The principal offensive skills necessary to any player, besides adept dribbling or ball control, are passing and shooting. Passes to teammates, which may be thrown overhand, underhand, or laterally, include push passes, behind-the-back passes, jump passes, and bounce passes. A pass that leads directly to a basket being scored is called an assist.

Perhaps the most important basketball skill, however, is the ability to shoot accurately. Among the types of shots in the standard vocabulary of modern basketball are the lay-up, made overhand or underhand and as close to the basket as possible; the jump shot, in which the shooter leaps into the air before releasing the ball; the hook shot, an arched shot made over the head with one arm, generally as the shooter is moving away from the basket; and the dunk shot, in which the shooter leaps into the air and slams the ball directly into the basket. The set or stationary shot, once popular when play was slower, is extremely rare today. Foul shots are usually made overhand from the foul line.

Rebounding is the art of out-positioning opponents to gain possession of the ball off the backboard, when a shot has been missed, or to tap the ball into the basket for a field goal after a missed shot. A high-speed offensive attack over the length of the whole court is called a fast break and is calculated to outrace the defending opponents for a quick score. Also essential in basketball is the pick, or screen, whereby players position themselves (set a pick) so as to impede the movement of a defensive player, thus freeing a teammate for a clear shot at the basket.

Generally speaking, offensive strategy may involve deliberate patterns of attack, or a looser, more improvised style of play. In each case the object is to evade the opposition and work for an easier shot at the basket, or to pass to an open, or momentarily unguarded, player to facilitate a scoring chance.