Spain Pick and Roll Basketball: Screen the Screener

The Spain pick and roll explained: a ball screen plus a back screen on the roller's defender, the pop, the hedge counter, the versions and the coverages.

The Spain pick and roll adds a back screen on the roller's defender to a ball screen, and this guide covers the three roles, the sequence, the hedge counter, the version where a big back-screens, the ways into it and how defenses cover it.

The Spain pick and roll is a ball screen with a second screen on top of it. The screener rolls to the rim, and as he rolls, a third player back-screens the roller's own defender and then pops out to the arc. Both screens arrive together, so the defense faces what is effectively a three-on-two read. FIBA lists Spain as a ball screen plus a back screen on the roll.

This page goes deeper than the set on quick hitters. It covers the three roles, the sequence, the hedge counter, the version where the other big back-screens, the ways into the action and the coverages. The base ball-screen reads are on pick and roll, and the back screen is on back screen basketball.

The screener rolls first, and the back screen comes only as he rolls. If the screener's defender steps out to hedge, the shooter drops the back screen and simply pops. Know the base ball-screen read before you add Spain.

The Three Roles

The ball handler. He uses the first screen to create.
The screener. A big who sets the ball screen in the middle of the floor and rolls.
The shooter. He back-screens the roller's defender, and then pops to the arc.

Spain pick and roll diagram with the big stepping up from the left elbow to screen for the ball handler at the top of the key

The ball screen. 1 has the ball at the top of the key. 5 steps up from the left elbow to screen, and 1 dribbles right off him.

The action works inside almost any set that already has a ball screen, so a team does not need a new set to use it.

The Sequence

The order is fixed. The handler dribbles off the ball screen. The screener rolls. Only then does the shooter come in to back-screen the roller's defender.

Spain pick and roll diagram with the shooter back-screening the roller's defender as the big rolls to the rim

The back screen. 5 rolls toward the rim, and 2 comes in from the left wing to back-screen X5.

The roller cuts to the rim off the back screen and the shooter pops back out to the arc.

Spain pick and roll diagram with the shooter popping back out to the left slot while the big rolls to the rim

The pop. 5 keeps rolling to the rim. 2 pops back out to the left slot, and 1 can pass to either of them.

The handler has several options.

Pull up for the shot.
Drive the whole way.
Pass to the roller.
Pass to the shooter for a three.
Skip to the corner.

When the defense switches the back screen, a mismatch often results. Teach the handler to see the whole sequence before he picks one option.

The Hedge Counter

The screener's defender may leave him to hedge out on the handler.

Spain pick and roll diagram with the screener's defender hedging out and the shooter skipping the back screen to pop to the slot

The hedge counter. X5 leaves 5 to hedge out on 1. 2 skips the back screen and pops to the left slot, and 5 keeps rolling.

The shooter skips the back screen and pops to the arc, and the roller keeps rolling.

Name the skip as part of the action, so the shooter never forces a back screen that is not needed.

Back Screen by the Other Big

The back screener does not have to be the shooter. In a version run from a four-out set, a guard clears through to the corner, the handler dribbles to one side to set the angle, and the big sprints up to ball-screen. The other big then back-screens for the roll, which can set up a lob.

Spain pick and roll diagram from four out with the weak-side big back-screening for the roller

Back screen by the other big. 2 clears to the left corner and 1 dribbles left. 5 sprints up from the left block to ball-screen, and 4 comes from the right wing to back-screen X5.

The counters are plain. If the post defender does not help, the handler attacks for the layup. If the handler is stopped inside, he jump-stops and kicks out to a guard or to the big at the top for a three.

Decide who your back screener is before the call, shooter or big, and keep that player the same all season.

Ways Into Spain

From a four-out set. The version above, with the clear to the corner.
After a Ram screen. A guard first screens down for the 5, and the 5 runs up to set the ball screen. When he rolls, a shooter back-screens the other big and pops. The Ram screen is a way to stop the defense from hedging or blitzing the ball screen, and it is covered on ball screen continuity offense.
From horns. A back screen on the roller is run from horns sets too. See horns basketball play.
Inside a five-out front. The Spain back screen is compatible with five-out spacing, and one library tags it onto its Chicago and twirl sets.
As a backdoor setup. One backdoor library runs a high ball screen with the Spain re-screen leading into a fake handoff. The defender jumps the handoff, and a cutter goes backdoor.
Out of bounds. Two Olympic teams ran Spain in out-of-bounds sets, one from a sideline and one from a baseline.

One more meaning of the word is on record. One film analyst's glossary describes Spain as a ball screen and replace, where the player who replaces him screens the big guarding the roller, and the original screener is often left open. Write the job next to the name on your call sheet.

The Olympic playbook that lists these sets calls Spain unsuitable for less experienced teams, so the head coach decides when the team is ready.

Layering Triggers and Names

Spain is one of several triggers that can sit in front of a ball screen. A Ram screen comes first, screening for the screener. Spain puts a back screen on the roller's defender while the handler attacks. A handoff before the screen hits a defense that is already moving, and a ghost screen fakes the contact and sprints away. Several programs stack these.

Standalone and embedded. One library runs Spain by itself and also inside longer calls. It pairs the action with a Punch tag, which is the empty-corner complement.
Off different looks. Another program runs it three ways, plain, from its nail series and from a weave.
Stacked with other tags. A third stacks Spain, a Ram into Spain, and a zipper and Miami action into Spain.

The tags change the first action. The back screen on the roller stays the same, so players learn it once.

How Defenses Cover It

Drop coverage is a poor choice against Spain, because the back screen lands on the drop defender and the roller can be lobbed free. Letting the handler reject the screen also breaks it. The coverages are on how to defend the pick and roll and drop coverage. The modern pro game, covered on modern NBA offense, runs Spain as one action in the delay front.

The offense should know the counters before it knows the coverage.

Questions Coaches Ask

What is the Spain pick and roll?

A ball screen followed by a back screen on the roller's defender. The screener rolls, and a shooter back-screens his defender and pops to the arc.

Who sets the back screen?

Usually a shooter, who then pops. In one four-out version it is the other big.

What if the screener's defender hedges?

The shooter skips the back screen and pops to the arc, and the roller keeps rolling.

Is the Spain pick and roll the same as a ghost screen?

No. A ghost screen is a fake ball screen where the screener sprints away without contact. Spain is a real ball screen with a second screen on the roller's defender.

Every diagram on this page uses the symbols on how to read a basketball play diagram.

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