The players listed below are our picks for the best point guards in NBA history. Stockton was the. 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. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. The facts need to come first. That would make sense, but there are two reasons to choose the unconventional scale. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. Hopefully he can break it. Think: Dennis Rodman. Similarly, while each of the advanced and/or traditional metrics has value, each also misses something. He doesnt play on the ball physically, utilizing that advantage. When it came to size, the main flaw in his game was that he was very fast and explosive with his handles. Thats a strong indication that Rose was not relying on help defense because that same help was there for C.J. He sometimes gets tangled up and left hopelessly out of the play. For his career, Jordan averaged 2.3 steals (third all-time) and 4.2 DWS per year. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. Below is a list of the 25 Best point guards of the NBA. He applies his energy smartly. There are few players on this list who can match his incredible scoring, rebounding, and playmaking prowess. Most players will take a little on-court breather now and then. He never stops moving. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. By the time he was done, he had racked up 10 All-Star appearances, nine All-Defense selections, six All-NBA . 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. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. He tends to be beaten off the dribble more often than he should be, considering his physical advantages, but he also uses his physical ability to recover when he is beaten. One of the most famous point guards of all time, Jason Kidd, could make a dazzling pass or a simple play with the finest in the game while also adoring to hightail it in transition to wear opponents down. He tends to rely on his speed to compensate for his lack of mass. Lillard has been one of the NBA's most dangerous scorers, capable of striking shots from anywhere on the floor. An adamant multi-disciplinary journalist, Brian possesses the instincts that are comfortably intrigued by covering and writing the details as minor as the size of Kawhi Leonards hands and as significant as the Trends to watch out for in 2022. The five best defensive centers of all time - Sportsnaut 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-D selection, co-Rookie of the Year (1994-95), Career stats Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. Dennis Rodman 4. New Orleans Hornets (2005-11), Los Angeles Clippers, (2011-present), Honors He only gave up .66 points per play in isolation, but he yielded .86 to the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. Defensive Points per Play Synergy tracks every play of every game of the season and, when possible (as it is not always possible), they assign an. I counted off over 20 plays, specifically watching to see if Chalmers would stop the ball-handler, and he only did once. West became synonymous with brilliant basketball during his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers. NRG VS KOI Highlights. Starter from the VCT lockin. #VCTLOCKIN # While hes not going to get a lot of those at his size, regardless of what he does, he could probably do more to try and recover. -- Rob Peterson, One can only imagine how impressive his career totals might have been if not for the HIV virus. Notable point guards of the WNBA include five-time champion Sue Bird, her Olympic teammate Diana Taurasi (the only two basketball players of either gender to earn five Olympic gold medals for basketball[1]) and Courtney Vandersloot. Allen Iverson 11. I considered both their actual measurables and how well they used them. That all-around game made Kidd one of the league's top point guards for nearly 20 years. 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. 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. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. All that was due to Bryant emulating Jordans relentless drive to win on both sides of the floor. This is also from the various sources we have used. The most pure and one of the best point guards and playmakers in NBA History is John Stockton. Lin is 63 and 200 pounds, which is decent size for a point guard, in the neighborhood of Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook. He doesnt use his size exceptionally badly or incredibly well, though. He does those things; he just doesnt do them very hard. 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. Archibald, who was just 61 tall, was able to consistently sink the ball despite his diminutive stature. He plays longer than he actually is. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. In addition to the traditional role of the point guard, modern teams have found new ways to utilize the position. 13.1 PPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, .384 3P%, The player -- Adande, The best two-way small player in league history, Paul embodies the era in which he plays by running the pick-and-roll as well as anyone has ever run it. When the team is winning or the game is close, he puts in real effort, but if they are down, he shows noticeably less energy. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. Eric Bledsoe has a reputation as being both quick and fast, even for a point guard, but he rarely shows it on defense. That earned him the nickname Mr. He might physically play below the rim, but few can touch how he plays above the neck. Hes not looking at the ball-handler's chest, which makes him susceptible to fakes, so when his opponent breaks, Rose is momentarily frozen. For this reason, a small penalty was exacted for every minute under 30 minutes, and a small bonus was provided over 30 minutes. An All-Star in every full season that he played for the Boston Celtics, six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy was an all-around player: he averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. But, there is one only shooting guard that leapfrogged over all others. Hes like a runner trying to run a mile by alternating between walking and sprinting 100 yards at a time. Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). One of the most recognisable players in NBA history, Walt Frazier is a deserving candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame. At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. When he gets it going, hes unstoppable. He may get beaten occasionally, and he might get outmuscled more frequently, but he never gets outhustled. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. All the other tools and effort can be rendered useless by a little stupidity. He also knew when he needed to score, as evidenced by his 42-point performance in Game 6 of the 1980 NBA Finals for a Lakers team missing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. I doubt its much beyond his height. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). Dame is better than ever, but the Blazers are stuck in quicksand Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. 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. Eventually, that learning has to become instinct, though. Top 20 best defensive midfielders in the world today: who are they? 12.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player You can almost rate Chalmers improving basketball intelligence by how many times per game he gets yelled at by his superstar teammates. If theres a weakness, though, its that when he comes up against the elite offensive point guards, he will get beaten in isolation. On the other hand, no matter how solid the foundation is, you cant move into it. The next three slides will tell how this particular sausage was made. Since elite offensive players tend to have a higher usage rate, players that guard elite offensive players should also have more defensive plays. Hes listed at 62 which seems about right, and hes broad-shouldered and strong for his height, but he also seems to have shorter limbs, although I cant find his wingspan listed on Draft Express. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. Honors: 6x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Selection, 2011-2012 Rookie of the Year, Players Stats: 22.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG. 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). His quickness and slim frame allow him to slip through gaps in the defence and create more opportunities for himself. Players Stats: 18.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Stars, 8x All-NBA Selection, 2005-2006 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection. Hinrich has a bit more going for him in terms of size. Best Defensive Rating Point Guards In NBA History | StatMuse He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring. Gary Payton is one of the best ever. He finished the game with the most career postseason points and the highest average in a playoff series. Bill Russell 3. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. Top 5 Defensive Point Guards in NBA History - Basketball Articles My guess is that it has something to do with that. While Gregg Popovich and his brilliant system deserve a lot of the credit, Tony is a Finals MVP and is a multiple NBA champion who deserves to be recognised for his role in the legendary Spurs dynasty. MVP (1956-57), 13-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Championships Stats dont make a good argument, they make a good foundation for a good argument. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. A point guard that has enough ball-handling skill and quickness to be able to drive to the basket in a half-court set is also very valuable and considered by some to be a must for a successful offense. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. Neither of those is really a criticism of Parker, but its a reality. Hes just unable able to get high enough to legitimately challenge the shot. Rob Peterson is an NBA editor for ESPN.com. 1. In the last entry, we focused on the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, but now, we turn to the five best defensive shooting guards in NBA history. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. Some would look at Conleys frontcourt and assumenot entirely incorrectlythat having Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to back him up pads his stats. -- Haberstroh, Honors 1. If you want the perfect picture of what Hinrich brings to the defensive end of the court, think of him tackling the runaway freight train, otherwise known as LeBron James, in the game which stopped the Miami Heats streak. This is where everything focuses on Westbrook. He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 7, 1974, to a Welsh mother, Jean, and an English father, John. These point guard rankings will be the first of five articles. There are times where he makes a bone-headed gamble and loses, trying to get the extra steal, but thats about the only flaw there is with him mentally. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. One of basketballs most dynamic and versatile point guards in the modern era. While no one always guards the best player, some players are much more likely to be guarding the other teams elite players, which makes them appear weaker defensively. 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. The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. Lets see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. Dennis Johnson. In terms of point guards, Magic is the finest there has ever been. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. The Best NBA Point Guards Of All Time - The Delite Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. Perhaps he just grew weary of Doug Collins' act. Of course having book smarts doesnt preclude you from knowing what youre doing on the court either. In terms of career statistics and postseason accomplishments, he ranks as the NBAs fourth-best point guard of all time. In his first season, he specialized in defense and could stop almost every point guard in the league on a regular basis. At 6-foot-1, he's the shortest NBA Finals MVP in league history, a reflection of his unique ability to dominate at the point guard position. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. On the other hand, you cant deny what happened, regardless of how much you watch. Top 50 Point Guards of All-Time: Magic, The Big O and Curry top the List They say that defense is mostly about effort. Jerry West, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, combines a lethal jump shot, tenacious defence, obsessive perfectionism, unwavering confidence, and an unwavering will to win. Since I always get asked "Where's ___________?" He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. We ranked the best point guards, determining the list with the help of B-R's position splits. 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. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. MVP (2014-15), two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, Career stats He probably can even tell you where the hot dog vendor and mascot are. Point guard from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America 3 Jason Kidd Point guard from California, United States of America 4 Walt Frazier Point guard from Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America 5 Dennis Johnson 6 Fat Lever Point guard and Shooting guard from Pine Bluff, Arkansas load more 5-on-5: Will Curry pass Magic as best PG ever? The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the First Team all nine times. The five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection has averaged more than 24 points per game since being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012. More explosive and athletic point guards focus on scoring as opposed to play-making, forgoing assists and ball-movement, and often defense, for higher scoring numbers. He has a barrel chest, broad shoulders and 20 pounds on most point guards, so he gives the appearance of dwarfing players that are technically as tall as he is. Notably, several modern point guards have used a successful style of post play, a tactic usually practiced by much larger centers and forwards.