I doubt its much beyond his height. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. -- Adande, The only players in NBA history with more games with 20 points and 10 assists are Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. Humility can often be a sign of intelligence at work, and it is with Hinrich. He also has such superior court awareness that most picks dont catch him squarely, and he just glides over them. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. Over the next four weeks, well unveil the rankings for the other four positions. He doesnt use the shortest angles when running under picks, but he takes path of least resistance instead. In his 20 seasons, Bryant. He had absolutely no help backing him up, and that inflates his objective numbers. Wayne Gretzky on the court, Nash could hurt opponents by getting rid of the ball quickly or by holding on to it for so long that the defense finally made a mistake. No one was a better passer than him. His on-court coaching and leadership is probably the biggest reason the Clippers had the eighth most-efficient defense in the NBA last year. Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. Steve Nash 7. He can be stagnant when his man doesnt have the ball. Curry has developed into much more than a 3-point specialist. He plays longer than he actually is. Despite the fact that he was unable to win an NBA championship, his charisma and dribbling prowess will never be forgotten. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. He applies his energy smartly. Some players get caught out of place, but they know theyre out of place. Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. Then, after a single down year, he had y straight years of 2 steals per . Hell go flying outside the play, right as his man catches the ball, and then hell not only have to make up that ground, but hell also have to fight through the pick. Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. Hes not looking at the ball-handler's chest, which makes him susceptible to fakes, so when his opponent breaks, Rose is momentarily frozen. He owes his charitable demeanour to a group of elementary school parents. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%, The player In fact, a player may have great individual numbers precisely because he is actually detrimental to his team. His quick feet give him tremendous lateral movement. You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. I actually looked for him to do it and couldnt find it. Players Stats: 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 1989-1990 Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. Between his height, lack of real effort on closing out and taking too long to figure out where hes supposed to be (if he ever figures it out all), he becomes the perfect storm for easy pickins. He is in charge of getting the ball into the hands of the shooters. The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. On the flip side, Westbrook's 4.13 turnovers per game average is the highest all-time, with Johnson (3. . Sometimes his teammates bailed him out; sometimes the shot just didnt go in. The foundation (the facts or stats) needs to be laid first, and then the house (opinions about how, or why, something is) is built on top of it. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, two of the better perimeter defenders in the league, often take up the responsibility for guarding the best point guards. Most of those come for one of two reasons: Either he bites on the fake and is too slow to recover, or the shooter shoots over him and he doesnt have the ups to challenge it. Stats dont make a good argument, they make a good foundation for a good argument. Thomas was ultra-quick with the ball and, at any moment, could pull up for a deadly jump shot. There is no doubt about it: Steph Curry is the second-best in the top 10 point guards of all time. He tends to do the right thing, but then hell do something kind of stupid that makes you wonder what hes thinkingeven if what hes thinking is right. In fact, its probably the most important thing. By taking the total number of plays and the total number of minutes (regular and postseason combined, because Synergy just throws it all together) we can determine how many times per 36 minutes a player was the initial defender on the play. 1. Lillard would likely be at the top of this list if measured as an offensive package as a whole. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. Im cheating a little here. Above all, the point guard must understand and accept their coach's game plan; in this way, the position can be compared to a quarterback in American football. What color was his tie? Dallas Mavericks (1994-96, 2008-12), Phoenix Suns (1996-2001), New Jersey Nets (2001-08), New York Knicks (2012-13), Honors MVP (2014-15), two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, Career stats Magic had unparalleled vision; he could see players get open and deliver the ball before they even realized they were open. Why John Stockton is the greatest NBA point guard of all-time - The Roar (I know, but it is a part of defense these days.) Top 16 Point Guards Of All-Time: Where Steph Curry Ranks? - ClutchPoints For a full game, Moncrief was capable of shutting down almost any guard in NBA history. He does all those little things that dont show up in box scores. On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. As a result of his hurling himself around the court with utter abandon, he was generally a positive when it came to help defense. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. Many remember Ginobili for his offense, but he was also a capable defender. In his first season, he specialized in defense and could stop almost every point guard in the league on a regular basis. Considering his challenges with speed, he did reasonably well with the pick-and-roll, again because of his size and strength to fight through picks. Scoring point guards typically look to score first, thus preventing teammates from getting the ball. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. If the team gives up more points while hes on the court, thats bad. Some players defined their positions. In his rookie year, he was already averaging 2 steals per game with 0.2 blocks. Mario Chalmers lacks the speed and athleticism of most point guards in the league, and as a result, he usually gets the best seat in the arena to see various point guards blowing by on the way to the rim. Not to mention that he is an elite finisher around the rim, shooting 61.5 per cent on 5-foot attempts. Always free! He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. Surely the most underappreciated great player in NBA history because he was quietly dependable rather than flashy and never broke through on the biggest stage. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers, as a "coach on the floor" or a "floor general". -- J.A. -- Doolittle, Cousy was an And-1 mix tape in black-and-white. Hes a learning player, and his extensive time sitting last year may have helped his grasp of defense as well as offense. He seemed to keep ahead of the play, moving to the next rotation a fraction of a second before the play even developed in that direction. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Do the likes of Magic Johnson and Stephen Curry rise to the top of the point guard rankings, or is it possible for someone with undeniable natural skill like Penny Hardaway to crack the elite group? In nine seasons with the Detroit Pistons, plus two with the Washington Bullets and one with the Boston Celtics, Bing gathered 18,327 points in 901 competitions (20.3 ppg). They average the number of points a player gives up when he is the initial defender, and this is represented by defensive points per play. Also, he was disliked for flopping feigning a foul to get the ball back, yet he proved to be a key ingredient to the Spurs championship-winning formula. Thats where we naturally focus our attention, so when it comes to things like help defense, we only notice if were looking for it, or if its extreme. He uses quickness to capably guard the perimeter, but thats in large part because hes not always defending the elite point guards. He only gave up .66 points per play in isolation, but he yielded .86 to the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. He led the NBA in scoring in only his second season, 1967-68, with 27.1 points per game. Players like Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving consistently cross him over and get past him. What is the difference between WAM and WAMS? The facts need to come first. Penny, a taller point guard, was an excellent dribbler and a great passer. He tends to rely on his speed to compensate for his lack of mass. The official cause of death of Flashdance singer Irene Cara has been determined. Hershey on Twitter: "SHOCKING one of the best defensive point guards of Damian Lillard (2013-Present) AP Images. His net defensive rating is fairly close to even, and slightly above average for point guards. A defensive point guard will try to accomplish this with constant pressure on the ball, making it difficult to maintain possession. He is so athletic and so strong for his size that hes been able to get away without learning lessons he should have. He appears to communicate the wisdom hes accrued to his teammates. After ball-handling, the most important areas of the game for a point guard are passing and scoring. Hes so undersized, youd think he was just some regular guy. Just telling your players to play harder and close out on threes isnt a real system. Oscar is the first triple-double king and is one of the greatest NBA players of all time, no matter what position he is playing. Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. Dennis Rodman 4. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. WAM is the foundation, and WAMS is the house. He does an air-tight job of keeping players out of the perimeter. If Westbrook could channel his energy in a consistent way, he would be an elite defender, but for now, hes just a solid defender whos kind of spazzy. There is no doubt that Stephen Curry inherited his incredible shooting ability from his father, Dell, who was a successful NBA marksman himself, but the younger Curry's game is more diverse than Dell's. Watts Van Lier Frazier Price Ward Bing White Buckner Walker Kidd Hollins Williams Cleamons Bibby Porter Buse Snow McMillan Tinsley Armstrong Knight Carter 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 97.4 97.6 98.1 99.6 99.9 100.4 100.9 101.1 101.5 101 . On pick-and-rolls when hes not set, teams have learned to expect this. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. Aside from the centre, having the best point guard is critical to improving your game because every play starts with him. Still, a first-rate point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. Hes incredibly focused while on the court, but hes always working things out in his head; they dont come automatically, and that costs him time. Here are the answers to some questions readers are likely to have. Probably the most versatile point guard in NBA history, and perhaps a tad underrated given that the focus on his assists overshadowed how valuable his defense was. The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. Williams tends to play defense, but he only seems to do the minimum. -- Adams, Combined savvy with underrated strength. Chris Paul is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of the 2010s. By: HoopsHype. The five best defensive point guards of all time | Yardbarker Thats the difference between what I call work intelligence and natural intelligence. Some people just have to work to pick things up. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. When we watch basketball, we get general impressions of defense, but the storyline is whats happening with the ball. His high rebound rate, while partly indicative of his speed is also a result of positioning, which relates to his IQ. This year, without Rose, the Bulls were 23rd, at 21.0 points per game. #VCTLOCKIN #Valorant #valorantagents #valorantgaming. Having said that, he does play team defense, too, and he is part of the team. Hes just unable able to get high enough to legitimately challenge the shot. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break and when and how to initiate the more deliberate sets. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. Coaches are responsible for developing young players, and it would have been fun to watch him grow under Doc Rivers. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. Perhaps the most unstoppable offensive player in NBA history, Jordan decimated and demoralized his foes on the defensive end. The strength of this is that it shows what the other player does offensively. While hes able to keep himself from getting pushed around when point guards, or even shooting guards, try and post up on him, hes not able to dig through picks the way the other three are. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. Does he rotate on time? In the NBA, Isiah Thomas is an amazing leader and is truly the most competitive force on the court that we have seen from a tiny guy. Point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. The house would collapse. As a point guard, Tim Hardaway was one of the most popular and respected players in the NBA during his time with the Miami Heat. The seven-time All-Star was one of the best two-way guards of his time, and his performance in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA FInals remains one for the ages. On the other hand, no matter how solid the foundation is, you cant move into it. Thats the advantage of the scouting portion. [2], Learn how and when to remove this template message, National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award, "The Olympic history of UConn's Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi", "Top 10 point guards in the NBA right now", FOXSports.com - Best all-time point guards, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Point_guard&oldid=1142307492, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 17:58. Can they play bigger than they really are? He is tremendous at using that muscle to his advantage, too. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. He surpassed the achievements of every other guard in NBA history, except Russell Westbrooks achievements. Therefore, a lower score is superior. The ripple effect of that was that every single Bull had a worse defensive rating with Boozer than when playing with Gibson. Damian Lillard's nuclear 71-point explosion Sunday night was jaw-dropping and somehow not all that surprising. Jeremy Lin is not one of the faster point guards in the NBA, and hes not particularly quick either. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. He has the speed to get there, but not the length to disrupt the shot once he does. Our booby prize winner is pictured above. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? He does such a good job of it while the ball is in front of him, theres no reason he couldnt do it after the ball-handler gets past him. Born on July 15, 1990, Damian is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. After years of being sidelined by ailments, the grandeur that should have been his was snatched from him. 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats -- Adande, Teams In fact, hes a bit of a bull on the court and tries to intimidate his counterpart. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. For his time with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson is most known for his role alongside Charles Barkley. Perhaps next year the Raptors will see better times, and well see less of that kind of behavior, but its a harmful habit to have picked up. He uses his feet and body well, steering his man into the help defense when he knows hes not able to keep up. Players Stats: 17.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 9.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 3x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 1988-1989 Most Improved Player. 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player They must also be able to adapt to what the defense is allowing and must control the pace of the game. Lets see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. Perhaps he just grew weary of Doug Collins' act. He spends too much time getting back into the defensive play because he ran himself out of it. Two NBA titles and a Finals MVP award make him one of the all-time great point guards because of his ability to score from mid-range and his propensity to attack and finish at the rim. Curry has won three NBA championships and cemented his status as the finest shooter in NBA history since becoming a superstar and two-time MVP. Hes just over 60" without shoes but has a wingspan of 67.5. Only four players in the history of the combine are as short or shorter and have at least that kind of reach. Because he is the one who touches the basketball first on every possession, the NBAs point guard has long been considered its most vital position. Right now, Westbrook's 11.2 assists and 47.5% assist rate leads the league this season. You never have to question his effort or commitment. He has trouble compensating for his lack of size when challenging jump shots. People that just do their job dont usually pitch in and help their co-workers. It would be beneficial for Westbrook to even things out and play at a consistent level throughout the game. After watching Paul play defense for a while, what stands out over everything else is that he just never stops movingliterally. Previously, Id had the impression that Rondo was beaten more often than he actually is and that Kevin Garnett just constantly bailed him out, which made his numbers look better than they are. -- Peterson, Teams Then, over 10,000 video clips were viewed and players were evaluated based on subjective criteria. Kevin Garnett 8. His lateral quickness is exceptional, making it hard for people to get around him, and thats a big part of why he is tied with Derrick Rose for the fewest points per play among qualified point guards. In the NBA, point guards generally range from 6ft 1in (1.85m) to 6ft 4in (1.93m) whereas in the WNBA, point guards are usually 5ft 9in (1.75m) or shorter. Of course having book smarts doesnt preclude you from knowing what youre doing on the court either. It was just his second season when he led the league in scoring with an average of 27.1 points per game, despite some serious injury setbacks. Hes able to stay in front of all but the quickest point guards in the league. Jack gets beat and bailed out frequently by his teammates. Finally, both are improving on the defensive side of the ball. This is especially true when closing out on defenders. The problem is that sometimes players are so inept, they skew the stats of other players. Whatever it was, Holiday was just not bringing effort on the defensive end last year. Getting paired with Tom Thibodeau has made it even better. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Bledsoe repeatedly got beatenmuch more frequently than Paulyet Odom consistently had his back, blocking or altering shots. Nowadays, the point guard is expected to do more than simply run plays; he or she must also be the teams offensive leader by putting up big numbers every night! The number in the parentheses indicates where they ranked in that category. After the opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down the court to begin an offensive play. One way of offsetting the problems of defensive rating is looking at on/off stats, meaning how many points does the defense give up while a player is on the court versus when he is off the court? Whatever else you want to say about Brandon Knight, just dont say he never tries. He does a poor job of defending the spot-up, surrendering 1.07 points per play. Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy! While Rose is slightly faster, Westbrook is slightly bigger. Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. His score would be much worse if it werent for help defense from Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Chris Andersen frequently coming to his aid. Rondos lack of a need for help defense allows Garnett to help more elsewhere. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. Players Stats: 15.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 2003-2004 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 2x All-Defensive Team Selection. He simply doesnt have the same ability as the elite point guards to get up in the air, and that hinders his ability to defend the jump shot. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. However his brilliant and consistent team defense team keeps passing lanes secure and helps prevent a lot of plays from developing the way they normally would. The Best NBA Point Guards Of All Time - The Delite He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. He could create at an elite level while also scoring off the dribble from the midrange. Some of this is hard to know whether to ascribe to Bledsoe or to his former coach, Vinny Del Negro, who hones his X's and O's skills by playing tic-tac-toe online. He uses his length well when trying to close out on jumpers, utilizing all of his elevation and his full length. We have listed down 25 of the finest point guards, so lets see who makes it to the top 10 point guards of all time. Top NBA point guards for 2022-23: Ranking all 30 starters | Sporting News TMGNNS LEBRON Sun, 4:30p DEN CLE 2/23, 4:00p BOS IND 2/23, 4:00p DET ORL 2/23, 4:00p MEM PHI 2/23, 4:30p NOP TOR. Despite making it to the Western Conference Finals last season, he is yet to make an appearance in the NBA Finals. Exceptions were made for Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Andrew Bynum and Kevin Love because they have all been All-Star players, and all are still, at least by age, in their prime. Chalmers is 62 and 190 pounds, which is about average size for a point guard. Point guard - Wikipedia That Paul was able to keep the Clippers on track through much of the season with the ever-changing defensive schemes the team had is pretty miraculous. For many of these metrics, sample size becomes crucial. 50 Greatest Point Guards In NBA History - msn.com Either way he chases the ball until he catches it. -- Pelton, Perhaps the most incredible part of the Big O's triple-double season is that he finished third in MVP voting (behind winner Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 PPG). Needless to say, you dont see a lot of LeBron-Jamesian-chase-down blocks from Conley. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. He is going to get beaten, without question. His 48.8 DWS is 48th all-time and the fourth most by a point guard. It is really hard to say anything about Lowrys help defense. Great size made him impossible for most. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. Its no surprise that the best point guards in the NBA have more than just the ability to pass the basketball. Although Drexler never made an All-Defensive Team in his career, he did average two steals per game for his 15-year career. Tim Duncan