Are you searching for the best small sided games (SSGs) to improve your basketball practices? Want to replace boring, low-transfer drills with competitive games that actually develop player decision-making and in-game skills?

In this post, I’m sharing my top 5 favorite small-sided basketball games—designed to teach core concepts like closeouts, pick-and-roll, advantage creation, and transition offense and defense. These basketball SSGs are intense, purposeful, and built around real-game actions.

Whether you’re coaching youth basketball, high school, or pros, these top small sided games will make your sessions more effective, more engaging, and more fun—for both players and coaches.

Let’s break down each game and how it can transform your practices.

A list of my favorite games to play to teach various different principles and skills.

 

1. 3-on-3 HC FIBA rules

1. Offense must trigger to start. 
2. Game is continuous. Next team on the baseline is ready to come in after a score or a TO. 
3. TO = no crack angle (example. It can be any thing or multiple things I want to emphasize in this game)

Constraints:

• 8 second shot clock
• 1 chance to create dominoes
• Different scoring ie. lay ups worth double, certain coverage solution worth double

This is my favorite game for the simple fact that it is INTENSE. I’ve spoken, in a previous post, about adding a consequence, such as the turnover, to challenge the players and their working memory capacity. Learning in real time. I find that by adding the TO like the Crack angle, for example, players quickly learn to set a pick in the angle we are looking for, otherwise, it is a TO and their team is off. 

 

2. 1-on-1 Close outs 

1. Defense starts with the ball inside the box (the paint extended out to the corners.) 
2. Quick pass and it is live. 
3. Make it take it. 
4. Play until 7.

Constraints:

• TO = no 0 zero decisions 
• 3 second shot clock
• change scoring ie. 3 for lay up, 2 for 3 point shot, 1 mid range

I usually like start this game with some kind of time/ dribble constraint so players aren’t catching and getting into their ‘bag’. Instead, we can start to work on a part of the game that happens more than 80+ times per game! Closeouts happen on nearly EVERY possession so it is extremely important our players get their reps in practice. Both offensively and defensively – a great game for teaching how you want your players to close out to shooters. 

 

3. Dribble Knockout

1. Players start inside a space, such as the HC jump circle. 
2. Both players are trying to knock the ball away while keeping their dribble alive. 
3. 1 point for each knockout. First to 3 wins. 

Constraints:

• weak hand only
• Must tag opponents back OR steal ball to get a point
• change dribbles ie. high dribbles only

I like this game because of how adaptable you can make it to teach ball handling in a game like environment. I also like playing this game with 1 offensive player, with ball and 1 defensive player, no ball. This is probably the game I most use to warm up! which may or may not be a good thing. 

 

4. 3-on-3 Wall PnR Bursts HC

1. Live after trigger: Offense starts with a side PnR on the 45, sending ball middle. Strongside corner filled. 
2. TO = going past opposite lane line extended.
3. Offense stays for 4 reps and then switches with the next team. 
4. Defense rotates after every rep.

Constraints:

• 6 second shot clock
• Double points for corner catch and shoot 3 point shot
• Golden snitch: Roller scores from first pass

The great thing about working 3-on-3 or 2-on-2 is that you can get more reps by using both sides of the court at the same time, especially if you have a lot of numbers at practice. Going 3-on-3 also allows you to remove some of the information that players may find hard to process in real time ie in this game you remove all 4 weak side players.

 

5. 4-on-3 Dominoes start FC 3 trips 

1. Offense will start with the ball and a numbers advantage. 
2. Make or miss we play for 3 more trips.
3. Reset after last trip with new group. 
4. First to 15 wins. 2s and 3s.

Constraints:

• TO = no lag free reaction ie. a transition offense principle
• Golden snitch = Score after forcing a TO from a trap
• Add +2 offensive players on last trip

This is my favorite game for teaching transition principles – both offensive and defensive principles. As well as teaching the defense what kind of shots you WANT to give up. This is the only game of my top 5 that is full court because with any of the other games that are HC you can just make it full court with the same rules. 

 

With any of these games you can change the various constraints: task, environment, player.

Make the game 4-on-4 or 5-on-5 or add a +1 as a passer instead of having defense pass the ball in, you can make the playing space bigger or smaller, or give particular players certain rules to challenge accordingly. As of today, these are my top 5 favorite games to use for teaching. 

Honorable mentions:

• 3-on-3 advantage start – 2 side 
• 1-on-1 MIG finishing 
• 3-on-3 continuous dominoes
• 1-on-1 advantage start
• 2-on-1+1 shooting
• 3-on-2 dynamic start – 2 side break
• 3-on-3-on-3 FC
• 3-on-3 close out start – tagging up 
• 3-on-3 battleship 
• 3-on-2 HC dominoes bursts
• 3-on-3 scripted start
• 2-on-2 dunker spacing 

 

What games do you use?

If there are any of these you would like to discuss in more detail, get in touch!

 

Recommendatons

You can find many videos on the Transforming Basketball YouTube page where Alex Sarama explains the science behind the SSGs and shows practical solutions for practices!

 

You could also check out the Products page to explore resources designed to help you implement small-sided games and elevate your basketball practices.