What is a fake pass in basketball
A fake pass, also referred to as a pass fake, involves offensive action in which a player in possession of the basketball effectively pretends to throw it to a teammate but then keeps the ball to perform another action, which would commonly be an authentic pass for a scoring or playmaking opportunity.
The fake pass is also a type of ball fake alongside the shot fake, in which both types could be used as crafty actions to achieve offensive objectives.
Why is a fake pass potentially useful
The fake pass is potentially useful because it could influence a defender to momentarily shift out of the proper defensive stance, which could then be exploited by the offensive player with the ball and/or the offensive team in general.
To provide more context, a standard basketball defense concept states that defenders should generally utilize a proper defensive stance which typically consists of having their feet slightly wider than shoulder width, knees slightly bent, back straight, and arms extended away from sides of the body.
Afterwards, defenders should slide their feet laterally to stay in front of the ball.
Also, defenders should typically use their extended arms and active hands to limit or prevent different types of basketball passes into the gaps of the defense by essentially anticipating the flight and/or direction of the ball.
The proper defensive stance is a fundamental element to implement regardless if the defensive team utilizes standard man to man defense or a type of zone defense basketball strategy.
However, the fake pass could nullify this foundational element to a degree by causing a defender to move out of the proper defensive stance.
As a brief scenario, let’s say that an offensive player with the ball executes a fake overhead pass as a counter to on-ball defensive pressure.
Following that, let’s also say that one type of on-ball defender reacts to the fake overhead pass by lifting their hands very high in the air, particularly above their own shoulders, as they try to anticipate the flight of the ball for a potential deflection or interception.
Furthermore, let’s also say that another type of on-ball defender reacts to the fake overhead pass by jumping into the air in an attempt to anticipate and intercept the ball.
When either of those situations occur, the on-ball defender momentarily switches out of the proper defensive stance, which gives the offensive player with the ball an opportunity to exploit that defensive error.
So, as a result, the player with the ball could conveniently pass it below the high hands of the on-ball defender or potentially get dribble penetration into the lane to score themselves or kick out to a possible three-point shooter.
When could a fake pass be possibly effective
A fake pass could be possibly effective in situations such as during an inbound throw-in, low post feed, transition offense, or dribble penetration.
Inbound throw-in
A fake pass could be an effective action when executing a throw-in or inbound pass near the baseline or sideline, particularly against on-ball pressure.
Essentially, there could be events such as after a timeout or during a late game situation in which the on-ball defender could put an above average amount of defensive pressure on the inbound player to limit or prevent an easy throw-in which could lead to offensive scoring or playmaking opportunities.
As an example, let’s say that a player with the ball stands behind the baseline near the opponent’s basket to execute a throw-in after a dead ball scenario. In other words, the offensive team is executing a baseline out of bounds play.
Therefore, the defensive team utilizes an on-ball defender to make the throw-in as difficult as possible.
So, to counter against that on-ball defender, the player executing the throw-in could utilize a fake pass before executing the actual inbound pass.
To give another example, let’s say that the inbound player with the ball prefers to throw it as a high-arching lob pass over the top of the defense to a teammate who could then catch the ball in the air and quickly score.
To accomplish this, the inbound player with the ball should consider executing a fake pass that is towards the floor before executing the real inbound pass.
That is to say, the player with the ball should make it appear to the on-ball defender that the throw-in will be a bounce pass as opposed to an air pass.
When that happens, the on-ball defender could possibly move their hands too low to deflect or intercept the expected bounce pass.
Afterwards, the inbound passer could swiftly throw the ball over the top of the defense to a teammate for a scoring opportunity at the rim.
Low post feed
A fake pass could be useful when feeding the post, particularly from the wing.
Somewhat similar to an inbound throw-in, an on-ball defender could cause a bit of difficulty in feeding the post as that same defender attempts to anticipate the potential pass to deflect or intercept it.
Therefore, to alleviate this possible issue, the player with the ball could fake a high pass above the shoulder of the defender before swiftly executing a bounce pass to the low post player beneath the shoulder or arm of the on-ball defender.
Conversely, the player with the ball could fake a low pass below the shoulder or arm of the defender before immediately executing an air pass to to the low post player above the shoulder of that same on-ball defender.
Transition offense
A fake pass might be used at certain times during transition offense. A noteworthy scenario could be during a primary break in which the offensive team has a significant numbers advantage over the defensive team such as a 3-on-1.
For example, let’s say that offensive player A has possession of the ball and dribbles down the middle of the court while offensive players B and C sprint towards the basket ready to receive the ball and score at the rim.
Let’s also say that only one defender sprints back quickly during transition defense to protect the basket. In other words, this is a 3-on-1 fast break scenario in which the offensive team has a clear advantage.
Next, player A could continue to dribble towards the lone defender and immediately after that, player A could fake a pass to either player B or player C.
As that occurs, if the defender bites on the fake pass by moving towards one direction, then that creates space for player A to pass to the opposite side or score themselves.
So, if player A fakes the pass to player B and then the defender temporarily reacts to player B, then player A could quickly pass to player C for an easy, uncontested layup at the rim or keep the ball and take the layup themselves.
Dribble penetration
A fake pass could be used in certain instances during dribble penetration. As an example, let’s say that a player with the ball is able to get by their own respective defender with dribble penetration towards the baseline.
Additionally, let’s say that the offensive team’s best three-point shooter is also standing in the corner on the same side of that baseline dribble penetration.
Moreover, let’s also say that a help defender near the basket steps across the lane to prevent further dribble penetration and to generally protect the basket.
Following that, the player with the ball could execute a fake pass towards the shooter in the corner.
As a result, the helping defender near the basket might temporarily fall for that fake pass and begin to move towards the shooter in the corner.
When that occurs, this opens a brief gap towards the basket and from there, the player with the ball could score via a layup or dunk.
To give yet another brief example, let’s say that a player has possession of the ball near the perimeter such as the top and that same player would like to get to the rim.
If the on-ball defender covering that player has below average defensive skills and footwork, then the player could possibly fake a pass to an adjacent teammate which would then cause the on-ball defender to move out their proper defensive stance for a moment.
Put another way, the on-ball defender might consider the pass to be real and then jump to the ball as a defensive tactic, which would be ineffective in that case.
Afterwards, the player with the ball could take advantage of that lapse in judgment and create dribble penetration towards the basket when the on-ball defender shifts out of the correct stance.
Also, this variation of the fake pass is moderately similar to a jab step. However, this particular fake pass, and basically most (if not all) fake passes use the arm to mislead the defense while the jab step effectively uses the foot as the main tool of trickery.
What are general steps to execute a fake pass
The general steps to execute a fake pass is to first achieve a proper stance, grip the ball correctly, and then extend the arms out toward the potential receiver while continuing to hold the ball without releasing it.
Be in a proper stance
The proper stance for most fake passes would usually look similar to the basic passes such as the chest pass, bounce pass, or overhead pass.
Therefore, generally speaking, the player in possession of the ball should have their feet about shoulder width apart, knees slightly bent, and back straight.
In addition to that, a proper stance helps to mislead the defense, and more specifically, the on-ball defender into thinking that the player with the ball would actually execute a real pass as opposed to a fake one.
Grip the ball correctly
The player should grip the ball correctly which will typically consist of both hands near the sides of the ball with a firm grip but not too tightly.
Also, the player should grip the ball with the finger pads and slightly bend the fingers while holding it. As mentioned previously, this helps to sell the idea to one or more defenders that the pass would be real.
It should also be stated that in some cases, players could actually execute a fake pass while holding the ball with one hand.
However, in those same cases, the player’s hand should be large enough to secure the ball with one hand and/or the player should have enough grip strength to simply hold it with one hand.
That said, a one handed fake pass is more advanced and is generally not recommended for beginners.
Extend the arms out
The player should extend the arms out towards a potential receiver. However, the player should not release the ball but instead, keep it in their hands, which effectively completes the fake pass.
Moreover, in some cases, the player could steps towards the potential receiver with one foot while extending the arms out towards that same receiver.
What is a simple drill to practice a fake pass
A simple drill to practice a fake pass involves a player standing about four to six feet from a wall, executing the fake pass high or low and then following that up with a high or low pass that is authentic.
Following the authentic pass, once the ball bounces off the wall, the player can catch it, preferably with both hands.
So, as a brief example, if the player fakes a high air pass, then that same player should execute a real low bounce pass to the wall.
This drill could be executed repeatedly until the player is comfortable with the fake pass.