Stretch four

Dirk Nowitzki, pictured in 2008, was well-known for his outside shooting ability as a seven-footer.

In basketball, a stretch four (sometimes called a stretch big) is a player at the power forward position that can shoot farther from the basket than a conventional power forward. "Stretch" describes the effect that such a player has on the opposition's defense, and the power forward position is also known as the "four"; hence "stretch four". The stretch four is a fairly recent innovation in the NBA (with an "explosion"[1] of players coming through since the 1999–2000 season),[2] but is still becoming increasingly common in today's game, as many NBA coaches now use the "small-ball" line-up/tactical play.[3]

  1. ^ Hayes, Patrick (13 March 2013). "The 'Stretch 4s' of the '90s speak on today's perimeter-oriented big men". sbnation.com. VOX Media. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Player Season Finder". basketball-reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved 5 November 2014.
  3. ^ Harper, Zach (15 October 2013). "Stretch-4s in the NBA: The balance between stretching and defense". CBS Sport. CBS. Retrieved 5 November 2014.