pick-and-roll

[pik-uhn-rohl]

noun

Basketball.

1. an offensive maneuver in which a player interposes their own body between a teammate with the ball and a defender, then cuts quickly toward the basket for a pass from that teammate.

Word History and Origins

Origin of pick-and-roll¹

First recorded in 1960–65

Example Sentences

One of the league’s pick-and-roll savants, Doncic should help Ayton rediscover the dominance he flashed while helping the Phoenix Suns reach the NBA Finals in 2021 and post a franchise-record 64 wins in 2022.

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Ayton, Redick emphasized, was once Chris Paul’s pick-and-roll partner in Phoenix.

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“He’s been the best player on his team. You can put him in so many different spots and he’ll find ways to score: out of pick-and-roll, coming off screens, catch-and-shoot. He can create his own or he can play off the ball. He’s a great cutter. He’s also a great playmaker who is going to make everybody else better.”

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Burrell loves running the pick-and-roll after learning to read where Hamby’s going to be and what moves she likes to get to.

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“Whatever I needed to learn about basketball, he was studying,” Skyy said, “so if it was something about shooting, something about pick-and-roll, he was watching videos and learning everything he could to teach me.”

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When To Use

What does pick-and-roll mean?

A pick-and-roll is an offensive play in basketball where a teammate screens off a defender and then breaks free so the ball-carrier can pass it to them.