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The Spain PNR has been a popular topic with our community of clinicians.
As most of you know, the Spain PNR expands on the basic 2 man game by adding a third player (typically a good shooter) to screen the defender guarding the ball screener.
Its name comes from its use by the Spanish national team in recent years. A coach named Diccon Lloyd-Smith wrote an article years ago attributing the action to Coach Zeljiko Obradovic, currently at Partizan.
It’s a staple with teams across the world from the pro level all the way to high school.
I remember watching the 2015 Eurobasket Finals with Spain and Lithuania. Spain took control of the game in the first quarter with a set play action we now call Spain PNR. I immediately scribbled the play down on my notepad and have been using this action ever since in my own playbook.
Of course, there are variations and adjustments coaches have made in the past few years to make this action effective for their teams. The ability to run this action from baseline and sideline out of bounds enhances its effectiveness.
Play 1: From the head coach of the Spanish national team, Sergio Scariolo (Click on blue link to watch the clip)
Play 2: CSKA Spain BOB Play. Coach Bogan Kariaic has put together a great collection of popular baseline out-of-bounds plays. Here is one utilized by Coach Dimitris Itoudis of CSKA Moscow.
CSKA/Dimitris Itoudis - Spain P&R
Play 3: Zalgiris Ram Spain PNR. Zalgiris is a professional team based in Lithuania which has been a European powerhouse for years. Currently coached by former Maryland player Sarunas Jasikevicius, they utilize a ram screen (a screen to free up the player setting the ball screen) to set up the Spain PNR action.
Half-court set-ram screen and side Spain pick n' roll
Play 4: Coach Luka Bassin shows a stagger entry into the Spain PNR in this clip.
STAGGER entry into SPAIN PR 2 - 5 (FMP)
Play 5: Science Jena Carolina Action
As I began to do a deeper dive into the Spain PNR action, one team that I saw use it frequently was Science Jena in the German pro league. Here is a clip of their Carolina action, which adds another screen for the screener to use.
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-Coaches Clinic Community of Coaches helping Coaches
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