If Meryl Streep played basketball: point guard, rated 84

Meryl Streep as a basketball player: scouting report

Meryl Streep holds the record for the most Academy Award nominations of any actor, and that kind of consistency is exactly what a coach wants from a lead guard's jumper. She plays point guard, but she plays it as a scorer. Her basketball IQ is the top mark on her card and her shooting is right behind it, so she reads the defense, comes off a screen and knocks down the shot when the help arrives a beat late.

She trained at the Yale School of Drama and is famous for the depth of her preparation, including the many accents she has mastered for different roles, and she would study an opponent's scouting report with the same care. Her playmaking is strong too, which makes her very hard to cover: close out hard and she drives and kicks, sit back and she buries the shot. With three Oscars, for Kramer vs. Kramer, Sophie's Choice and The Iron Lady, she has shown again and again that she knows how to finish a performance.

Athleticism is the lowest mark on her card, and rebounding is close behind it. She will not win races down the floor or battle bigger players for boards, so she plays a half court game built on footwork, pump fakes and a quick release. Shooting guard is a natural second home, since her jumper travels anywhere; small forward asks too much physically. Take her early as your primary scorer and creator, then surround her with an athletic defender, a rebounding big and a slasher who can punish defenses that sell out to stop her shot.

Plays like A deadeye lead guard who rarely misses an open look

Put Meryl Streep in your lineup

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