“Exit Screen”
Term: Exit Screen
Definition: a baseline screen for the cutter to cut to the corner
Synonyms: Corner Pin-In
See Also: Ram, Hammer Screen
How It Works: In the diagram above, 5 is near the dunker spot/low block, facing the hoop, when he sets an exit screen for 2 to cut to the corner
Why It Works: Exit Screens have a number of uses. Most simply, an exit screen can lead to a corner 3, which NBA players made just under 40% of the time during the 2020–21 season (39.3%, according to Cleaning the Glass). Excluding shots at the rim, corner 3s are perhaps the best shots in NBA basketball.
But exit screens have a number of other uses. One, a nonstretch big can space the floor by setting an exit screen. When a big is in the corner or dunker spot, his defender might cheat off him to provide off-ball rim protection. But that leaves him out of position to help against an exit screen.
In this example, Clint Capela moves from the corner to the dunker spot to set an exit screen for De’Andre Hunter, who has just set a ballscreen. Because Capela’s defender, Ivica Zubac, cheats off Capela to be closer to the rim, he’s out of position to help prevent Hunter’s 3:
The Jazz frequently run ATOs out of Horns that start with Rudy Gobert in the corner, not at one of the elbows. When Gobert’s there, he usually sets an exit screen:
Exit screens are also used to confuse or remove the “tagger,” the weakside help defender in pick-and-roll coverage responsible for tagging, or bumping, the roller as he rolls to the hoop. In this example, posted by @coachkylebrown on Twitter, the exit screen prevents the tagger from stopping the lob to the roller:
The decoy exit screen is a favorite ATO for James Borrego’s Charlotte Hornets. These next four clips are of the same play, Ram Ghost PnR, in which the decoy exit screen removes the tagger and is the reason Miles Bridges is open for the alley-oop:
Examples:
Chin Exit:
Away Reject Exit:
Motion Strong Twirl Exit:
Ram Ghost Exit:
UCLA Exit:
77 Spain Veer Exit:
77 Ricky → Exit:
Horns Twist Exit:
