Man to man defense is a type of basketball defensive system that emphasizes each defender guarding a certain offensive player, typically based on their respective basketball positions, to ultimately limit or prevent scoring opportunities near the basket or near the perimeter areas of the court.

In fact, due to the great outside shooting of professional players, every NBA team almost exclusively plays man-to-man defense. The man-to-man defense involves all 5 defensive players on the court being allocated one opposition player who they’re accountable for defending whenever they’re on defense.

Man-to-man defense, often referred to simply as “man defense,” is a defensive strategy in basketball where each defender is designated to guard a specific offensive player from the opposing team. Unlike zone defense, where defenders guard an area of the court, man-to-man defense is all about individual matchups.

Man-to-man defense in basketball is a defensive strategy that involves each defensive player guarding an individual offensive player. Thus, every offensive player is guarded. Man-to-man defense is extremely popular in all levels of basketball, and is used by every NBA team and most NCAA teams.

Man-to-man defense is still the primary defensive scheme in the NBA, and some coaches use it exclusively. Technique When defending the ball (i.e. guarding the man with the basketball) away from the basket in basketball, players typically should use a version of the following technique: the defender stands and faces the opponent.