If Madonna played basketball: center, rated 80

Madonna as a basketball player: scouting report

Madonna studied dance at the University of Michigan on a scholarship before moving to New York in 1978, and that training is why she would play center in an unusual way. She is not a back to the basket bruiser. She is a mobile big who wins with footwork, timing and the ability to stay in front of guards on a switch. Her basketball IQ is the best part of her card and her defense is right behind it, so she anchors a scheme and talks everyone else into position.

Her whole career has been reinvention, from Like a Virgin to Ray of Light to Confessions on a Dance Floor, and a coach can reinvent her role from night to night as well. Her playmaking is strong for a big, so she can run dribble handoffs at the top of the key and find cutters from the high post. Athleticism and rebounding both grade out well, which means she finishes defensive possessions on the glass instead of just contesting the shot. Few centers can guard the pick and roll and then start the break.

Shooting is the honest weakness, the lowest mark on her card. Defenders will sag off her when she catches the ball outside, so she should screen, roll and pass rather than float on the perimeter. Power forward is nearly as good a fit as center, and her passing even makes point guard a real option at a modest cost, which is rare flexibility for a big. Pair her with a sharpshooting guard and a stretch forward who keep the floor open, and let her run the defense from the back line.

Plays like A mobile point center who switches onto anyone on the floor

Put Madonna in your lineup

8 rolls, a starting five and a bench, 82 games. Can you go 82-0? Free, no account.