SLOB Plays (Sideline Out of Bounds)

What it is

• SLOB (Sideline Out of Bounds) plays occur when the ball goes out of bounds on the sideline during the half-court or three-quarter-court phase of play.

How it works

• The inbounder is on the sideline, not under the basket — they have a wider passing angle.
• The clock is live once the ball is inbounded — seconds-saving matters less than quality of look.
• SLOBs require immediate spacing because the defense can deny any pass.
• The best SLOBs create a layup, open three, or DHO within 1–2 seconds of the inbound pass.
• Setup: - Four players form a box: two at the elbows (high), two at the blocks (low). - The inbounder is on the sideline at mid-court or near the three-point line.

Reads and counters

• Read the first defender to ball-watch or help; if the on-ball defender turns his head, hit the cutter slipping behind him.
• If the defense top-locks the primary scorer, read the back-cut and lob over the deny to the rim.
• On a stagger or pindown for the shooter, read the screener's defender: if he stays attached, the screener slips or seals for the pass.
• If the help man tags the cutter, read the skip to the weakside shooter the helper just abandoned.
• Late in the clock with no clean look, read the safety valve up top to reset rather than force the pass into traffic.

Teaching cues

• Step in, sell the fake
• Screen the screener
• Slip it, don't hold it
• Hit the first window
• Reverse and reset

Bilingual terms

Learn before and after

These graph neighbors help place SLOB Plays (Sideline Out of Bounds) in the larger basketball map.

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