Brad Stevens "Winner" Set
A complete breakdown of the origins & specials from Brad Stevens famous Winner set at the end of games.
Brad Stevens “Winner” set has been one of the best sets at the end of games for not only his teams at Butler & Boston and is now being used and tweaked by almost every coach in every league. In this breakdown, we are going to dive into the original play that he first ran at Butler in 2012, as well as the counters and variations that have developed from it. Included in this breakdown are the issues that come up when the play is not executed properly & some awesome counters including a FILTHY counter from the Pistons this year!
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This action of course has matriculated into European basketball as well with coaches like Željko Obradović, Igor, and others using it for scores late in games. Here is a great breakdown from Diccon Lloyd-Smeath's (DLScoaching) Article on BCL teams using it, & Podcast breaking it down later in the video.
Full Video Breakdown:
Butler Original | November 2012
The original play from Butler that I found was in the 2012 Maui Invitational against Marquette with Butler down 3 with 13 seconds left.
Even though the setup and execution is not that complex, the defense is caught unprepared for this action. The hardest part of this play is the execution of the pass over the top to the weak side, but this is the most crucial action of why this play works.
Watch the defender who is at the top (25) now guarding the player setting the screen for the shooter - he has completely turned around and not looking at the screen so he cannot help or switch off to get out and contest the shot.
This set looks gorgeous when it is run correctly, but throwing this pass and executing this action can be tricky. The Clippers ran a play last night for Paul George to seal his man with a look like this and the pass was…um…off.
One of the other issues is when teams are ready for this play or switch great at the end of games, for instance here the Rockets switch the top action on the screen and it results in an ISO or post up.
Dallas Mavericks | January 2013
The next example I saw from the Mavericks was in January a couple of months later, when they were down 3 to the Thunder with 5 seconds left. We can see here the pass was tougher to execute and off-target - although the play still resulted in a made 3.
In the same game, the Mavericks went to it again, but notice how Russ switched the low screen and took the play away which resulted in a tough look that ended up not coming close or counting.
Michigan | 2014
Michigan and John Beilein went to this action when needing a score down by 1 against Purdue with 3 seconds left, with the subtle twist on the low-screen action looping it around to free up a better passing angle. With little time and Purdue guarding it well, there was only time for an attack and a layup to win the game.
Below are the other examples along with the timeline that I have found:
Milwaukee Bucks | 2014
Boston Celtics | 2013-20
Golden State Warriors | 2019 NBA Finals
Oregon Women | 2019
Detroit Pistons | 2019
Liberty | 2019
Los Angeles Lakers | 2019
Argentina | 2019 World Cup
Philadelphia 76ers | 2020
Seton Hall | 2020
Miami Heat | 2021 NBA Playoffs
ASVEL | 2021 Euroleague
Louisville | 2021
Winner Counters
Boston Celtics | Diamond Clear
The Celtics had to come up with different entries and variations on the Winner play, so they went to a Diamond look that had a backscreen take aways some of the help and created a little more confusion.
Boston Celtics | Flare DHO
Another variation the they ran as an after time out in the bubble was a Flare into a hand off for a look for 3.
Atlanta Hawks | Winner Slip
The Hawks ran a counter that had a stagger screen up top with a slip to the rim to create a layup look, as well as confusion on switching for the defense.
Sacramento Kings | BOB Winner
The Sacramento Kings ran winner our of baseline out of bounds look - while I don’t trust this pass, the Kings ran it effectively for Hield 3’s.
Detroit Pistons | Winner Spin Hammer
The final counter that I want to show is this AMAZING Hammer play by the Pistons on opening night. This was so clever and cool, I love everything about this one!
Thanks,
Coach Pyper