How Perimeter Players Can Use a Size Advantage With the ‘Barkley’ Move
As a forward or a big guard (or even a post player who may find themselves on the perimeter), you’re going to have situations in which your defender is smaller than you. You want to exploit this mismatch.
The best place to use your size advantage is close to the basket so you can use your height to get an easy shot over your smaller defender. But it’s not likely that every time you have a size advantage over your defender, your coach will call a play for you to get the ball in the post. You also might not have the freedom to interrupt the offense and post yourself up. This is where the “Barkley” can come in handy.
The Barkley, named for former NBA great Charles Barkley, is a simple, effective way for a player to move from the perimeter into an advantageous post position. Kawhi Leonard is a modern master of the move.
You can use this move from essentially any spot on the perimeter because all you need is a driving lane.
After starting your drive with a jab, rip, dribble move, etc. to create a step on your defender, you want to drive to get as close to the basket as you can. From there, you’ll slow down or stop so you can execute the most important part of the Barkley—keeping your dribble and slowly spinning so that your back is to the basket. This is how you will get into your post move.
From there, all that’s left is to keep your dribble alive and make your post move as you normally would had you caught a pass after posting up. You can also pass to find an open teammate out of the Barkley, as Al Horford does at the :25 mark in the above video.
Photo Credit: Geber86/iStock
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How Perimeter Players Can Use a Size Advantage With the ‘Barkley’ Move
As a forward or a big guard (or even a post player who may find themselves on the perimeter), you’re going to have situations in which your defender is smaller than you. You want to exploit this mismatch.
The best place to use your size advantage is close to the basket so you can use your height to get an easy shot over your smaller defender. But it’s not likely that every time you have a size advantage over your defender, your coach will call a play for you to get the ball in the post. You also might not have the freedom to interrupt the offense and post yourself up. This is where the “Barkley” can come in handy.
The Barkley, named for former NBA great Charles Barkley, is a simple, effective way for a player to move from the perimeter into an advantageous post position. Kawhi Leonard is a modern master of the move.
You can use this move from essentially any spot on the perimeter because all you need is a driving lane.
After starting your drive with a jab, rip, dribble move, etc. to create a step on your defender, you want to drive to get as close to the basket as you can. From there, you’ll slow down or stop so you can execute the most important part of the Barkley—keeping your dribble and slowly spinning so that your back is to the basket. This is how you will get into your post move.
From there, all that’s left is to keep your dribble alive and make your post move as you normally would had you caught a pass after posting up. You can also pass to find an open teammate out of the Barkley, as Al Horford does at the :25 mark in the above video.
Photo Credit: Geber86/iStock
READ MORE: