If Whitney Houston played basketball: shooting guard, rated 75

Whitney Houston as a basketball player: scouting report

Whitney Houston would play shooting guard, and she would play it with the cleanest form in the building. Her voice was famous for control, the ability to hold a note steady and then lift it exactly when the song needed it. A great shooter works the same way: the same mechanics every time, then the extra lift when the defense closes out. Her shooting and her basketball IQ are the top two marks on her card, which is the profile of a guard who scores without wasting a dribble.

She already knows how to deliver in a stadium. Her performance of The Star Spangled Banner before Super Bowl XXV in Tampa in 1991 is still the version people measure every other anthem against, and that is the poise you want from the player taking the last shot. Her playmaking is respectable too, good enough that she can bring the ball up and run a simple set, and moving her to point guard costs only a little. Her record run of seven straight number one singles in the 1980s says she can stack makes in a row.

Athleticism is where her card dips, and her defense is modest, so she needs help on the perimeter. Pair her with a long, quick wing who takes the toughest matchup and a center who protects the rim behind her. Small forward is a stretch for her game, so keep her in the backcourt. Draft her in the middle rounds as a specialist who changes games with her shooting, then run her off screens. The Bodyguard soundtrack became one of the best selling albums ever, and a drafter who builds around her jumper gets that same kind of hit.

Plays like A pure shooter with flawless mechanics and big game poise

Put Whitney Houston in your lineup

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