Center

The Big Man 

The tallest player on the team is almost always the center. Height is important in basketball. It helps you get off shots, block shots, and get rebounds. Of course other skills and attributes are very important as well, but, as many coaches are fond of saying, "you can't teach height". The center will play the closest to the basket and be playing against the other team's tallest player. 

Skills needed 

Shot blocking: The center is generally the team's best shot blocker. Strong shot blocking from the center is important to keep smaller players from coming into the lane to take easy shots. If the center keeps blocking their shots, they will stay away and try more difficult shots from the perimeter. 

Rebounding: Although the power forward is often the main rebounder on a team, the center is generally near the top of this statistic. The center plays right under the basket and has many opportunities to rebound the ball. The center should be a strong rebounder. 

Posting Up: On offense, centers play with their backs to the basket. They post up. This means they establish position near the basket, receive a pass, and then make a move (like a hook shot) to score. Many of the great scorers in basketball have been centers including the all-time career scoring leader Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and the player with the most points ever in a game Wilt Chamberlain. 

Passing: Centers can help their team a lot by learning how to pass. Once a center has proven he can score by posting up, they will often be double teamed. A center that can find the open player when double teamed can help their team score. 

Important Statistics 

Blocked shots, rebounds, and scoring are all important for a center. A good center should excel in at least one of these stats. You may want to focus on scoring, but consider that Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics is considered to be one of the best shot blockers as well as rebounders in the history of the NBA. He also led his team to 11 NBA championships. 

Top Centers of all time

• Wilt Chamberlain (LA Lakers)
• Bill Russell (Boston Celtics)
• Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (LA Lakers)
• Shaquille O'Neal (LA Lakers, Orlando Magic)
• Hakeem Olajuwon (Houston Rockets)

Other names for the Center

• The Post
• The Five-spot
• The Big Man

Power Forward

The Bruiser 

The power forward is often one of the most physical players on the court. Hence the name "power" forward. They play close to the basket, fighting for rebounds and posting up on offense. Power forwards should be tall, strong, and aggressive. 

Skills Needed 

Rebounding: The primary skill for a power forward in basketball is rebounding. If you want to be a good power forward you should build up your strength and practice rebounding, especially boxing out techniques. Being a good rebounder is also a state of mind. You need to believe that every ball is yours. So having the right attitude is important for the power forward. 

Posting Up: Power forwards work mostly inside on offense. They play with their "back to the basket". This means that they often have their backs to the basket, facing the player with the ball. Defenders are usually behind them keeping them from having an open lane to the basket. Power forwards need to post up. They muscle their way in for position under the basket, receive the input pass, and then make a post up move to shoot. 

Jump Shot: Some power forwards also develop a jump shot. This helps keep the defense honest. They can't just stay under the goal and wait for you if you can make a 12-15 foot jump shot. This skill has helped many average power forwards become great. Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks has made himself into a premier NBA power forward by having a nearly unstoppable jump shot. 

Shot Blocking: Although not as important a skill as for centers, power forwards also need to have some shot blocking ability. They are generally the second tallest player on the court and need to keep the little guys from getting easy shots off inside the lane. 

Important Statistics 

Rebounds per game (RPG) is usually the most important stat for the power forward. It's their main job and if they are getting rebounds, then the team is likely suffering. In some cases the power forward is so strong in other areas, like scoring, that lower rebounds are okay and the rest of the team must pick up the slack. 

Top Power Forwards of All Time

• Tim Duncan (San Antonio Spurs)
• Karl Malone (Utah Jazz)
• Dirk Nowitzki (Dallas Mavericks)
• Bob Pettit (St. Louis Hawks)
• Charles Barkley (Philadelphia 76ers)

Other names for the Power Forward

• The Four-spot
• Strong Forward
• Enforcer

Small Forward

The Jack of All Trades 

The small forward does everything on the basketball court and needs to have a well-rounded set of skills. You could call him a Jack of all trades. He handles the ball some, rebounds, shoots from the outside, the inside, and plays defense on the perimeter and inside. 

Usually the middle player in height, the small forward is generally smaller than the power forward and center, but taller than either of the guards. 

Skills Needed 

Well-rounded: The small forward needs to have a strong well-rounded basketball skill set. They have to help out with the ball handling, grab rebounds, make an open jumper, and mix it up inside on defense. 

Specialty: To be a great small forward you need to be good at everything, but also great at something. Some small forwards excel as defensive stoppers, others at shooting and scoring, while others are top rebounders. If you want to be a small forward, work on the total basketball skill set, but pick one skill that you are really good at and make it your personal specialty. 

Important Statistics 

The small forward needs to have decent stats in all areas. You should be getting rebounds, assists, and scoring. If you are especially good in one area, it really helps, but to be a strong small forward you will contribute in all aspects of the game. A great stat to shoot for is the triple double. If you can get double figures in three stats, you'll know you are doing an excellent job. 

Top Small Forwards of All Time

• Larry Bird (Boston Celtics)
• Julius Erving "Dr. J" (Philadelphia 76ers)
• Elgin Baylor (LA Lakers)
• LeBron James (Miami Heat/Cleveland Cavaliers)

Other Names

• Swingman
• The "Three"

Shooting Guard

The Scorer 

You can tell from the name that the shooting guard's main job is to shoot the ball. This has become especially important since the three point line was added. Getting scoring from the shooting guard is a key to a good offense. A strong shooting guard can force the defense to play on the perimeter, opening up passing lanes to get the ball inside. 

Skills Needed 

Shooting: The number one skill you need to be a good shooting guard is a pure jump shot and the ability to make three pointers. You have to be able to sink open shots consistently and be willing to take them when the game is on the line. If you want to be a shooting guard you should shoot lots of jump shots, work on taking shots with a quick release as well as taking shots directly after receiving a pass without dribbling. 

Move Without the Ball: Since the point guard will have the ball more, shooting guards need to learn how to move without the ball. This means moving around the court and working off of screens to get open. 

Defense: A strong defense helps all players, but the shooting guard will likely be playing the best shooter from the other team as well. A strong defense can shut down their best player and give your team an advantage. 

Ball Handling: Although not the primary ball handler (that is the point guard), the shooting guard still needs to be an excellent ball handler. Handling the ball well can help when trying to get the ball up the court against the press. It can also help when creating your own shot off of the dribble. 

Important Statistics 

Field goal percentage and points per game are the top stats for measuring the performance of a shooting guard. Three point field goal percentage is important as well. A well rounded shooting guard will also have decent assist and rebound stats, too. 

Top Shooting Guards of All Time

• Michael Jordan (Chicago Bulls)
• Jerry West (LA Lakers)
• Kobe Bryant (LA Lakers)
• George Gervin (San Antonio Spurs)
• Reggie Miller (Indiana Pacers)
• Dwayne Wade (Miami Heat)

Michael Jordan was not only the greatest shooting guard of all time, but also the best basketball player of all time. This shows you how important a position the shooting guard can be. 

Other names

• Two-guard
• Off guard
• Wing

Point Guard

The Leader 

The point guard is the leader on the floor. He takes the ball up the court and gets the offense started. The point guard can score, but his main job is to distribute the ball to the other players and get the rest of the team involved in the offense. Point guards should be unselfish, smart, and good leaders. 

Skills Needed 

To be a good point guard you need to be an excellent dribbler and passer. Quickness is important as well, so you can get the ball up the court as well as play defense against the opposing team's point guard. 

Dribbler: If you want to be a great point guard, the first thing to work on is your ball handling. You need to be able to dribble with either hand, at full speed, with your head up. You can't be looking down at the ball while dribbling because you need to be ready to make that quick pass when a teammate is open. 

Passing: A point guard must be able to pass the ball with accuracy. This includes getting the ball into players posting up on the blocks, hitting the wing man for an open shot, or a perfectly timed bounce pass on the fast break. You have to think pass first, shoot second. 

Quickness: Speed and quickness are great assets to the point guard. With speed you can get up the court fast on a fast break. Pushing the ball off the dribble can put pressure on the other team and get them on their heels. Quickness will allow you to dribble around the defense and find open players. 

Smarts: Point guards should be smart. They have to be the coach on the floor, calling out plays and keeping the offense under control. 

Important Statistics 

Although statistics don't tell the whole story about the point guard, assists and turnovers are generally important stats. Also important is the assist-to-turnover ratio. This is how many assists the player has per how many turnovers. The higher the number the better, showing that the player has many more assists than turnovers. 

Top Point Guards of All Time 

Some of the top NBA point guards of all time include:

• Magic Johnson (LA Lakers)
• John Stockton (Utah Jazz)
• Oscar Robinson (Milwaukee Bucks)
• Bob Cousy (Boston Celtics)
• Steve Nash (Phoenix Suns)
• Walt Frazier (New York Nicks)

Most people consider Magic Johnson to be the greatest point guard of all time. He was 6'7" tall and redefined what a point guard was in the NBA. 

Other names

• Ball handler
• Play maker
• General
• Quarterback

Player Positions

The rules of basketball do not define any specific player positions. This is different from many other major sports like football, baseball, and soccer where at least some players must be in certain positions during the play of the game (the goalie in soccer, for example). So the positions in basketball are more part of an overall strategy of the game. There are 5 traditional positions that most teams have in their offense and defensive schemes. Many players today are interchangeable or can play many positions. Also, many teams have rosters and players that allow them to try different set ups like a three guard offense, for example.

The five traditional basketball player positions are: 

Point guard: The point guard is the team leader and play caller on the basketball court. A point guard needs good ball handling skills, passing skills as well as strong leadership and decision making skills. Traditionally basketball point guards were small, fast players and this is still often the case. However, Magic Johnson changed the way point guards were used. He was a big 6-8 player that used his height and size to get great passing angles. Magic's success has opened the door for all sorts of point guards. The key to a strong point guard today is leadership, passing, and running the team. 

Shooting guard: The shooting guard in basketball has the main responsibility of making long outside shots including the three-point shot. The shooting guard also should be a good passer and able to help the point guard with the ball handling. Shooting guards are often the top scorer on a team. Perhaps the best shooting guard in the history of basketball was Michael Jordan. Jordan could do it all, from scoring to defense to rebounding. It's this versatility that makes a great shooting guard, but all shooting guards should be able to extend the defense with their outside shot. 

Small forward: Along with the shooting guard, the small forward is often the most versatile player on the basketball team. They should be able to help with ball handling, make an outside shot, and get rebounds. The small forward is often a great defensive player as well. The combination of height and quickness can allow them to defend a number of positions and take on the best scorer on the opposing team. On many teams today the small forward and the shooting guard are almost the same position and are called "wing" players. 

Power forward: The power forward on a basketball team is usually responsible for rebounding and some scoring in the paint. A power forward should be big and strong and able to clear out some space under the basket. Many great power forwards in the game today do not score a lot of points, but lead their team in rebounds. Power forwards are often good shot blockers as well. 

Center: The center is usually the biggest or tallest member of the basketball team. In the NBA, many centers are 7 feet tall or taller. The center can be a big scorer, but also needs to be a strong rebounder and shot blocker. On many teams the center is the final line of defense. Many of basketball's greatest players (Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Kareem, Shaq) have been centers. A strong center presence was long considered the only way to win an NBA championship. In modern times, many teams have won with other great players (Michael Jordan), but a strong center is still a prized basketball position on any basketball team. 

Bench: Although only 5 players play at a time on any basketball team, the bench is still very important. Basketball is a fast paced game and players need to rest. A strong bench is key to any basketball team's success. In most games at least 3 players from the bench will play a significant amount of time. 

Defensive Positions: 

There are two main types of defensive basketball strategies: zone and man-to-man. In man-to-man defense each player is responsible to cover one player on the other team. They follow this player wherever they go on the court. In zone defense, players have certain positions or areas of the court they cover. The guards usually play at the top of the key with the forwards playing closer to the basket and on opposite sides. The center usually plays in the middle of the key. However, there are a wide variety of zone defenses and combinations of zone and man-to-man that basketball teams play. Teams will often switch defenses around during a basketball game to see which works best against a particular opponent.