In basketball, the point guard position is comparable to the quarterback position in football. The point guard is responsible for organizing and initiating the offense by dribbling the ball up the court, calling plays, passing to teammates, and much more. Point guards are usually the smallest players on the court.
Point guards have many roles on the floor during a game. For example, the point guard coordinates play calls by telling his teammates where to move on the court. Players are constantly transitioning between offense and defense during a basketball game and so are their roles.
When his team is on offense, the point guard is responsible for:
When his team is on defense, the point guard is responsible for:
The point forward refers to a player who can play both the small forward and point guard positions. A point forward brings the ball up the court and plays as a point guard, even though they fit the prototype of a forward. You may notice that some players have played multiple positions-basketball player positions are interesting because the roles on the court often overlap. It is not uncommon for a player to be good at multiple positions.
The following stats are often used to measure the success of a good point guard:
Although point guards are historically used for passing more than anything else, shooting point guards are becoming increasingly common in today's NBA - players like Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, and Kemba Walker often command their teams' offenses while hitting three-pointers and getting to the basket to score.
Here are some of the best point guards of all time to play basketball in the NBA:
