A tweener in basketball is a term, sometimes used derisively, for a player who is able to play two positions, but is not ideally suited to play either position exclusively, so he/she is said to be in between. This term is most commonly used only at the highest level of basketball competition, where players must combine extreme physical talent with specialised basketball abilities. A tweener has a set of skills that does not match the traditional position of his physical stature. This article is about the sport. ... The five tactical basketball positions normally employed by organized basketball teams are: point guard, shooting guard, small forward, power forward, and center. ...

NBA.com's definition of 'tweener is as follows: The National Basketball Association, more commonly referred to as the NBA, is the worlds premier mens professional basketball league and one of the major professional sports leagues of North America. ...

"This word is derived from the word "between", as in a player is between the height of a guard and a forward. "Tweeners" often have the skills of a big man, but the height of a guard. Though only six foot five, Charles Barkley, a tweener, was one of the NBA's greatest rebounding power forwards."

A player who is ideally suited to play two positions is often referred to as a swingman. This article is about the basketball player. ... Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions; and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions. ...

Power Forward/Center (Forward-Center)

This tweener has the skills of either a Center or a Power Forward but is usually stronger than traditional Power Forwards and quicker than traditional Centers. Many times C/PF tweeners are used to create match-up problems. Amare Stoudemire is an example of such a player. Other prominent players who switch between Power Forward and Center are Jermaine O'Neal, Emeka Okafor, Tim Duncan, Dirk Nowitzki, and Dwight Howard, among others. This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. ... Amare Carsares Stoudemire (born November 16, 1982 in Lake Wales, Florida) is an American All-Star professional basketball player for the NBAs Phoenix Suns and the USA National Team. ... Jermaine L. ONeal (born October 13, 1978, in Columbia, South Carolina) is an American National Basketball Association player who currently plays for the Indiana Pacers. ... Chukwuemeka Ndubuisi Okafor, abbreviated as Emeka Okafor (born September 28, 1982, in Houston, Texas), is an American professional basketball player playing at power forward and center for the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association. ... Timothy Tim Theodore Duncan (born April 25, 1976 in Christiansted, St. ... Dirk Werner Nowitzki (pronounced ) (born June 19, 1978 in Würzburg, Germany) is a German professional basketball player who plays for the Dallas Mavericks of the National Basketball Association. ... Dwight David Howard (born December 8, 1985, in Atlanta, Georgia[2]) is an American basketball player for the Orlando Magic of the National Basketball Association (NBA). ...

Small Forward/Power Forward (combo forward)

Traditionally a PF/SF tweener refers to a basketball player whose physical attributes and skills render him/her unsuited to play either the power forward position or the small forward position. For example the player may be too short, or lack sufficient strength, to play power forward effectively; while being not quick or athletic enough to play the small forward position. Some examples are Antoine Walker, Lamar Odom, Antawn Jamison, Marcus Fizer, Drew Gooden, and Al Harrington. They have the skills to play either forward position, but do not necessarily fit either forward position exclusively. They can be too big for most opposing small forwards to guard them and have a skill set that small forwards traditionally have (ex. outside scoring ability). A typical example of a European combo forward was Toni Kukoc. Power forward is a position in the sport of basketball. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Antoine Devon Walker (born August 12, 1976, in Chicago, Illinois, United States) is a Chinese-American professional basketball player with the National Basketball Associations Minnesota Timberwolves, his fifth team since his NBA career started in 1996. ... Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6, 1979, in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward (also plays both forward spots and is a point-forward) for the National Basketball Associations Los Angeles Lakers. ... Antawn Cortez Jamison [pronounced an-TWAHN] (born June 12, 1976, in Shreveport, Louisiana) is an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... Darnell Marcus Lamar Fizer (born August 10, 1978 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American professional basketball player. ... Andrew Melvin Drew Gooden[1] (born September 24, 1981 in Oakland, California) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Cleveland Cavaliers of the NBA. A 610, 250 lbs. ... Albert Harrington (born February 17, 1980 in Orange, New Jersey) is a professional basketball player currently playing for the NBAs Atlanta Hawks. ... Toni Kukoč (born September 18, 1968 in Split, Croatia) is a renowned basketball player. ...

Shooting Guard/ Small Forward (Guard-Forward)

See also: Swingman

This tweener isn't suited to exclusively play either small forward or shooting guard. For example, he may be too short to play small forward, but lacks a guard's jumper or ball-handling skills to play the two-man. To counter this, this tweener could play as a swingman. Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions; and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. ... Swingman is a basketball term denoting a player who can play both the small forward and shooting guard positions; and, in essence, swing between the shooting guard and small forward positions. ...

Some swingmen have been known to play both the small forward and shooting guard position effectively, having the size and strength to play the small forward position, as well as the outside jumpshot and quickness to play the shooting guard position. These tweeners are known to cause matchup problems, and have proven to be very difficult to guard. Such players are Josh Howard, Kobe Bryant, and Tracy McGrady. Joshua Jay Howard (born April 28, 1980 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina) is a 6 7 NBA small forward for the Dallas Mavericks. ... Kobe Bryant (born August 23, 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. ... Tracy Lamar McGrady, Jr. ...

Shooting Guard / Point Guard (combo guard)

"Tweener" may also describe a player who combines the attributes of a shooting guard and point guard but does not fit the prototype of either position. Such guards usually play a shooting-guard-type game (looking more to score than to pass) but lack the height to guard opposing shooting guards and the skills to direct an offense that a "pure" point would display. Such players are also known as "combination (combo) guards". But after the success of Dwayne Wade during 2004-5 season, there has been less stigma attached to the term and many current elite prospects are combo guards (Randy Foye, Eric Gordon, O.J. Mayo, Jarred Bayless). The Shooting guard (SG), also known as the two or off guard,[1] is one of five traditional positions on a basketball team. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Most commonly, shooting guards are called 'tweeners' when considered too short for NBA-level competition. Conversely, they are unable to play point guard successfully at the highest level of professional basketball due to a lack of the mental specialization and understanding of the game that this position requires. These players are often referred to as being "a shooting guard trapped in a point guard's body." Some good examples of this are Allen Iverson, Gilbert Arenas, Baron Davis, Jason Terry, Juan Dixon, Steve Francis, Eddie House, John Paxson, Steve Kerr, Danny Ainge, and Luther Head. This is in stark contrast to pass-first type point guards who traditionally play the position such as Jamaal Tinsley, Jason Kidd, Andre Miller and Steve Nash among others. A great example of a European combo guard is Panathinaikos' Vasileios Spanoulis. Dwyane Wade is also a combo guard, despite being a pass first guard and also being a shooting guard. Allen Ezail Iverson (born June 7, 1975, in Hampton, Virginia[1]), nicknamed A.I. and The Answer, is an American professional basketball player for the Denver Nuggets of the National Basketball Association. ... Gilbert Jay Arenas Jr. ... Baron Walter Louis Davis (born April 13, 1979, in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player currently starting at point guard for the NBAs Golden State Warriors. ... Jason Eugene Terry (born September 15, 1977 in Seattle, Washington) is an American professional basketball player currently playing with the Dallas Mavericks. ... Juan Dixon (born October 9, 1978 in Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.) is an American professional basketball player currently with the NBAs Portland Trail Blazers. ... Steve DShawn Francis (born February 21, 1977 in Silver Spring, Maryland,[1] U.S.) is an American professional basketball player for the Houston Rockets of the NBA. Nicknamed The Franchise[2] and self-described as Steve-O, with his on-court and off-court antics generating considerable controversy throughout... Edward L. House (born May 14, 1978 in Berkely, California) is a professional basketball player currently with the NBAs Phoenix Suns. ... John MacBeth Paxson (born September 29, 1960 in Dayton, Ohio) is a retired American basketball player. ... Stephen Douglas Steve Kerr (born September 27, 1965 in Beirut, Lebanon) is a retired American professional basketball player. ... Daniel Ray Ainge (born March 17, 1959 in Eugene, Oregon, USA) is a former professional basketball and baseball player who played in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, and Phoenix Suns, and also in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue Jays. ... Luther D. Head (born November 26, 1982 in Chicago, Illinois) is an American professional basketball player for the NBAs Houston Rockets. ... Jamaal Tinsley (born February 28, 1978 in Brooklyn, New York) is an NBA basketball player, currently playing point guard for the Indiana Pacers. ... Jason Frederick Kidd (born March 23, 1973) is an American professional basketball player in the NBA. After earlier stints with the Dallas Mavericks and Phoenix Suns, he is currently the New Jersey Nets starting point guard and captain. ... Andre Lloyd Miller (born March 19, 1976 in Los Angeles, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Philadelphia 76ers of the NBA. Miller played collegiately at the University of Utah for four years. ... Steven John Nash, OBC (born February 7, 1974),[1] is a Canadian professional basketball player who plays point guard for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... The Euroleague (EL) is the highest caliber professional basketball league in Europe, with teams from thirteen different European countries. ... Main article: Panathinaikos Panathinaikos Basketball Club (Greek name: , transliterated into English: K.A.E. Panathinaikos) is the basketball team of the Athens-based Greek sport club Panathinaikos. ... Vasilios (or Vasilis) Spanoulis (Greek: ) (born August 7, 1982, in Larissa) is a Greek professional basketball player who was acquired via trade and then released by the San Antonio Spurs of the NBA. Spanoulis was originally selected by the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA in the 2nd round (50th overall... Dwyane Tyrone Wade, Jr. ...

Basketball positions v • d • e
Guards		1. Point guard	Tweener (PG/SG)
		2. Shooting guard	Swingman (SG/SF)
Forwards		3. Small forward
		4. Power forward	Point forward (PG/PF)
Center		5. Center	Forward-center (PF/C)