Basketball Positions

Nowadays, it is common to see players who are able to play multiple positions on the court. As everyone knows, there are only five players allowed on the court from each team. Each position on the court can be seen more as a role more than a position. As stated before the game of basketball has developed over the years where you can see players develop a more hybrid role and play more than one position.

Point Guard:

This person tends to be in the leadership role on the court, as he/she brings the ball up every time and runs the plays. The point guard needs to be the best ball handler, dribbler, and passer out of most of the players on the team. The point guard is responsible for bringing the ball down the court on initiate the plays. The point guard tends to be the smallest and fastest player on the team as well and uses their knowledge of the game to coordinate the offense. Not necessarily known for their shooting because that is not their primary role on the court. However it is common to see point guards take just as many shots as other players on the court too.

Shooting Guard:

This player is also one of the smaller players on the team. The shooting guard has to obtain skills such as dribbling fast, passing and having good court vision as well as the point guard would. The shooting guard also has similar skills as the point guard such as bringing the ball down the court and setting up offensive plays. The shooting guard tends to be the player who takes the most shots on the court. The shooting guard also tends to be three point specialist and accurate shooter. In terms of height, shooting guards tends to be taller than point guards and are more accurate shooters than point guards.

Small Forward:

The interesting thing about small forwards is that they usually have the skills and capabilities to play inside and outside. Skills such as ball handling, passing, court awareness, post moves, and occasional shooting.

Power Forward:

The power forward on a basketball team is usually the second tallest players on the team, who are close to the center in attributes and playing style, but is faster in speed. A power forward has the role of playing under the hoop or play in a wing or corner areas on the court. Most power forwards in today’s game tend to have a more developed shot and it is more common to see power forward shooting three pointers.

Center:

On the offensive end of the court the center is responsible to get open in the paint for an easy bucket by using techniques such as jump shots, hook shots, and be precise in using the backboard to make a basket. On the defensive end of the court the center is responsible for locking down the paint on defense by blocking shots and passes and getting rebounds.