle still counts at the first two spots and not at the last.
• Split the jobs. One teammate keeps time and blows the whistle and the other keeps score, rebounds and passes back.
• Rotate. Then the three rotate roles.

Shoot-Out. The shooter (S) works three spots for 20 seconds each, moving back at each whistle. The timer (T) blows the whistle and the scorer (R) keeps score, rebounds and passes back. Spots 1, 2 and 3 are worth 1, 2 and 3 points.

Streak and star games

• Streak Shooting. A 90-second game where a player must make 3 in a row to advance to the next spot.
• Over and Back. Make a shot and jump ahead two spots, then make again and go back one. The score is the total makes.
• Star Shooting. Five spots in a star pattern for 2 minutes 30 seconds. Each make is 1 point and the shooter moves after every make.

More free-throw formats are on free throw drills, and the long-range versions are on three-point shooting drills.

Pick the spots and the number to beat before the first shot, then let the score do the work.

Defense and Rebounding Games

Defensive Privilege

Three groups of four play on one half court, and points go to the defense only.

• Score the stops. A defensive rebound is 1, a turnover or steal 2 and a charge 3.
• Send the offense off. When the defense stops the offense, the offense goes off.
• Score to earn defense. When the offense scores, it earns the privilege of playing defense and the next group comes in on offense.
• Play to a low number. Play to 10 or 12.
• Adjust over the week. Add transition after a few days, weight charges higher if nobody takes them, or deduct a point for a scouting-report breakdown such as an opponent's three-pointer.

Defensive Privilege. Three groups of four share a half court and only the defense scores. A stop sends the offense off, and a score earns the offense the right to play defense.

Play it 3 on 3 and only the defense scores, one point for a stop by rebound, steal, forced turnover or forced bad pass, and made baskets are worth nothing. The team that scores must leave, and a team that fouls is removed.

One-on-one inside and the work-up

A six-drill competitive work-up builds from 1 on 1 to 4 on 4.

• Go inside with feeders. Four feeders stand around the perimeter and a scorer and defender work at the block. The only way to become a feeder is to score.
• Go outside 3 on 3. Give points for offensive and defensive rebounds and steals, run it for 10 minutes and rank the teams, with a reward for first place, sprints for second and a suicide for third.

One-on-one inside with feeders. 1 posts against X1 on the right block while four feeders pass in from the perimeter. A scorer becomes a feeder.

Red and White

Red and White teaches position rebounding, boxing out, 2 on 2 and shooting under pressure.

• Reds under, whites outside. Two groups, the reds under the basket and the whites on the perimeter. A red passes to a white, who shoots, and the reds box out the whites.
• Score by getting the ball. Whichever group gets the ball scores against the other, and the group that scores stays in red shirts under the basket.
• Allow contact, no dribbling. There is no dribbling, nearly all contact off the ball is allowed and only flagrant or deliberate shooting fouls are called. Check what contact fits your age group before you use the contact rule.
• Play at least five minutes. Winners get a drink and free throws and losers run.

The box out drills page has the footwork.

Red and White. R1 and R2, the reds, start under the basket and W1 and W2, the whites, on the wings. A red passes to a white, who shoots, and the reds box out the whites. No dribbling. It is a rebounding game, so no three-second count applies.

How much to pay for a rebound is an open choice.

• Pay 1 and 2. One point for a defensive rebound and 2 for an offensive one.
• Pay only the defensive rebound. Offensive rebounds earn nothing.
• Do not pay offensive rebounds. Paying for them at all is disliked.

Pay for the habit you want and the group will chase it.

Passing and Streak Games

• Pay for passes. In no-dribble 5-on-5, pay 1 point per pass, 5 for a layup and minus 1 for a turnover, in a 60-point game.
• Pay for fouls drawn. Add a point for a foul drawn, charge 2 for a turnover and ban passing back to the passer except on a give and go.
• Pay for six passes. 1 for six passes, 1 for a post feed and 2 for a basket, in games to 15.
• Team layup streaks. The team must make as many layups in a row as it has players, and any miss or bad pass restarts the count. Free-throw games need 6 in a row within 5 minutes, raised to 8 for varsity boys.
• Rack 'Em Up. Fifteen balls sit on a rack. One comes off for every bad pass or turnover, and when the rack is empty each player runs one sprint per turnover for the rest of practice.
• Guts free throws. Teammates try to distract the shooter, and any miss sends the whole team on a full-court sprint.
• Situation tournament. Two teams play twenty clock, score and possession scenarios in four sets. A team wins a set by taking 3 of the 5 situations (2 of 3 in the third set), each team gets a timeout per situation and overtime is sudden death to a 2-point lead.

For the clock side of those scenarios see drills to teach late-game situations. For defense-specific competitions, see competitive defense drills.

Say the scoring rule once, out loud, and hold to it.

Records, Ledgers and Consequences

Make the score visible all week.

• A record board. A board where players erase the old mark and write their own name gives every shooting game a number to beat, and staff can post their own games on it.
• A win sheet. A manager tallies wins in every drill and posts the ranking after practice. Use it in conversations about playing time and give small prizes to the top three players on Fridays.
• A visible ledger. A rack of balls, a list of sprints on the board or a manager's tally of mistakes and good plays all do the same job, and the sprint or push-up total scales to the count.
• A debrief. A short talk after each competitive drill, where players say what worked, and sportsmanship is treated as part of competing.

The weak spot is the consequence.

• Sprint after a lost drill. A standalone running block teaches players to save energy earlier in practice, so keep a short sprint after a lost competitive drill instead.
• Swap in push-ups. Push-ups take the place of running.

The competitive yet supportive environment page covers the tone. Keep the consequence short and the score visible.

Where Coaches Differ

See practice plans for full sessions that use these games. Choose one answer per question and tell the team before the game starts.

Questions Coaches Ask

More Guides From This Batch

• Sideline Out of Bounds Plays: SLOB Sets, Reads and Practice
• 3 Out 2 In Basketball Offense: Spacing, Actions and Reads
• Hook Shot Basketball: How to Do It and How to Teach It
• Elevator Screen Basketball: How It Works, Plays and Counters

Back to Practice Plans and every Practice and Conditioning page.

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