Iverson Cut

One-line: A wing cuts ACROSS the FT line off two elbow screens to receive the ball on the opposite wing.

How it works

1. Two bigs at the elbows (Horns alignment)
2. Wing starts on one wing, cuts hard across the FT line off both elbow screens
3. Catches on the opposite wing, attacks immediately (or flows into a ball-screen)

Why it works

• Catches the wing's defender in two screens
• Sets up a downhill catch (defender behind, momentum forward)
• Often combined with an immediate ball-screen ("Iverson into PnR")

Variations

• Iverson + ball-screen — most common; wing catches and gets a screen from one of the elbow bigs
• Iverson into post-up — wing posts the trailing defender
• Iverson + flare — wing flares back for a kick-out 3

Defense counters

• Top-lock the cutter — make him take the long route
• Switch both elbow screens (cleanest)
• Pre-call coverage in the huddle (it's almost always an ATO)

When to call it

• ATO out of timeouts (most common)
• After made baskets when a guard needs to get going downhill

Famous practitioner

• Allen Iverson (76ers) — Larry Brown built half the offense around it

See also

• offense/horns.md, concepts/off-ball-screens.md

Sources & further reading

Verified citations (this file's content can be checked against)

• What is an Iverson Cut in Basketball? (Explained) — Basketball For Coaches — full breakdown of the cut across both elbows, when to use it, and common follow-up actions (PnR, post-up, flare). Matches the file directly.
• The Basketball Action Dictionary — Medium — defines Iverson Cut (aka "Over") as a horizontal cut from one wing to the other off elbow screens, commonly from Horns or 1-4 High.
• VIDEO Zipper Iverson Cut — Philadelphia 76ers (Larry Brown / Allen Iverson) — YouTube — film of the original 76ers usage that gave the action its name.

Recommended further reading for staff

• FastModel Sports playbank — search "Iverson" for many ATO variations including Iverson into Spain, Iverson into ball screen, and Iverson flare.
• Allen Iverson — Wikipedia (background on the Larry Brown era 76ers offense): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allen_Iverson

Verification notes (Claude)

• The Larry Brown / Allen Iverson attribution for the name is universally accepted in coaching circles and on multiple independent sources.
• The file says "Larry Brown built half the offense around it" — this is colorful but defensible: the 2000–01 Finals 76ers leaned heavily on Iverson cuts and Iverson series sets. Don't treat the "half" literally.
• The "top-lock the cutter" counter is correct but not always practical against elite scorers; switching the elbow screens is the more common pro response.