Swingman

John Havlicek, who played for the Boston Celtics in the 1960s and 70s, is an example of a swingman. However, he played before the term came widely into use.

The "swingman" concept first came into vogue in the late 1970s and early 1980s, when star players such as George "The 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 use speed and quickness to run past bigger players, and they can post up using power and length against smaller players, or they can shoot over the top of smaller players with their jump shots.

Some swingmen have been known to play both the small forward and shooting guard positions equally effectively, having the size and strength to play the small forward position, as well as the outside jump shot and quickness to play the shooting guard position. These swingmen prove to cause match-up problems and to be very difficult to guard due to their versatility.

Today, several prominent players in the NBA switch between small forward and shooting guard. Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Joe Johnson, Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady, Jason Richardson, Vince Carter, Ray Allen, John Salmons, Andre Iguodala, Danny Granger, Caron Butler, and Michael Jordan (among several others), have spent considerable time at both positions. Good examples of players from the Euroleague are Ramunas Siskauskas, Rimantas Kaukenas and Romain Sato.

In recent years, the term "swingman" has become more commonly used to describe a player who runs from one side of the baseline to the other on offense. Thus, the term "swing" means to switch sides on the baseline. Depending on context, "swing" may also mean to move the arms side to side for contact, a method Kevin Durant is known for.

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