A Swingman (also known as a Wing) is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward (the so-called "3") and shooting guard (the so-called "2") positions, and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions."[1] Swingmen males are often between 6'5" (1.96 m) and 6'8" (2.03 m).
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. By way of example, Kobe Bryant, Lebron James, Brandon Roy, Paul Pierce, Tracy McGrady, Jason Richardson, Vince Carter, John Salmons, Andre Iguodala, Danny Granger, Caron Butler, and Michael Jordan have spent considerable time at both positions. Good examples of players from the Euroleague include Ramūnas Šiškauskas, Romain Sato and Fernando San Emeterio.
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In ice hockey, a swingman is a player that can play both as a defenseman and as a forward. Examples of NHL swingmen include Dustin Byfuglien, Sergei Fedorov and Mark Streit.
| Guards | 1. Point Guard | Combo Guard (PG/SG) | ||
| 2. Shooting Guard | Guard-Forward/Swingman (SG/SF) | |||
| Forwards | 3. Small Forward | Stretch Forward/Cornerman (SF/PF) | ||
| 4. Power Forward | Point Forward (PG/SF or PG/PF) | |||
| Center | 5. Center | Forward-Center/Bigman (PF/C) | ||
| Frontcourt (SF/PF/C) | Captain | Head Coach | Referees and officials | ||||