Post-ups are being used less often than ever, yet the play has quietly become the NBA’s most productive half-court option, outperforming isolations, handoffs and even the pick-and-roll during the 2025-26 season.
Fewer attempts, better results
League tracking shows teams are running just 4.0 post-ups per 100 half-court possessions this season, down from 11.8 in 2013-14. While volume has plunged by roughly two-thirds, efficiency has soared. Since 2022-23, possessions featuring a post‐up have averaged 103 points per 100 chances; overall half-court possessions sit four points lower at 99.0. Through early December, the gap has widened to 4.9 points.
The improvement is partly attributed to selection bias. “Only stars,” an Eastern Conference executive said, still receive regular touches with their backs to the basket. Last season Nikola Jokić alone accounted for 5.7 percent of all league post-ups, and his dominance lifted the NBA’s overall post-up efficiency by 1.1 points per 100 possessions.
Porziņģis flips the narrative
In December 2019, then-Dallas coach Rick Carlisle called post-ups “a low-value situation” for 7-foot-3 Kristaps Porziņģis. Six years later, the Latvian center admits Carlisle was right at the time—Dallas averaged just 0.92 points on his post touches in 2019-20, ranking 37th among 46 high-volume post players. Since revamping his footwork and focusing on drawing fouls, Porziņģis leads the league at 1.26 points per post-up from 2022-23 to the present.
“If he said that now, he would probably be wrong,” Porziņģis said with a grin after scoring 27 points in an Atlanta loss at Chicago.
Mismatches drive modern post play
Coaches are calling post-ups primarily to exploit switches. In 2013-14, 31 percent of post-ups involved a size mismatch; that figure is 55 percent this year. Extreme mismatches—centers attacking guards—have jumped from 1 percent to 11 percent of all post-ups.
Porziņģis sees smaller defenders on 57 percent of his post possessions, a key factor in his league-leading efficiency. Sacramento’s Domantas Sabonis noted that punishing switches keeps opposing defenses honest: “If we can’t convert or get the ball to the big, it’s a big advantage for the other team.”
Guards join the party
It is not only big men thriving inside. Among players with at least 400 tracked post-ups, Jrue Holiday, DeMar DeRozan and Devin Booker rank in the top five for points per play, thanks in part to their ability to pass out of double-teams. “It’s deadly when you know how to use it,” DeRozan said.
Coaching flexibility over dogma
Atlanta’s Quin Snyder, whose Utah and Hawks teams usually ranked near the bottom in post frequency, now sits 15th because Porziņģis “deserves so many touches,” he said. Detroit coach J.B. Bickerstaff framed the shift succinctly: “If you’ve got guys that are uniquely gifted, you’ve got to put them in positions of strength.”
San Antonio rookie star Victor Wembanyama often receives the ball near the elbow to create space before backing down. Spurs coach Mitch Johnson said the club tries to “blur the traditional sense” of a post-up by starting actions on the move rather than with a static entry pass.
Veterans urge young players to learn the block
Chicago center Nikola Vucević believes a basic post game remains essential: “Teams switch a lot more now, and you’re going to have to take advantage.” Indiana forward Pascal Siakam, ninth in total post touches and averaging a career-best 24.5 points, echoed that confidence: “I feel like I’m hard to guard there, and I’ll keep doing it until they stop me.”
Even Carlisle, once the loudest critic of the play, now lists Jermaine O’Neal, Dirk Nowitzki, Luka Dončić and Siakam among stars he trusts on the block—evidence that, in the NBA’s perpetual tactical tug-of-war, yesterday’s outdated idea can become today’s competitive edge.
Source: ESPN
