• 45 games
  • Checked October 2026

Basketball One-Minute Games

One basketball challenge at a time, with what you need, the target to hit and a 60-second clock.

Basketball One-Minute Games

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  1. Front Hands, Back HandsYou need: a basketball. Goal: stand with your feet apart and hold the ball between your knees, both hands in front. Let go, whip both hands behind your legs and catch the ball before it lands. Then switch back to the front. Ten switches win.

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Dribbling 9

  • Autograph on the Dribble You need: a basketball, a pen, and a sheet of paper on a chair seat. Goal: keep a dribble going with one hand and sign your first name five times with the other. A stopped ball stops the pen. The judge has to be able to read all five.
  • Bottle Slalom Dribble You need: a basketball and 5 plastic bottles in a line, two steps apart. Goal: dribble in and out of the bottles to the far end and back. Three round trips win. A bottle knocked over is stood up again before you go on.
  • Crossover Thirty You need: a basketball. Goal: bounce the ball from one hand across to the other in front of your knees, back and forth, 30 crossings without a miss. Each bounce lands between your feet. A miss puts the count back to zero.
  • High on the Wall You need: a basketball and a bare wall. Goal: tap the ball against the wall above the height of your head with one hand, fingertips only, 30 taps in a row. The ball never comes to rest in your palm. Switch hands for the next round.
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Dribbling, continued

  • Sit Down, Stand Up, Still Dribbling You need: a basketball and a clear patch of floor. Goal: keep one dribble going while you sit all the way down on the floor and stand back up. Three trips down and up win. The ball never stops and is never held.
  • Swap on the Bounce You need: 2 basketballs and a partner facing you, two steps away. Goal: both players dribble on the spot. On a shared count of three, each leaves their ball bouncing and steps across to take over the other one. Five clean swaps win.
  • Two Balls, One Beat You need: 2 basketballs. Goal: dribble one with each hand so that both hit the floor at the same moment. Twenty bounces together in a row win. Start on your knees if standing makes it too hard.
  • Under the Broomstick You need: a basketball and a partner who holds a broomstick level at the height of your knees. Goal: dribble beside the stick without the ball rising above it. Forty low bounces win. A bounce that tops the stick takes the count back to zero.
  • Weak Hand Fifty You need: a basketball and a hard floor. Goal: dribble 50 times with the hand you do not write with, feet planted. A ball that gets away is fetched at a walk, and the count carries on from where it stopped.

Passing and wall work 9

  • Behind the Back to a Partner You need: a basketball and a partner three steps away. Goal: wrap the ball around your back with one hand and send it to your partner, who sends it back the same way. Eight caught passes between you win.
  • Bottles Off the Bench You need: a basketball and 3 empty plastic bottles standing on a bench or a low wall, five steps away. Goal: knock all three off with two-handed passes. Fetch your own ball at a walk. Nobody stands behind the bench.
  • Bounce It Through the Gate You need: a basketball, a partner six steps away and 2 shoes set a foot apart on the floor halfway between you. Goal: every pass has to bounce once between the shoes. Twelve caught passes win. A ball that clips a shoe does not count.
  • Full Turn Before the Catch You need: a basketball and a wall. Goal: pass the ball high off the wall, turn one full circle on the spot and catch it after a single bounce. Six catches win. Play it on a dry floor in shoes that grip.
  • High Road, Low Road You need: 2 basketballs and a partner four steps away. Goal: at the same moment, one player sends a chest pass and the other a bounce pass, so that the balls cross without meeting. Ten clean exchanges win. Call the rhythm out loud.
  • Never Your Neighbor You need: a basketball and five or more players in a circle. Goal: pass across the circle, never to the player next to you. Thirty catches before zero win it for the whole circle. A dropped ball takes five off the count.
  • One-Hand Wall Streak You need: a basketball and a wall three steps away. Goal: throw the ball at the wall and catch it with the same single hand, the other hand behind your back. Fifteen catches in a row win. A drop starts the count again.
  • Over the Head, Between the Knees You need: a basketball and a team of five or more in a line, all facing the same way. Goal: the ball goes back over the first head, between the next pair of knees, then over, then under, to the end. The last player walks it to the front. Two full trips win.
  • Square on the Wall You need: a basketball and a square of masking tape on a wall at chest height, about as wide as a pizza box. Goal: from four steps back, hit inside the square with 10 chest passes. The judge stands to the side and calls each one in or out.

Shooting at a hoop 10

  • Backboard First You need: a basketball and a hoop with a backboard. Goal: make 6 shots that touch the backboard before they drop through. Shoot from either side of the hoop, never straight on. A shot that goes in without the board does not count.
  • Catch Your Own Miss You need: a basketball and a hoop. Goal: take 8 shots from a mark three steps out and catch every rebound before it bounces twice. A ball that bounces twice ends the turn. Four makes out of the eight win.
  • Chair at the Line You need: a basketball, a hoop, a sturdy chair set four steps out and a partner. Goal: sit down and stay seated for every shot. Three makes win. The partner fetches the ball, so the shooter never has to get up.
  • Other-Hand Layups You need: a basketball and a hoop. Goal: make 4 layups with the hand you do not write with, coming in from that hand’s side. Walk the first one to find the steps. Only one player moves under the hoop at a time.
  • Rim Stays Quiet You need: a basketball and a hoop. Goal: make 2 shots that touch neither the rim nor the backboard on the way through. The judge listens as well as looks. A make that rattles the rim is only practice.
  • Shooter and Rebounder You need: a basketball, a hoop and a partner. Goal: one player shoots from a mark four steps out. The other collects every ball and passes it straight back. Eight makes win, and the two swap jobs for the next round.
  • Six for the Whole Line You need: a basketball, a hoop and a team in a line behind a mark. Goal: each player takes one shot, gets the ball back and hands it to the next in line. Six makes between you before zero win. Nobody shoots twice in a row.
  • Ten From One Step You need: a basketball and a hoop. Goal: stand one big step from the hoop and make 10 shots, fetching your own rebounds. A lower hoop is fair for younger players. Count the makes out loud so the judge can keep up.
  • Three Slow Turns, One Shot You need: a basketball and a hoop. Goal: set the ball down, turn around slowly three times on the spot, pick the ball up and shoot from where you stand, three steps out. Two makes win. Keep the floor around the shooter clear.
  • Underhand Five You need: a basketball and a hoop. Goal: shoot underhand with both hands, starting the swing from between your knees. Five makes from a mark four steps out win. The older the player, the farther back the mark.

Waste basket and paper balls 9

  • Eyes Shut, Coach Talks You need: 8 paper balls, a waste basket three steps away and a partner. Goal: the shooter shuts both eyes and stays on the spot. The coach gives directions after each miss: left, right, softer, harder. Two in win, then swap.
  • Hook Shot Over the Chair You need: 8 paper balls, a waste basket and a chair with a high back standing between you and the basket. Goal: stand side-on and lob each ball over the chair with a straight arm. Four in win. Leaning around the chair is not allowed.
  • Lob and Drop You need: 6 pairs of rolled socks, a waste basket on a table and a partner. Goal: one player lobs a sock ball from five steps away. The partner, standing by the basket, catches it and puts it in with the same movement. Six in win.
  • Near, Middle, Far You need: 9 paper balls and 3 baskets, boxes or bowls at two, four and six steps away. Goal: land one ball in each, nearest first. You may not move on to the next basket until the one before it holds a ball.
  • One Bounce Into the Laundry Basket You need: a basketball and a laundry basket four steps away, wedged against a wall so that it cannot tip. Goal: bounce the ball once on the floor so that it lands and stays in the basket. Five in win. Fetch the ball at a walk.
  • Over the Shoulder, No Looking You need: 10 paper balls and a waste basket two steps behind your back. Goal: toss each ball over your shoulder without turning your head. Three in win. One look at the basket before the clock starts is allowed.
  • Paper Dunk Relay You need: a waste basket on a chair across the room, a pile of paper balls at the start line and a team of four. Goal: each player in turn walks fast to the basket with one ball, dunks it and comes back to tag the next. Ten dunks win.
  • Tip It In You need: 5 paper balls and a waste basket on a chair. Goal: toss a ball up above the basket and tap it in with your fingertips before it comes down. Three tip-ins win. A ball that is caught and dropped in does not count.
  • Wall First, Then the Basket You need: 10 balls of crumpled paper and a waste basket standing against a wall, four steps away. Goal: every ball has to hit the wall before it drops in. Four in win. A ball that goes straight in is taken back out.

Ball tricks 8

  • Ball on Ball You need: 2 basketballs. Goal: hold one ball in both hands and balance the second on top of it. Let it sit there, touching nothing else, while the judge counts to five. Kneel on a rug so that the top ball does not go far.
  • Drop Behind, Catch Behind You need: a basketball. Goal: hold the ball behind your head with both hands, let go, and catch it behind your back at waist height before it reaches the floor. Five catches win. Keep your feet where they are.
  • Fingertip Spin for Five You need: a basketball. Goal: spin the ball on one fingertip. One spin that lasts while the judge counts slowly to five wins. Start as many spins as the minute allows. A brush from the other hand to keep it turning is allowed.
  • Fingertip Taps, Head to Knees You need: a basketball. Goal: tap the ball quickly from the fingertips of one hand to the other, arms straight, starting above your head. Lower it tap by tap to your knees and bring it back up. Three trips down and up win.
  • Front Hands, Back Hands You need: a basketball. Goal: stand with your feet apart and hold the ball between your knees, both hands in front. Let go, whip both hands behind your legs and catch the ball before it lands. Then switch back to the front. Ten switches win.
  • Through the Legs, Caught Behind You need: a basketball. Goal: with your feet wide apart, bounce the ball hard on the floor between them so that it comes up behind you, and catch it there with both hands without turning around. Six catches win.
  • Toss, Touch the Floor, Catch You need: a basketball and a high ceiling, or the open air. Goal: toss the ball straight up, touch the floor with both hands and catch the ball before it bounces. Eight catches win. Toss only as high as you can catch.
  • Waiter’s Tray Lap You need: a basketball and a chair in the middle of the room. Goal: balance the ball on the flat palm of one hand held at shoulder height, fingers open, and walk around the chair. Three laps win. The other hand stays behind your back.

How this list was compiled: An original list of October 2026: 45 one-minute challenges with a basketball, written for this page and copied from no television show and no other list. Dribbling, passing and shooting challenges are common property, so a game here may be played elsewhere under another name. The list states no facts about the sport and names no league, team or player. No game has been stopwatch-tested: every target (fifty dribbles, ten from one step, four in the basket) is a starting point for the host to raise or lower. A ball that gets away is walked after, nobody stands behind a target, and nothing is bet, won or kept. Licence: own work

How it works

These 45 basketball one-minute games need a ball, a floor and sometimes a hoop; 9 swap the hoop for a waste basket. The TV game show Minute to Win It also ran on 60-second challenges, and it has no part in this page.

Read the full guide

With a hoop, or with a waste basket

Shooting at a hoop holds 10 games, from Ten From One Step to Rim Stays Quiet. With no hoop, Waste basket and paper balls has 9 for a living room or a classroom. Dribbling (9), Passing and wall work (9) and Ball tricks (8) need no hoop either.

One-minute basketball challenges for a team party

Pairs, teams and the whole group holds 13, enough to run stations for a full squad: one at the basket, one at a wall, one on open floor. None of these targets has been tried against a stopwatch, so set each number to suit the players’ age.

  • Any ball that bounces will do, and a smaller ball suits smaller hands.
  • A ball that gets away is walked after, and nobody stands behind a shooter’s target.

Questions and answers

What are good basketball themed one-minute games with no hoop?

Wall First, Then the Basket, Hook Shot Over the Chair and Paper Dunk Relay use paper balls and a waste basket. Drop Behind, Catch Behind and Fingertip Taps, Head to Knees need only a ball.

Which games work for a whole team at once?

Never Your Neighbor takes everyone in one circle. Six for the Whole Line, Paper Dunk Relay and Over the Head, Between the Knees run as races between lines of four or five.

Which basketball games are the easiest?

13 are marked Easy. Ten From One Step, Underhand Five, Square on the Wall and Weak Hand Fifty ask for no trick at all, and a lower hoop or a nearer mark makes them easier still.

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