Buckley is the only son of
Jim Buckley, who was a midfielder for Carlton in the 1970s and 1980s. Jim played 164 games for Carlton and was a member of the
1979,
1981 and
1982 premiership teams. Because of his father's career, Buckley was eligible to be drafted by Carlton under the
Father–Son Rule. The club had informally committed to recruiting Buckley in early 2010, more than eighteen months before he was eligible to be drafted. Buckley was formally recruited under the Father–Son Rule in October 2011, with Carlton able to use its last selection in the
2011 National Draft (a third-round selection, No. 62) to recruit him. Buckley made his debut in Round 3 of the
2013 season, starting the game as a
substitute. Buckley kicked a goal with his
first kick in AFL football and finished the game with 5 disposals, but that was his only game of 2013. In 2014, Buckley started the season with an outstanding game against the Richmond Tigers in Round 2, gathering 18 disposals and 6 tackles, and was nominated for the
AFL Rising Star award; however, he only played a further 7 games for the season. 2015 was a breakout year for Buckley, cementing his spot in Carlton's best 22, playing 18 games and kicking 5 goals for the season. His highlight of the season included a career-high 23 disposals against
Fremantle in Round 16. 2016 saw Buckley struggle with inconsistent form and injury, only managing 11 games for the year, but he had a career-high three goals against the
Demons in round 22. At the conclusion of the 2017 season, in which Buckley only managed to play a single game, he was delisted by Carlton. However, he was later selected by the Greater Western Sydney Giants via the 2017
rookie draft. He went on to play a further two games for the Giants in 2018, including a game where he kicked two goals against Essendon in Round 10, which was also his last game in the AFL. He was delisted by Greater Western Sydney Giants at the conclusion of the
2019 season. When asked what it meant to play in the AFL, Buckley repeatedly said '6-7' while waving his hands. This was a possible reference to recent podcast guest and close friend, The Lorax == Personal life ==