Jump Pass in Basketball: Basic Information Explained

What is the jump pass in basketball

The jump pass is comprised of offensive action that occurs when a player in possession of the basketball jumps in the air and throws the ball to a teammate before contacting the floor again with their feet.

What is the primary reason why the jump pass is typically considered undesirable

The primary reason why the jump pass is typically considered an undesirable action, especially by coaches, is simply because it is a risky maneuver.

In other words, it is unsafe because when a player jumps in the air, that same player must pass or shoot before landing on the floor again.

Coaches in particular do not like this, especially for youth basketball players, because if a player gets caught in the air and that same player is not able to pass or shoot before landing, then this will inevitably result in a traveling violation and subsequent turnover.

More turnovers for one team equals more offensive possessions and possible scoring opportunities for the opposing team.

Basically, players that jump in the air, particularly to pass, have to be able to read the defense quickly and make a split second decision.

Simply put, to execute the jump pass, at least with moderate effect, players will more or less require a high basketball IQ.

Furthermore, players should be highly skilled in passing on the floor, especially when throwing the ball a longer distance more than one pass away before even attempting any potentially hazardous jump passes.

What are general reasons why a jump pass could be potentially effective

The jump pass could be potentially effective because it can be used to create unique playmaking and/or scoring opportunities and it could also be utilized to release defensive pressure, particularly against traps.

Create unique playmaking and/or scoring opportunities

The player with the ball could execute the jump pass to make plays and/or produce scoring options near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court which would typically not be available if the player does not jump in the air.

Basically, the player in possession of the ball may want to pass to an open teammate, particularly by executing one of the typical basketball passes while staying on the floor.

However, if the hands of one or more defenders are high in the air and/or the actual defenders are directly in between the passing pathway of the player with the ball and the potential target, then a standard basketball pass on the floor might not be a feasible option.

So, to counter either of those situations (i.e. high hands and/or actual defenders completely in the passing pathway), the player in possession of the ball can sometimes jump in the air to pass to a teammate.

In other words, if the hands of one or more defenders are too high, then the player with the ball could jump to effectively pass it over those high hands in some cases.

Also, if the actual defenders are in the passing pathway, then that same player could possibly jump in the air to pass the ball over or around those defenders.

Moreover, in certain instances, the jump pass could also be viable as a type of skip pass as well.

This could be a valid option to consider because the skip pass swiftly moves the ball from one side of the court to the other side.

Put another way, jumping in the air to throw a skip pass to an open teammate would essentially move the ball quickly over the high hands of defenders and/or over the actual defenders themselves.

If that occurs, then a defender would most likely not be able to execute a sufficient defensive closeout which means the receiver of the jumping skip pass would have a potential open jump shot or perhaps, another playmaking opportunity to take advantage of.

Release defensive pressure, particularly against traps

As mentioned previously, the jump pass could be used to pass the ball over the high hands of defenders. This is more apparent against trap defense or even double team defense in general.

Essentially, when trap defense occurs, two defenders will double team a player that has current possession of the ball, particularly near a sideline and/or baseline corner.

Furthermore, the defenders will commonly use high hands to block the vision of the player with the ball.

If that same player is not able to call a timeout, then executing a pass out the trap is potentially the next best option.

The problem, though, is that if the player in possession of the ball attempts to perform a standard pass such as the chest pass, bounce pass, or overhead pass, then that would most likely result in a turnover.

So, to alleviate that issue, the player with the ball could jump in the air, target an open teammate, and then pass the ball to that potential receiver, which would then reduce the overall effect of the trap.

At first glance, this may seem like an unwise action but in this specific situation, because of the trap defense, there is probably at least a 50% chance that the player in possession of the ball would turn it over anyway without jumping in the air.

To put this another way, if a player with the ball unfortunately finds themselves trapped, particularly near coffin corners, especially when an escape dribble is not feasible, then it is probably better to take the chance of jumping in the air if that could result in moving the ball out of the trap.

Also, it should be noted that there is a certain jump pass trick that players can sometimes use if they are trapped, especially in a corner.

Basically, a player that has the ball can jump in the air towards out of bounds away from the trap, and then throw the ball at the hip or leg of one of the trapping defenders.

There is most likely a 50% to 70% (if not higher) chance that the ball will bounce out of bounds before one of those same trapping defenders are able to catch it.

As a result of that, the ball’s possession would go to the team of the player that was initially trapped because the ball touched one of the defenders prior to going out of bounds.

The reason this could work, at least some of the time, is because when a player, in this instance, jumps in the air while holding the basketball, this causes the defenders to think that same player will try to pass the ball over them.

This, in turn, influences those defenders to keep their hands high in the air to deflect or intercept the ball so they will more than likely not expect a low pass near their hips or legs.

It should also be noted though that some defenders are fully aware of this trick and will literally try to get out of the way so that the ball does not hit them.

If that happens, once the player releases the ball, it is probably a very high chance that another member of the defensive team will grab the ball, which would result in a turnover.

However, as mentioned earlier, once a player gets caught in an unfortunate trap, the odds of turnovers usually increases significantly.

Therefore, a player with the ball might as well consider the risky jump pass as an option in that case.