Post Defense: Why It Still Matters (and How to Win the First Two Phases)

When most people think of post offense or defense, they imagine an old-school back-to-the-basket battle. And while that image isn’t wrong, it’s only a fraction of the story. Post defense begins long before the back-down — in the fight for positioning and the denial of the entry pass.

Because of that “old-school” image, post play is often brushed aside as outdated. Many coaches would rather spend their time on transition defense, pick-and-roll coverages, or gap principles. At the NBA level, that thinking makes sense. Mike D’Antoni once put it bluntly: “A post-up is just a contested two, and we don’t want to take contested twos.” And the numbers back him up — in the modern pro game, post-ups lag behind threes, spread pick-and-roll, and transition opportunities.

But here’s the twist: step down each level, and the story changes.

In Division I basketball, post-ups actually become more efficient than the average offensive possession. Drop down to Division III, and the margin grows even larger. In other words, the lower you go, the more dangerous post offense becomes. I’d argue this trend continues in high school and youth basketball, because playing near the basket remains one of the most reliable ways to score.

That’s why we can’t dismiss post defense. The irony is that when most coaches talk about it, they focus on the final stage — the one-on-one battle once the ball is already caught. But by then, the damage is done. Great post defense starts before the catch.

I break it into three phases:

1. Positioning – fight early to prevent deep catches.

2. Entry – disrupt vision, be slippery to seal, and anticipate the pass.

3. Back-to-the-Basket – only after the ball is secured do we battle one-on-one.

In today’s post, we’ll focus on the first two phases — the parts that prevent easy touches, keep us from scrambling, and give guards a chance to “guard up” in mismatches.