Roles in the NBA: There’s always room for a big man, but his role has changed

Based on an analysis of playing statistics for two different seasons, NBA players can be classified as filling distinct roles, such as scorers, bangers, dishers, inner court members, and walls. These roles have a great deal of face validity and correspond to distinct offensive and defensive playing styles. In addition, the roles players fill are not necessarily tied to unique positions. The nature of the game may be subtly changing. NBA teams no longer rely on a physically dominant center. The roles of the big men have become more varied over time. Teams can improve their performance by having a balanced role structure. Analysis of a team’s role structure provides useful guidelines for selecting draft choices and executing trades.