by E.P. Ventura

Created on: October 26, 2009   Last Updated: October 27, 2009

The point guard position is the most important position in basketball. While basketball players are often identified by height and athleticism, a point guard's creativity, poise, and grasp of the mental aspect of the game can forge the identity of a team, regardless of height, athleticism, or even quickness of the point guard.

Given that a player has the requisite point guard skills appropriate to the level of competition in a particular league, there are 4 important aspects or phases of the game in which a point guard has very specific roles. They are running the offense, defensive transition, defense in the half court, and the fast break. Even if a person isn't innately gifted with speed and athleticism, knowing these roles will help achieve victory efficiently. Running a team efficiently is the very basis for the point guard's role on both sides of the court.

Running the offense: The quality most associated with the point guard position is the player's ability to organize the offense to the coach's satisfaction. They are the coach on the floor, as is often said. Even without a coach's direction, a good point guard should be asking themselves 'How do we score with the players on the floor?' Hence, the '1' position will usually be someone who can handle play calling, or is able to initiate a free-form offense such as 'Motion', 'Flex', 'Princeton', 'Triangle', etc., given a particular situation.. On the court, the point guard will often initiate or run the offense at the top of the key, above the 3 point line. From this spot on the floor, they must be adept at identifying teammate's abilities, be cognizant of the defense's weaknesses, and have situational awareness when it comes to the game clock, the score, and the state of their own abilities to be a triple threat with the ball (i.e. shoot, dribble penetrate, or pass).

However, what is an often overlooked aspect of point guard duties is the transitioning from offense to defense. If the ball changes possession and suddenly a point guard is on his heels transitioning to defense, what do they do?

Transition defense: A great point guard will be keenly aware that they are often the last line of defense when the ball changes possession. Limiting the ability of the other team to get easy baskets off of fast breaks is just as important as well-known defensive metrics like steals or blocks, but it doesn't garner as much attention. Hence, the best approach to handling the transition is to not take chances and force

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