Transforming
Book Activities

1-on-1 Touchdown Tag

1-on-1 Mosquito Shooting

One shooter will remain on offense in a burst, with a passer and contesting defender passing and closing out from different angles.

The handler begins on the baseline, with a defender on the FT line. The handler can begin at anytime, and must advance to the HC line in seven seconds. The defender must achieve a two-handed tag to stop them!

1-on-1 Around the Arc

5-on-5 Three Lives

A 5-on-5 scrimmage is played across a certain time period (e.g. a five minute quarter) or with five trips before a reset. This is played with normal game scoring but with one caveat: each team has three lives, and the game is automatically lost if one team loses all their lives.

The offense and defense begin in the deep corner with both feet outside the 3PT line, facing the half-line. The offense dribbles around the 3PT arc, with the defender trailing them. The defender can only enter the 3PT line when the offense breaks the arc.

1-on-1 Chameleon

The offense will get three reps in a row against the defender, with each rep being from a different location within the half-court. Like a chameleon, the defender changes their colours (the starting positions) to create varied affordances across all three repetitions.

4-on-4-on-4 Defensive Shutdown

Three teams of four play in the half-court, with one team waiting on the baseline. The first team to win is the first team to get five defensive stops. A stop is classified as a turnover or a contested shot secured with the defensive rebound. If the offense score, they shift to defense, while the old defense runs off.

1-on-1+1 Curry Shooting

The defender starts on the block, blind to the offensive player starting behind them. The +1 must stand in different locations in the mid-range or outside the 3PT line. Begin as soon as the defender senses the offensive player has moved. The offense must get outside the 3PT line before they can score.

1-on-1+1 Shield Tag

Players work in groups of three with one player designated as the defender, one as the escaper and one as the shield. The shield is the only player without a basketball, whose job is to protect the escaper from getting the basketball stolen from the defender.

1-on-1+2 Close Out Bursts

The offense starts anywhere outside the 3PT line, but must play in the guard spots between the FT line extended area. The defender must begin with one foot on the FT line. The defender can only close-out as soon as the ball leaves the passer’s hands, at which point it becomes a live 1-on-1. Play with bursts.

1-on-1+1 Game Winner

The passer gives the shot clock count once the ball has been inbounded, with the offense constrained to only playing in half of the half court area. The winner is the first player to either score three game winners or achieve three defensive stops.

3-on-2 Jungle Shooting

Three shooters will start at any location around the 3PT line with two defenders. The offense begins with two basketballs. Offense and defense stay in their same roles continuously for 60 seconds. The offense can only shoot threes, but can move, drive and pass. The defense attempts to block shots and steal passes.

1-on-3 Gauntlet

One offensive player starts with a ball at the baseline, with one defender in each third of the gauntlet. The defender can play defense anywhere in their segment, but cannot enter another defender’s space. The offense has 10 seconds to advance the ball from baseline to baseline without committing a violation.

4-on-3 Three Trips

Four offensive players begin against three defensive players, looking to convert dominoes in the HC through the natural +1 advantage. As soon as the defense gains possession, they begin the first trip becoming the new offense, playing against four defenders. After three trips, the activity resets.

3-on-3 Battleship

The offense can be constrained to use specific triggers, such as pick and roll, gets, screen aways, flare screens etc. To win the game, the offense have to win by scoring off a dominoes-starting sequence from four different locations, initiated by a specific trigger.