A touch pass redirects the ball to a teammate without fully catching it first: you glance or tap it on as it reaches you. Because the ball never stops, it can move before the defense has time to react, but it takes good hand-eye coordination and the right touch to stay accurate. A passing skill: the read, timing and touch are yours, not camera-gradeable.
Set up
Before the ball is passed to you, look over the whole floor and pick out the teammate you'll send it to.
Decide before the ball arrives.
Get your hands up early, fingers spread and relaxed, so the ball has somewhere to land.
Soft, ready hands.
Move toward the ball to meet it instead of waiting for it.
Shorten the pass.
Pass
Watch the ball into your hands while you keep your target in your peripheral vision. Don't stare at the target.
Play the ball with your fingers and fingertips, not your palms.
Glance or tap the ball off your hand toward your teammate in one touch, without securing it first.
Redirect, don't hold.
Use only as much force as the pass needs. Too hard and it can't be caught; too soft and it gets picked off.
If your teammate is moving, aim where they're going, not where they are. Don't pass behind them.
When to use it
Use it when the ball has to move before the defense can react: an open teammate the defense hasn't rotated to yet, or tipping the ball ahead to a teammate already running the floor on a fast break.
If you haven't already seen the open teammate, catch it with two hands and make a normal pass. Don't gamble on it.
Clever, not fancy.
Feel it
The ball should feel like it barely stops: soft hands and fingertips guide it on to a teammate you picked before it arrived. If you're deciding while the ball is in your hands, it's already too late for a touch pass. Catch it instead.
Fix-its
- The ball bounces off your hands Have your hands up before it arrives, keep them relaxed and play it with your fingertips, not stiff palms.
- It goes off line Pick the target before the ball reaches you and meet the ball, so you aren't redirecting it on the move at an awkward angle.
- It's too hard or floats Use only enough force for an easy catch: firm enough not to be picked off, soft enough to be caught.
- The defense reads it Don't stare at your target; keep them in your peripheral vision and watch the ball in.
- You force it and turn it over Touch-pass only when you've already seen the open teammate. Otherwise catch with two hands and pass normally.
Drill
- Partner catch-and-pass: catch with two hands and pass back, eyes following the ball into your hands, until your catches are clean and soft.
- Three-player triangle: before each pass, the receiver calls out where it will go next, then redirects it on in one touch. Go back to catching if accuracy drops.
- Wing-to-post passing with two defenders: use fakes and peripheral vision, and only touch-pass when the lane is open.
- 5-on-5 half-court with no dribbling: keep the ball moving and count turnovers. A touch pass that turns it over counts against you.
Sources
- Under Armour — A Guide to Different Types of Basketball Passes (n.d.)
- Krause & Nelson — Principles of Passing and Catching, Basketball Skills & Drills 4th ed. (Human Kinetics excerpt)
- Coach's Clipboard — Basketball Passing
- Jr. NBA — Passing
Last checked 2026-10-26.