A point guard primarily defends on the perimeter, just as they primarily play on the perimeter on offense. Even his athletic scores dont indicate greatness. A decade of playing and a plethora of injuries havent helped him get any faster. I doubt its much beyond his height. And do they try and recover when they get beaten? That all-around game made Kidd one of the league's top point guards for nearly 20 years. The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Of course, sometimes his opponent scored, too. Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. 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. . Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. Occasionally hell chase the play after hes been beaten, but not always. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. Like last time . Follow Sports Brief on Twitter for more trending and breaking news! Synergy tracks every play of every game of the season and, when possible (as it is not always possible), they assign an initial defender on a play. Just because someone gets past him doesnt mean theyre going to score. -- Peterson, He was the forerunner of Magic Johnson and LeBron James, and it's telling that both of those stars revere the Big O. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. 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. The average score by point guards was 16.1. You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. He does so by using positioning, skillful footwork and what lateral quickness he does have (which is a liberal use of the word "quickness") to minimize the damage. If someone goes past him, hell usually just wave goodbye. Over the last decade, the best point guards such as Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and others have dominated the position. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. His quickness and slim frame allow him to slip through gaps in the defence and create more opportunities for himself. Phoenix Suns (1996-98, 2004-12), Dallas Mavericks (1998-2004), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-15), Honors Two-time MVP (2004-05, 2005-06), eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, Career stats Does he know when to help and not to help? Teams Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. During each of his five NBA championship rings, he was one of the finest players in the league. He manages to defend the pick-and-roll reasonably well by doing something I can only call bouncing over picks. The corresponding WAM or WAMS scores indicate how many points a group of like-skilled players on the court would theoretically give up in 100 possessions. The defensive stats arent a good way to determine the totality of defense, but they are a factor and shouldnt be ignored. He is easily one of the physically weaker players in the league, even for his position. When he does do it, he does it half-heartedly. Conley is generously listed at 61 and 180 pounds. Perhaps the most unstoppable offensive player in NBA history, Jordan decimated and demoralized his foes on the defensive end. There arent many point guards in the league who can match Roses pure size and strength. Humility can often be a sign of intelligence at work, and it is with Hinrich. He also is tougher than most point guards to post up. The undisputed first great point guard, Cousy remains the only guard in NBA history to be named First-Team All-NBA in 10 straight seasons. Russ is already on the verge of breaking into the top five of all time, but its going to be a challenge. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. As a result, hes been a member of the All-Defensive 1st Team four times and a member of the All-Defensive 2nd Team five times. When the game is on the line, you like to see players find fifth, but Lin never does. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. 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. 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-D selection, co-Rookie of the Year (1994-95), Career stats Dennis Johnson. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Below is a list of the 25 Best point guards of the NBA. Meanwhile, another player has his numbers go up because he is capable. He had the second-best defensive rating in the NBA. From that, each player was scored in five different areas on a scale of 18 (best) to 22 (worst). Other defenders deficiencies are hidden by being put on weaker offensive players. Jack is one of those players that a lot of people dont know what he brings to a team in the locker room. Dennis Rodman 4. Just telling your players to play harder and close out on threes isnt a real system. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. A defensive point guard will try to accomplish this with constant pressure on the ball, making it difficult to maintain possession. Ranking 50 Greatest Point Guards in NBA History Photo Gallery | NBA.com Teams G League WNBA BAL NBA 2K NBA Store NBA League Pass Tickets Schedule Team News Gameday Youth Basketball Shop. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. When going against point guards who have a respectable jump shot, that becomes problematic. As previously discussed, it is true that purely objective analysis does not, and cannot, tell the whole story, especially when it comes to something as dynamic as defense. At 63, with a wingspan of almost 68, he has decent size. He averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Speaking about hard-nosed defense-first converted shooting guards, here is one more name to the list: Dennis Johnson, one of the all-time great Celtics and at the same time one of the most underrated players in the history of the NBA. Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. As a result, he rarely gets tangled up with the pick-setter. When the pick gets set, he just hurls into it and uses the momentum of the bounce to send him in the right direction. After the All-Star break, when Rose hardly played, that number fell to 17.8 and the Bulls dropped to ninth. Perhaps if hes in shoes and standing on a milk crate filled with milk, thats true. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. It doesnt seem that it would be that impressive if found it. As a point guard, Frazier was one of the greatest in NBA history. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. When it came to size, the main flaw in his game was that he was very fast and explosive with his handles. Anyways, we hope you enjoyed going through the rankings with Magic Johnson securing first place in the Top 10 NBA point guards of all time. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. Jumping ability, body control and agility were all considered as well. (Most defenders let the opponent by more than half the time. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. Kawhi Leonard 11. Does he pick up his man when switched? Players Stats: 15.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 2006-2007 Finals MVP, 6x All-Star, 4x All-NBA Selection. Taj Gibson, his backup, is a tremendous defensive player, which only amplified the effect of Boozers shortcomings. Cousy, in many respects, was the Celtics spirit at the moment. In recent years, the sport's shift from a fundamental style of play to a more athletic, scoring-oriented game resulted in the proliferation of so-called combo guards at the point guard position. As a result, hes been a member of the All-Defensive First Team four times and a member of the All-Defensive Second Team five times. Does he make stupid fouls or smart fouls? Either way he chases the ball until he catches it. Pass-first points of the past have given way to dynamic creators who can score as well as set up teammates. -- Peterson, Thomas' willingness to share the spotlight helped make the Bad Boy Pistons incredible, and he had a consistent ability to step up his game in the postseason during Detroit's title runs (and near miss in 1988). I like to compare it to the relationship between a foundation and a house. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the shot clock and the game clock, the score, the numbers of remaining timeouts for both teams, etc. Hes not as horrible as some people would make it sound. He also shows poor awareness at times, getting surprised by picks as if the setter had just popped up from out of the floor like a Whac-A-Mole. READ ALSO: James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Coming over as a 25-year-old rookie, Ginobili only had two seasons where he had fewer than one steal per game and he averaged 1.3 steals for his career. He gets easily overpowered when bigger point guards post him up. Holiday wouldnt just go under the pick; he would go too far under the pick. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. Still, Nash's greatest historical legacy will be paving the way for Stephen Curry and a new generation of point guards in a league that embraced point guards making plays with a wide-open court. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. Players Stats: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 1963-1964 MVP, 12x All-Star, 11x All-NBA Selection, 1960-1961 Rookie of the Year, Hall of Famer. Hopefully he can break it. He needs more of the former and less of the latter. On the other hand, no matter how solid the foundation is, you cant move into it. And I never saw him go in the wrong direction, not once. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. In his 16-year career, Wade averaged 2.961 DWS per year and his 47.38 DWS is good for 55th overall. That deceptive length helps him nab 2.5 steals per 36 minutes and grab a ridiculous number of rebounds for a person his height. Even so, combo guards still require above-average passing skill, but not as much as possessed by "pure" point guards (which is what those in the traditional mold of a point guard are referred to). The only time hell go under a pick is when hes supposed to. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. He could create at an elite level while also scoring off the dribble from the midrange. For his time with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson is most known for his role alongside Charles Barkley. Lets see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. 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. This is to avoid confusion if you want to go to the original source.). It is startling to see the regularity with which opponents blow past Deron Williams. 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. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. Jason Kidd was the definition of a jack-of-all-trades point guard: he could pass, score and grab rebounds. Rose is arguably the most athletic point guard in the league, though Russell Westbrook could present a challenge. While he was doing that, Billups, who actually had the ball the whole time, just stepped back behind the three-point line and drained the three. Scottie Pippen 5. Since I always get asked "Where's ___________?" In the last entry, we focused on the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time. -- Peterson, Teams Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. While it does keep the opponent in front of him, it defeats the purpose if the opponent is still getting to the basket. Kevin Durant, surprisingly, also bails out his co-star a lot. Stockton embodied a true point guard - an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. A point guard often controls the offense and they also control who gets the ball and who doesn't, as this type of controlling style of play is necessary to control the tempo of a game. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. 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. A 12-time All-Defensive Team selection, a nine-time 1st team All-Defense and three-time 2nd team All-Defense, Bryant's 50.6 DWS ranks him 43rd overall. But will he listen enough to a player he was just playing against to make that shift? Hes the closest thing in the world to Kevin Garnetts Mini-Me. Nash's sideways speed and power will be non-existent at some age, allowing for constant dribble. Bledsoe is not a great help defender, in spite of boasting a -4.9 net defensive rating. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . My guess is that it has something to do with that. Offense is so much more than just scoring. Its amazing he doesnt get punched sometimes. Hinrich has a bit more going for him in terms of size. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. Even though injuries caught up with him toward the end of his illustrious career, Bryant still battled as a defender when needed. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors For eight consecutive seasons, Cousy was the leagues top assist producer, and he was also one of the finest scorers in the league. Although both Kidd and Paul were more accurate shooters, his passing range was broader than any of them. All that was due to Bryant emulating Jordans relentless drive to win on both sides of the floor. Ergo, a negative number is a positive thing, and a positive number is a negative thing. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. The classic definition of a point guard, orchestrating offense and shooting when necessary. Chris Paul fell into the same kind of trap last season. The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). Jed Jacobsohn/AP Images. Right now, Westbrook's 11.2 assists and 47.5% assist rate leads the league this season. Although Drexler never made an All-Defensive Team in his career, he did average two steals per game for his 15-year career. At 64, hes big enough to guard shooting guards, as well as point guards. Even though he normally does, he shouldnt have to and wouldnt if he were playing smarter. In balance he was a plus, but his deficiencies cant be ignored. 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player 24. David Robinson 6. In many cases, I looked at their combine results. He could launch it from 30 feet or more with ease. 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. He applies himself and stays committed, but when hes beaten on a play, hell relax waiting for his bigs to pick up the slack. -- Peterson, A menace on both ends of the court, Frazier was at his best in the 1970 NBA Finals when tallied 36 points, 19 assists, 7 rebounds in a title-clinching Game 7. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. But hes just not very strong. Dennis Johnson. The relative value between players was not affected; they were merely weighted so that the metrics could be combined without any one metric dominating the others. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy! Players Stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 2010-2011 MVP, 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Selection, 2008-2009 Rookie of the Year. Bucks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Rockets vs. Spurs: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Hawks vs. Heat: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Pistons vs. Cavaliers: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Raptors vs. Wizards: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Russell Westbrook still wants Sixth Man of Year award from time with Lakers, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Because Derrick Rose was the NBAs youngest MVP in 2009, its unfortunate that the guy isnt higher on this list. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. Opponents dont have much success getting around him. Players Stats: 18.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 1972-1973 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. Gary Payton 12. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. They work harder, and they get things eventually, but not quite as well. The Big O's best statistical season came in 1961-62, when he averaged a triple-double for the entire season, a feat that has never been duplicated. Hell frequent the area at the top of the key, just above the free-throw line, and when a shooter starts to shoot, hell close out quickly to challenge the shot, regardless of where it is coming from. Hes led the league in steals per game five times in the last six years. 13.1 PPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, .384 3P%, The player There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. If he wins an NBA championship, Chris Paul, the current number one point guard, will rise even higher on this ranking. 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. This is what I mean by ubiquity. Therefore, a lower score is superior. Sometimes, measurables dont tell the whole story. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. Nevertheless, its just as important. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. In his first season, he specialized in defense and could stop almost every point guard in the league on a regular basis. In fact, no drafted guard has ever measured a worse sprint, vertical and agility test. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. Once he had the ball on the fastbreak, The Flash was gone. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. Westbrooks Synergy numbers on the pick-and-roll (.75) and isolation (.7) suggest hes better than he actually is. Does he rotate on time? SHOCKING one of the best defensive point guards of all time played great defense on a 20 year project old player. -- Peterson, He's one of only a few players in history who has been deemed too good for the sport's own good. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive Second Team five times. When defending the isolation play, he gives up a nauseating .94 points per play, a strong indication of that. -- Peterson, Teams Stockton embodied a true point guard: an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. Top 20 best defensive midfielders in the world today: who are they? Knight gets almost no help whatsoever from help defense. Gary Payton, widely regarded as one of the best defensive point guards in NBA history, saw a similar decline in his defensive abilities after the age of 35. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. DWS are how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. Players Stats: 13.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Star, 11x All-NBA Selection, 5x All-Defensive Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Johnson is widely recognized as one of the all-time great point guards, particularly for his defense. As a result, opponents shot 42.9 percent from deep against him in the pick-and-roll. Hed also be more willing to provide it. Went from dominating games strictly with his passing to making the fifth-most 3-pointers in NBA history.