basketball

Note that basketball in this series is very heavy stylized. Sometimes, it's difficult to distinguish between skill and magic. Even if they try to give an explanation, it doesn't always hold up. So, for the sake of this write-up, I'll give the explanation given in series, but we're just going to have to assume there's something else in play.



Observation

While it's not always the most noted among his skills, Kuroko's talents are enhanced due to his ability to deduce a player's movements and patterns. Often, Kuroko is the one who's able to see through various plays and come up with a counter. While he isn't overly skilled in most areas, this talent alone helps him make use of the talent he does have.

Misdirection

Kuroko's best ability, this skill takes advantage of Kuroko's already low presence. By suppressing his presence further, urging attention onto other players, and rarely holding the ball, Kuroko is able to all but disappear on the court. This allows him to counter other skills and is one of the reasons his passes are so successful as they sometimes seem to have the direction of the ball change midair.

Later on, we kind of get some details on this. Apparently, he needs to make eye contact with the person he's passing to and by reading that, you can guess where and how he plans to move. However, this is contracted continuously leading up to the reveal so it's taken with a large grain of salt.

It isn't something without weak points, however, as the more attention Kuroko draws to himself, the weaker his misdirection becomes.

Passing

Thanks to his misdirection and observation, Kuroko excels in passing. Since he's unable to go unnoticed while handling the ball very often, he barely touches the pass before redirecting it to someone else. Often, he does this so smoothly that the audience is left unsure how the switch trajectory.



The first improved version of this is the Cyclone Pass.



Sometimes, he takes this a step further and increases the speed as well. An example of this is the Ignite Pass.



As the story continues, Kuroko develops the Ignite Pass Kai which is a pass made even more explosive by the twist of his body and hand when he hits the ball.



Stealing

Another ability afforded to him by his misdirection, Kuroko is capable of stealing and does so almost as often as he passes.



Vanishing Drive

A unique ability that he develops once he feels his limitations. Vanishing Drive allows him to seemingly vanish and reappear behind his opponent.



In reality, VD works by a combination of movement and conditions. First, Kuroko reads the eye movements of his opponent and then ducks down at odd angles to seemingly disappear. However, at the same time, Kagami ((or someone else with a particularly high presence)) has to be within the eyesight of his opponent. The odd angles and distraction work together to make it seem like he disappears.

Yes, the audience still somehow falls for it as well in spite of not being on the court or being distracted. This story doesn't always make sense.

Misdirection Overflow

Much as Kuroko can make himself 'vanish' as he passes his opponents, VDO does nearly the opposite: it makes his teammates disappear. Once his misdirection runs out because of overuse, Kuroko is able to pull attention to himself and away from his teammates, allowing them to disappear. However, if he uses this technique, his misdirection cannot be used against the same team in the future.

This can also be combined with a teammate's move sets. For example, by using it when Hyuuga uses Barrier Jumper, it makes it more difficult for Hyuuga's opponent to keep up.

Phantom Shot

Much like Kuroko's other skills, this ability makes it seem as if something is disappearing: the ball. As shown in the gif below, he shoots much like he passes: with his palm. Based on Aomine's comments, he can successful make his shots 7/10 times now.