Swingman
| Basketball Positions | |
| Point guard | |
| Shooting guard | |
| Small forward | |
| Power forward | |
| Center | |
| Additional Positions | |
| Swingman | |
| Point forward | |
Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions. Whereas 6'9" (2.06 m) Larry Bird was a natural small forward and 6'7" (2.01 m) Reggie Miller was a natural shooting guard, some versatile players such as 6'6" (2.0 m) Kobe Bryant can "swing" between the two positions.
The "swingman" concept first came into vogue in the late 1970's and early 1980's, when star players such as George "Iceman" Gervin defied traditional pigeonholing into the 2 or 3 position. The best swingmen use their "in-between" height and athleticism to exploit defensive mismatches: they will run past bigger players, and post up or shoot over smaller players. Michael Jordan, was another notable swingman as was his teammate Scottie Pippen and some of the most popular players in the NBA today are natural swingmen, including All-Stars Tracy McGrady, Vince Carter, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, and Paul Pierce.
A swingman who handles the ball and runs the offense--and thus combines the skills of point guard, shooting guard, and small forward--is called a point forward. Scottie Pippen is arguably the most celebrated point forward of all time. Today, LeBron James, Boris Diaw and Lamar Odom are the most notable point forwards.
