What Does A Center Do In Basketball? (Explained!)

A “center” is a player who is one of the five players on the court whose job is to score. Centers are usually very tall (6’7″ or taller) and extremely strong. They are usually the best rebounders and shot blockers in the game. 

A center is a player who is closest to the basket. If there are five players on a basketball team, the centers are the ones who play within three feet of the rim. Centers usually have long, powerful arms and are extremely strong. They are generally among the heaviest players on a team. Centers have an essential job in basketball. Their primary responsibilities are to rebound (catch and hold) all shots taken at the rim and protect the paint (the area just inside the three-point line).

Centers are the last line of defense for their team. If a player gets past one of them, it is almost sure that the opponent team will score the basket.

Why is a center important in basketball?

Compared to other positions on a basketball team, centers have the most responsibility. They have to be in total control of every aspect of the game. Suppose they make only half-hearted attempts to rebound a shot or allow an opposing player to get past them.

In that case, it can very quickly turn into a very lopsided game. If a center makes a weak or ineffective attempt to block a shot, it is also likely to lead to an easy basket for the opposing team. The opposing team simply has to drive the ball and find an open space and then shoot it. This is especially true if the opposing team has a big man who can quickly go past the centers. 

Is Center a good position in basketball?

As a result of all this, most basketball experts believe that the Center is one of the most critical positions on the court. Because of this, many people think that being able to play Center well is more important than playing any other position. Basketball players who can play Center are usually considered to be among the best overall basketball players.

They can score, pass, rebound, defend and even run the court with the best of them. There are several ways you can learn how to play basketball better by simply studying the game of basketball. But, there is one fundamental way to learn how to play better basketball that will take a little more effort. This will help you when you are on the court with your friends or in a competitive situation. The way you do this is by paying close attention to the centers. 

Is Center the hardest position in basketball?

For the same reason, it is also one of the most rewarding positions. Once you learn how to play basketball well at the center position, it is hard to imagine playing anywhere else. Even though the center position requires so much skill, it is still possible for a center to make abysmal decisions from time to time. Bad choices like these can really hurt your team.

But, if you learn to recognize bad decisions before they become too costly, you will soon find yourself making fewer and fewer bad decisions as you gain more and more confidence on the court. So, by making a wrong decision as a center, you might just find yourself being replaced by a better player. This is one of the cruel realities of basketball.

Another reality is that players with much more talent than you will always be able to outwork you. This is especially true if you are not in the best of physical condition. It is important to remember that basketball is a game of constant movement. If you are not constantly moving, you are going to lose. 

What makes the job of the Center difficult is basketball?

Everything about the game of basketball is difficult. Playing defense against the best point guard in the world is extremely difficult. Stopping the best player on your opponent’s team from scoring is extremely difficult. Making the right pass in the right situation is extremely difficult.

Shooting the ball from the outside is extremely difficult. And so on. But there is one area where the Center shines. This area is defense. To be good at defense means you must possess above-average leaping ability, great lower body strength, and the ability to make seemingly impossible block shots. The most important attribute of a good defense is the heart.

You need the heart to keep running back on defense after you have blocked a shot, even though all it takes is one quick step for the opponent to recover and get the ball. You need the heart to dive into the floor for a loose ball, even though you will get slammed around and probably hurt.

You need the heart to crash the offensive glass, even though it will certainly result in an automatic ejection from the game. And you need the heart to chase down a long rebound with two guys running back on defense, even though it almost surely will result in your being stripped of the ball and your team losing the game.

How do you become a good basketball center?

What’s more, how do you become the best basketball center that you can ever be? That’s what I’m going to teach you in this section.

How To Become A Great Basketball Center In Six Easy Lessons!

Lesson #1: Become Stronger Than The Opponent You Are Going Up Against As I said earlier in this book, one of the keys to being a great defensive player is being able to block out all distractions and being able to focus totally on the opponent who is trying to score on you.

But there is another key to being a great defensive player. And that is being stronger than your opponent. Being stronger physically than your opponent means you will be able to deflect his shot attempts and also be able to come up and meet him for a block or a rebound if he gets a shot off.

But being physically stronger than your opponent also gives you an enormous psychological advantage. It lets you know you are not someone to be trifled with. It lets your teammates know they can rely on you to be there for them whenever they need you. How do you become stronger than your opponent?

There are two ways: The first way is by lifting weights. Lifting weights will increase your strength in every part of your body. It will make you much more powerful than you would be otherwise.

The second way is by getting all the shots of your life. Playing against better competition will do that for you. Either way will work. What I want you to do right now is pick one way to get stronger (by lifting weights or by playing against better competition) and then do whatever it takes to make sure you follow that plan.

Don’t try to do both at the same time. Just do one or the other. Pick one. It doesn’t matter which one. Just pick one. The important thing is to make yourself as strong as possible.

Lesson #2: Great Defensive Players Are Also Great Scorers On the other side of the ball, a great offensive player must also defend his position on the court. But what is different is a great offensive player will also be able to score from any position on the court.

He will be able to drive to the basket, pass to a teammate, take a hit from the top of the key or the low post, shoot from three-point range, or take charge. All of these things are part of being a great offensive player. But a truly great offensive player will also be able to do all this with such supreme confidence he will become virtually unstoppable.

But there is one more important quality a great offensive player must-have. And that is the ability to recognize when he is not playing well and to adjust accordingly. A really good offensive player will know exactly what it takes to play great, and he will work extremely hard to make sure he is always in that state of mind. He will be constantly aware of what he does well and what he needs to work on. He will not sit around waiting for something magical to happen. 

Lesson #3: To be a great offensive player, you must learn to think like a great offensive player. You see, a truly great offensive player will not wait for things to come to him. He will go get them instead. So, how do you become one of these players?

Well, the first step is by reading a book written by one of these players.

The second step is by watching hours and hours of videotape of these players in action.

But, guess what? Suppose these two methods don’t work for you. In that case, the best way to learn to think like a great offensive player is simply by playing a lot of great offense against very good defensive opposition. It might sound odd, but playing great defense against great offensive teams will force you to think like a great offensive player.

Remember this: Offense wins games, but it is the nature of the game today that the best offense wins the most games. So if you want to win at all in basketball (and almost all serious players do), you must learn to be the best offensive player you can be. This does not mean you have to score 100 points per game.

Lesson #4: The first step to being a great offensive player is to know your weaknesses. The best way to find out what you are good at and what you are bad at is to play many games. So find a couple of great offensive players and have them critique your game.

Listen to what they say and work on those things until they no longer bother you. After a while, you will develop a sense of your own game. And that will go a long way in helping you become the best offensive player you can be. But don’t stop there. Just keep working. Never, ever, stop improving no matter how good you already are. There’s always someone better than you. So keep trying to get better.

Keep looking for new ways to be more effective. This constant search for improvement will make you a much more complete player. You will become a great offensive player with a great sense of the overall flow of the game. And this complete awareness will serve you well no matter what position you play on the court. No matter where on the floor the action is taking place.

So there. Those are the four cornerstones upon which an unstoppable offensive attack is based. As I said at the beginning of this letter, basketball is a game that can be won or lost in the trenches. And these tips should help you win more games than you lose.

Lesson #5: Don’t think you have all the answers. One of the biggest mistakes players make when learning how to play offense is they try to do everything themselves. They forget that to be a good team, you must share the ball. If you have good offensive skills, be smart enough to know when it’s time to pass the ball. Don’t force the issue if the defense is overplaying a certain part of the court.

Let your teammates come off their screens and run down the court with the ball. Don’t become a “me” player. Instead, be a “we” player. A “team” player. And the best way for you to become that kind of player is to keep your head in the game and not try to do everything yourself.

Trust your teammates to make plays. Give them open looks. And let them make decisions. If they miss, they will come back to you for another shot. But if they make the shot, great! It’s now a matter of spacing out the defense and running our play.

Lesson #6: Trust Your Feelings. One of the biggest mistakes players make when learning how to play offense is they force things too much. They’ll watch a certain play thousands of times in their mind’s eye. But then, when they get to crunch time, they can’t “feel” the flow of the game.

They get “stuck” on the details. Or they try to force things instead of letting things unfold naturally. It happens almost every time. The player will say to himself, “I’ve got this. I know exactly what I’m supposed to do. I’m going to force this situation.”

Then, when it doesn’t go his way, he gets very frustrated and the game quickly becomes a disaster. But here’s the deal: You must learn to trust your feelings. In other words, you must trust your instincts. Instincts are a much better guide than reason. If you play with “head-in-the-game” awareness, you won’t have to think about much of anything. Your “feelings” will take over.

Should Centers shoot three-pointers in basketball?

Should Centers shoot three-pointers in basketball? Yes, They should, provided Centers have mastered the other fundamentals of the game. The fact is, when you make a three-pointer, you give your team a much-needed advantage.

And, there is no reason why a great offensive player should not take advantage of this situation. On the other hand, if you are a power forward who cannot shoot or a point guard with no ball-handling ability, you probably should not even attempt to shoot three-pointers. In this case, your role on the team is to go get the ball and quickly dispose of it so your teammates can run an offense designed to score points. 

What position gets the most rebounds?

Center is one of the positions that get the most rebounds due to his height, but tall players also get the most offensive rebounds due to their height. A really good rebounder will always be in the right place at the right time, and he will be there to put the ball back in play for his team. 

In a perfect world, every player on the court would be equally skilled, but that’s not the case. Some players are just naturally better than others. If you’re playing against a team with a dominant big man (like the San Antonio Spurs), your goal should be to slow him down as much as possible. This will force the rest of your team to perform at an extremely high level.

And, if they can do this, you’ll have a very difficult time scoring enough points to win the game. The easiest way to stop a good post player (someone who excels at rebounding) is to deny him the ball. If you have a bigger or taller player that’s capable of blocking out the post, then, by all means, use him to do so. But, in most cases, it’s not practical to have a player of your size or height on the court with the post player.

Conclusion

What Does A Center Do In Basketball? He Scores! He Scores A Lot! And what does a great offensive center do? He Scores Even More! He Scores So Many Points His Team Can’t Ignore Him, And He Forces The Defense To Pay Attention To Every Move He Makes!

By being the best offensive player you can be, you will dramatically improve your overall game. You’ll become a more effective passer, a better ball-handler, and a more dangerous scorer. But, there’s a catch. To be great at offense, you must also learn to play great defense. And, to play great defense, you must know the fundamentals of the position you are defending against.