HOW HAS THE ROLE OF GUARDS,

FORWARDS, AND CENTERS EVOLVED IN

THE NBA SINCE THE 1950s?

Editors Note: In this statistics project, Dylan P. (17) explores the role of
guards, forwards, and centers over the course of the NBAs history
Definitions
WS = Win Shares
an estimate of the number of wins contributed by a player.
TRB = Total Rebounds
The total amount of offensive and defensive rebounds a player gets (per game in this context)
AST = Assists
The average amount of passes that directly lead to a score (per game)
PTS = Points
The average amount of points scored by a player (per game)
FG% = Field Goal Percentage
The percentage of shots made
TS% = True Shooting Percentage
True shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into account field
goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.
Things to note
I chose the players with the 20 highest points per game for each season and then
found the average win shares, points, total rebounds, and assists per game

I also found the average Field Goal % and True Shooting % of these players
Expectations & Observations
I expected the center position to be much more dominant earlier on and thought guards would not be as important because
in the earlier days of the NBA players were less skilled so height mattered much more than it does now.

I was shocked to find that centers were not at their peak (in terms of per game stats or shot efficiency) during the 50s and
60s.

Another thing I noticed was that players were much more inefficient in the earlier years. This makes sense because initially
there wasnt enough money in the league to devote their entire life to playing basketball but as time went on players could
practice more and more and hone their skills.

Additionally, I was not surprised that TS% were at their highest from the 1980-81 season and on. This is because in 1979
the 3 point line was added in the NBA and true shooting percentage is a measure of shooting efficiency that takes into
account field goals, 3-point field goals, and free throws.
Comparison Observations
As you can see by my line graph that shows the average amount of win shares by season for each
position, the center position was much more dominant (because they contribute more wins to a team) in
the earlier years while the guard position has become more dominant recently.

The average amount of total rebounds for the center position has declined because initially they were the
tallest on the court and no other position came close but as time went on the league became taller as a
whole and players refined their skills and were able to get rebounds by boxing out taller players.

The average amount of assists by guards has decreased over time and the average amount of assists by
forwards has increased since the 1950s because nowadays taller players (forwards) have started to
become ball handlers and run offenses.

Centers scored the most points initially because everyone was less skilled so height mattered more but as
time went on guards and forwards began to score more than centers. Guard and Forward scoring peaks
after the 1980-81 season because of the implementation of the 3 point line which allows guards and
forwards to score more and space the floor, limiting the production of centers.
Works cited
Stats from
Basketball Statistics and History | Basketball-Reference.com. (2017). Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 3 April 2017, from
http://www.basketball-reference.com/

Some Definitions from

Glossary | Basketball-Reference.com. (2017). Basketball-Reference.com. Retrieved 3 April 2017, from
http://www.basketball-reference.com/about/glossary.html
Links to Raw Data
Guards data:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1mWerkIkk7Jb8Xx6aFDIp9MW4V_gYp0abtxfdrWI-onA/edit#gid=0

Forwards data:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1kmjk5Czs8khsosr6GZQ9AteqK05l7VvI9VaVBtWYT8o/edit#gid=0

Centers data:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1DHg-rnJpahwYwl2-s7p6gGfCNYjoHJpi4zCLvP9rhh0/edit#gid=0