The Starter Guide to the Corner Offense
Posted by Coach Chris on Mar 18, 2019
In this article, NBA Associate Head Coach for the New Orleans Pelicans Chris Finch is going to share with you four entry actions into the Corner Offense. By the time you get done reading, you should be equipped with coaching drills and strategies to running a successful Corner Offense.
Starting Positions
To get the Corner Offense started, it's all about getting your players in the right position. This offense set-up looks like a box formation made up of four players in the half court with one player in the middle.
You have two guards in the corners to spread the floor and give attack opportunities to your two top players which is your point guard and one of your post players. The player in the middle is your other post player.
Ideally, you want all of your positions to be interchangeable to make your offense tougher to guard. But for a tradition offense, your 1 is going to be the point guard, 2 and 3 will be in the corners, 4 will be in the other top spot as your post trailer, and 5 is at the elbow as your post rim runner.
Now that you know the positions lets breakdown four different ways to start the Corner Offense.
Entry Action #1 - Low
Player 1 starts with the basketball and passes it to Player 5 to start the offense.
After passing, Player 1 reads the defense and goes to set a screen for Player 2 in the corner.
Player 2 comes off the screen reading the defense and curls to the basket. If 2 isn't open, they continue to cut through the lane and relocate on the opposite side of the court.
As 2 is cutting, Player 3 and Player 4 shift to fill spots on the court: 3 is now in 4's starting spot while 4 is 1's starting spot.
After screening, Player 1 is in the corner and catches a pass from Player 5.
5 follows their pass and comes to set a ball screen for 1 and they run a pick and roll.
After the pick and roll, read the defense and play basketball.
Entry Action #2 - High
Player 1 starts with the basketball and passes it to Player 5 to start the offense.
After passing, Player 1 reads the defense and goes to set a screen for Player 4 at the opposite top spot.
Player 4 comes off the screen reading the defense and curls to the basket. If 4 isn't open, they continue to cut through the lane and relocate on the opposite side of the court.
After screening, Player 1 is at the opposite top spot and catches a pass from Player 5.
5 follows their pass and comes to set a ball screen for 1 and they run a pick and roll.
After the pick and roll, read the defense and play basketball.
Entry Action #3 - Swing
Player 1 starts with the basketball and passes it to Player 4 to start the offense.
After passing, Player 1 reads the defense and goes to set a screen for Player 2 in the corner.
Player 5 follows Player 1 to set a double screen for Player 2.
Player 2 comes off the double screen reading the defense and curls to the basket.
After screening, Player 1 ducks down to read the defense unfold.
After screening, Player 5 continues towards the corner to set another screen for Player 1.
Player 1 comes off the screen reading the defense and curls to the basket.
After the screen, read the defense and play basketball.
Entry Action #4 - Corner
Player 1 starts with the basketball and passes it to Player 2 in the corner to start the offense.
After passing, Player 1 reads the defense and cuts to the basket.
Once Player 1 has cut, Player 2 passes to Player 5 at the elbow.
After passing, Player 2 chases the ball for a handoff.
From here, read the defense and play basketball.
Drills for the Corner Offense
Drill #1
Drill #2
Drill #3
Learn More
This Starter Guide to cover the Corner Offense should cover everything you need to know to get started with this offense, but there's always room to grow. To learn more start browsing through our vast selection of Coaching DVDs right now.
Our basketball training videos feature the best of the best. From the top coaches in high school, college, & the Pros to the best basketball trainers who teach Pro players we have them all. We have DVDs for rent by mail, downloads available for purchase, and 48 hour rental.
You can watch them over and over, take notes, and then rent another DVD over the same topic and very quickly your knowledge of a specific topic will reach mastery level. Using basketball training videos as a coach can change your entire coaching style.