All five players start outside the three-point line, usually in the two corners, the two wings and the top. Nobody stands in the post. The lane stays empty until somebody cuts into it.
Why coaches use it
Every defender has to guard his man out on the floor, so there is no one parked in the paint to help. That turns every closeout into a live driving gap, and it means a player who cuts to the rim is only being guarded by one person.
It is the right shape for a team with no true post, which describes most youth and a lot of high school teams. It is also the easiest offense to teach, because the rules are the same for all five players: pass, cut, fill. Nobody has to learn a different job because of their height.
What it costs you is the offensive glass and the easy two. If nobody is inside when a shot goes up, you are conceding second chances, and against a zone that sits in the paint, five players on the perimeter can end up passing the ball around the outside all possession.
What comes out of it
- Pass, cut, fill. Pass, wait a beat, cut to the rim on the top foot, and everybody behind the ball fills up one spot. One cycle, then the next player does the same.
- Backdoor. A defender who jumps the passing lane in 5-out has nobody behind him.
- Give-and-go. The oldest two-man action there is, and it works because there is no help.
- Dribble handoff at the top. A big holds the ball above the arc and hands it off, often after a pin-down on the other side.
- Ball screens with an empty side, since the corner on the weak side is the only help available.