The 5 Positions of a Basketball Team

At all times during an organized basketball game there are always five men or women on the court for both sides, now this does not always apply to "pickup" games played in various locations that can be 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, and 4v4. Each person on the court is one of five different positions. Now I will note that in today's game many strategies and newer concepts have gone away from the traditional five clear-cut position team, to things such as "small ball", in which the players on the court are all relatively small for all five positions but I will not be discussing that in this post. In the list below we will talk briefly about each of these five positions.

1. Point Guard (PG)
The point guard is generally the smallest of the five positions and most times is tasked with being the leader of the team on the court, what I mean by this is that his particular set of skills is focused around leading the offense of the team. The point guard's main job is to set up chances or opportunities for his or her teammates. To do this a point guard must be a good facilitator, what this means is they must be a skilled passer so that they can find an open teammate and be able to get them the ball at the right moment, in the right spot to score the basketball. Another important skill for point guards is the ability to handle the ball extremely well. Point guards are generally good shooters as well but the really good point guards usually have a pass-first mindset.

(Chris Paul)

2. Shooting Guard (SG) 
The other guard on the team is the shooting guard. Shooting guards are, if you haven't guessed yet, usually the shooters of the team. They are usually fantastic spot up shooter, shooting from a certain spot after receiving a pass, as well as good at creating their own shots, usually shooting off a dribble. Shooting guards are also fairly gifted with ball handling ability as well.

(Ray Allen)

3. Small Forward (SF)
Now we get to the bigger guys on the court, starting with the small forwards. Small forwards are usually bigger than the two previous guards but smaller than the power forward and center, they are basically in the middle. For this reason the small forward is seen as the most versatile of the five positions. They are good at scoring the basketball but usually from mid-range and attacking, or dribbling to, the basket. Even though they are bigger than the guards, small forwards still have speed and athleticism as well.

(LeBron James)

4. Power Forward (PF)
Power forwards, much like the small forward, are a pretty versatile players, playing a style of basketball mirroring closely to the center. A lot of the power forwards time is spent close to the paint/post, or area of the court closest to the rim. They have a variety of moves allowing them to score from close to the basket as well as from mid-range, if need-be. The power forward is the first of our five positions who has an emphasis on rebounding. This requires them to be bigger and stronger than the previous three positions.

(LaMarcus Aldridge)

5. Center (C)
Finally, to the center. The center is the usually the biggest and most dominating player on the court in regards to size and strength. They are sometimes considered the anchor of the team. Their job is to score extremely close to the basket, usually only a few feet out, and to grab rebounds. Another important role of the center is to be a rim protector, this involves staying close to the basket on defense to either block or disrupt any shots the other team may get close to the basket. Traditionally centers are big and dominating as I mentioned earlier but as the game has evolved many centers are much more versatile, acting almost like a second power forward.

(Shaquille O'Neal)