No-Look Pass

Hold the ball in triple threat and survey the whole floor: every teammate and every defender.

Big vision first.

Find your real receiver and the defender who could take the pass away before you look off. You can't no-look a teammate you haven't seen.

See it, then hide it.

Keep the receiver in your peripheral vision instead of staring at them. Staring tells the defender where the ball is going.

Know where they are, don't look at them.

Turn your head and eyes toward a believable other option, such as the opposite teammate or the basket. Head direction is the cue defenders read.

Your face points at the decoy.

If you have time, add a ball fake or pass fake toward the decoy. Fake a pass to make a pass.

Track the receiver in the corner of your eye. Peripheral vision picks up movement well but sees detail poorly, so only throw it when the lane is clearly open.

Wide lane or no pass.

Keep your feet, arms and hands aimed at the receiver. Only your head and eyes point away.

Body to the target, face to the decoy.

For an open lane, throw a chest pass: ball chest high in both hands, step forward, extend your arms, snap your wrists, finish with arms in front at chest height.

If a defender's arm or body could block a chest pass, throw a bounce pass: same step and extension, snap the ball down into the floor, finish with arms in front at thigh height.

Deliver it when the receiver is open, not before or after, to a spot target (their raised hand away from the defender).

On time, on target.

Pass with your feet on the floor when you can, so you still have options if the lane closes.

Make the easy pass. If a simple pass works, throw it; be clever, not fancy, and don't gamble.

Easy beats flashy.

Don't repeat the same look-off back to back. In testing, basketball players stopped being fooled by a head fake right after they had just seen one.

Mix it up.