Run and gun is a style of basketball which involves a very high pace of play. It was most famously used by the Loyola Marymount men's basketball team in the late 1980s under coach Paul Westhead.[1].
Run and gun basketball is often thought of as a system of offense but it actually involves a combined offensive and defensive philosophy. Offensively, the team moves the ball forward as quickly as possible and takes the first available shot, often a three-pointer. Westhead's teams tried to shoot the ball in less than seven seconds. The aim is to shoot before the defense is able to get set. Defensively, the team applies constant full-court pressure. Generally, the team is willing to gamble on giving away easy baskets for the sake of maintaining a high tempo.[1] Another common feature of run and gun basketball is frequent substitutions, (sometimes all five players at once) to keep players fresh and to confuse the opposing teams.[2]
The most successful use of the system was by Loyola Marymount in 1990 when they advanced to the Elite 8 of the NCAA Basketball Tournament, beating the defending champion Michigan 149-115 along the way. The style has been used at some other teams. Coach Westhead tried, rather unsuccessfully, to implement the system in the NBA with the Denver Nuggets in the early 90s. The system has been imitated by other college teams, including Grinnell College[2][3].
Teams playing the run and gun basketball style are known for scoring, and giving up, huge numbers of points. While using the system, the Denver Nuggets averaged a league-best 119.9 points per game in 1990-91, and also surrendered an NBA record 130.8 points per game, including 107 points in a single half to the Phoenix Suns, which also remains an NBA record.