Season-long 1v1 competition
We like to play 1v1 to instill skills, confidence, and aggression. Players must create their own shots, and the only way to get on offense is by getting a stop. That pressure fuels defensive intensity, competitiveness, and pride.
Every day we’re in the gym, we play 1v1—sometimes for 5 minutes, sometimes for 20—but it’s never something we skip. The players love it, and it brings a level of competition, tension, and desire I don’t see in anything else we do. There’s emotion, trash talk, and players staying after for rematches.
Here are our 1v1 rules:
1v1 Gameplay Rules
- Four dribbles or fewer
- Quick decisions on the catch
- Offensive player can catch it right behind the line all the way out to the logo
- Defensive player must chest pass to the offensive player from inside the half circle (and then they can close out)
- Make it, take it (you come in on defense)
- 2's and 3's to 10 (we play for a set amount of time)
Each Monday, we do promotions and relegations. We celebrate with a quick promotion ceremony, and at the end of the period, we crown the Champion—the player with the highest points per game. You can make your own rules for how promotions and relegations work...but here's how we've organized our 1v1 competition this summer:
1v1 League Rules
- We will have two leagues. The Champions League (CL) and the Other League (OL). The CL will be comprised of the top six players based on points per game played, and all other players will be in the OL.
- You may choose to have a rematch with your league after practice, but all players in the league must be invited.
- Players receive TWO points for a win in the CL, and ONE point for a win in the OL. These values are then divided by that individual's games played to get their points/game.
- Players with ZERO games played in the CL from the week before will be automatically relegated for the player with the highest PPG in the OL.
- All wins must be validated with a free throw and the shooter will go back down to their previous number if they miss (if missed, both the shooter who missed and the defender are off—the shooter will be last in line)
- If three free throws are missed in one game, they go back down to zero
Because players can move up or down weekly, they are engaged, accountable, and get to play against the right level of competition. It’s competitive, it’s personal, and it drives daily development—on both ends of the floor.