pickup basketball rules: the unwritten rules explained

Walk up and ask "who's got next?" If someone has it, ask if they need one. If nobody does, say "I got next" and the next game is yours to fill.

Whoever has next picks the rest of the team from the people waiting. Taking players off the team that just lost while others are standing there waiting is bad form.

Stay by the court so people know you're there, and keep track of who's ahead of you. If you just lost and others are waiting, you usually sit out the next game.

Don't shoot around at the other end during a full-court game. Long rebounds and fast breaks will come your way.

Calling next is a waiting line, and apps that organize pickup games use the same idea. In Scrim, a full game has a line: when a spot opens it goes to the next person, and close to tip-off they get 15 minutes to take it.

When a run starts from scratch, players shoot to make teams. Everyone lines up at the free-throw line or the top of the key, the first five to make it form one team, and the next five are the other. Some gyms shoot for captains instead, and the captains pick.

The same trick settles first possession. One player shoots from the top: a make is your ball, a miss is theirs. On some courts the team that won the last game gets the ball first.

In most pickup games a basket inside the three-point line counts 1 and a shot from outside counts 2. Games go to small totals, and regular 2s and 3s would end them too fast.

It also changes what an outside shot is worth. In a regular game a three is worth one and a half twos. In 1s and 2s a deep shot is worth double, which is why one college rec center calls its run "a game that showcases the outside shooter."

FIBA's 3x3 game uses the same split, 1 inside the arc and 2 outside, with games to 21. Some runs still play 2s and 3s to a higher total, so ask.

There's no game clock and no shot clock. A game lasts as long as it takes one team to reach the target score.

Common targets:

• 11 by 1s and 2s, win by two
• 12 to 15 when people are waiting, sometimes 16 for the first game of the day
• 21 in some half-court games

Win by two is the usual rule, and some courts add a cap so a game can't drag on: one rec center plays to 12, win by two, with a hard stop at 18. When the line is long, some courts play "straight up," where the first team to the number wins.

Here's what to ask before the first check:

With make-it-take-it, the team that scores keeps the ball. It goes back to the top and they attack again. It keeps half-court games quick, so more people get on.

With loser's ball, sometimes called loser's out, the team that got scored on gets the ball, like a regular game. Full-court runs play this way: the other team inbounds and goes the other direction.

In half court, any change of possession means the new offense has to take the ball back behind the three-point line before it can score. Whether a block or an airball needs taking back varies by court, so ask.

Half-court possessions start with a check at the top of the key. The defender hands or bounces the ball to the offensive player and says "check," which tells everyone the defense is set and play is live. On some courts it's the other way around: the offense passes to the defender, who passes it back.

The ball also goes back to the top for a check after a foul.

The player who got fouled calls it, and the defender is expected to own up instead of arguing. There are no free throws. The fouled team takes the ball back up top and checks it in.

Call real fouls only. Pickup has a lot of contact, and calling every bump or a small travel slows the game and wears on people. Charges and other offensive fouls are rarely called at all.

If the two sides can't agree, shoot for it. One player takes a shot from the top, and a make keeps the ball. Players call this "ball don't lie."

When someone yells "and one" after a layup, it's usually noise. It isn't a foul call.

The winning team keeps the court and plays whoever has next. The losers go to the back of the line.

Some courts limit how many games in a row a team can stay on. If there aren't enough people waiting to make a full team, players from the losing side can fill the gaps, sometimes by shooting for the spots.

A few more habits keep a run friendly:

• Say who you're guarding on the first possession.
• No full-court press and no cherry-picking in a casual run.
• Say the score out loud after every basket so nobody argues about it later.
• Bring a ball if you have one. The best ball on the court usually becomes the game ball.

Ask your local rec center or YMCA when open gym runs, check your city's parks schedule for outdoor courts, or start a weekly run of your own. Scrim lists public pickup games near you, soonest first, with the names, faces and spots left, so you know who you're playing with before you take a spot.