His Synergy numbers tell the story. What color was his tie? Yet somehow he manages to compensate and do a reasonably fair job of defending, even in isolation. On and off the court, Dave Bing was an excellent high-scoring NBA point guard who achieved greatness. Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. He is so athletic and so strong for his size that hes been able to get away without learning lessons he should have. 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. Because they each feel a different thing, an argument arises as to who is right. He is going to get beaten, without question. Williams tends to play defense, but he only seems to do the minimum. Blake Griffin was 21st out of 47 power forwards, and Jordan was 23rd out of 38 centers. 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. Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. Some would look at Conleys frontcourt and assumenot entirely incorrectlythat having Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to back him up pads his stats. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. -- Haberstroh, Teams This can cause other players to become disinvolved in the offense. He has trouble compensating for his lack of size when challenging jump shots. This is a necessity because of the point guard's many leadership obligations. If he tends to be the helped, he gets a worse score. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. He also uses his quick hands to steal the dribble, and he does so without taking risks. However, who are the all-time top point guards? Does he make stupid fouls or smart fouls? Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Some would argue that just because he went to Harvard, it doesnt mean he has a high basketball IQ, or that book intelligence isnt the same thing. How hard do they fight through them? 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. He was transcendent. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, is also the league's best point guard. He might not be the fastest guy in the world, but that doesnt keep him from trying to be. Tim Duncan He averaged 3.9 win shares per season, totaling 75.1 DWS at the end of his 19-year career, good for 11th all-time. He doesnt cheat in either direction, though. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. Lillard has been one of the NBA's most dangerous scorers, capable of striking shots from anywhere on the floor. 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. He compensates for his diminutive size by fighting hard and using that aforementioned quickness. A point guard should always look out for teammates and be able to pass well. 13.1 PPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, .384 3P%, The player Los Angeles Lakers late legend Kobe Bryant is often considered the greatest Laker ever and with good reason: Bryant is first in many of the Lakers statistical categories. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. Players Stats: 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG, Honors: 3x MVP, 3x Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 10x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. 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. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. 21.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, .441 3P%, We counted down the greatest players in NBA history. His Synergy numbers compared to some of his team numbers validate that. Most players will take a little on-court breather now and then. He was also an outstanding playmaker and a solid scorer with a strong mid-range game. When Gibson played with the starters, the Bulls gave up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions. Born on July 15, 1990, Damian is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. Lowry is neither big nor strong, and he does little with what size he has. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). But hes slightly built, and that raises some issues, especially when hes caught a fraction of a second behind a play. Brandon Knight has exceptional speed and quickness. He also used his incredible basketball IQ to steal the ball and defend at a high level. Phoenix Suns (1996-98, 2004-12), Dallas Mavericks (1998-2004), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-15), Honors -- Adams, The fashion forerunner to Russell Westbrook. Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. Dennis Johnson. I actually looked for him to do it and couldnt find it. Players Stats: 15.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG, Honors: 4x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection. He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. And when hes on the bench, Eric Bledsoe, who is a 15th on this list, was with Odom. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. 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? Who's the best offensive point guard of all time? Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Two-time MVP (2004-05, 2005-06), eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, Career stats A point guard primarily defends on the perimeter, just as they primarily play on the perimeter on offense. Top 20 best defensive midfielders in the world today: who are they? Gary Payton 9. Im cheating a little here. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. He uses his length well when trying to close out on jumpers, utilizing all of his elevation and his full length. For this reason, a point guard is usually, but not always, more skilled and focused on passing than shooting. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. Watching specifically for this, I found only three instances in 50 plays where Garnett bailed out Rondo on isolation plays, a rate which is lower than most point guards receiving help. David Robinson 6. Second, having a five-point range on a 22-point scale prevents any one statistic from overly dominating the others. As a result, opponents shot 42.9 percent from deep against him in the pick-and-roll. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. Players Stats: 23.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 2016-2017 MVP, 9x All-Star, 8x All-NBA Selection, 2x Scoring Champion. That has more to do with the second-string frontcourt, led by Lamar Odom, backing him up than it does his team defense. The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. Hell overshoot passing lanes, gambling for the steal. After watching Paul play defense for a while, what stands out over everything else is that he just never stops movingliterally. His career averages of 27 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 7.0 APG were arguably the best ever put up by a point guard when he retired in 1974. On defense, the point guard is tasked with making the opposing point guard as ineffective as possible. You can almost rate Chalmers improving basketball intelligence by how many times per game he gets yelled at by his superstar teammates. In the history of the combine, only nine players have recorded better sprint and agility scores, and of those, only three had a better vertical than his 37.5 inches. However, hes not the slowest point guard in the league either, and when hes not biting on the crossovers, hes able to do a decent job of staying in front of most average point guards. That earned him the nickname Mr. He had absolutely no help backing him up, and that inflates his objective numbers. 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. Chris is also a leader on the defensive end of the court, having been named to nine All-Defensive Teams. Players Stats: 18.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 6.1 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 7x All-Stars, 6x All-NBA Selection, 7x All-Defensive Team Selection, Hall of Famer. ALL-TIME #NBARANK, 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25, The player This implies that the point guard serves as an extension of their coach on the court, and he or she is accountable for making the right plays every night. With his limited speed, he is always in full throttle and getting himself around the court, pestering whoever has the ball. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. As a result, the picks work extremely well. When he gets it going, hes unstoppable. The second-highest regulation scoring output of the 3-point era was the culmination . NBA top 15 point guard rankings for 2021-22: Stephen Curry sits at No All that was due to Bryant emulating Jordans relentless drive to win on both sides of the floor. He and Chris Paul are the contenders for smartest defensive point guard in the game today. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. He also has such superior court awareness that most picks dont catch him squarely, and he just glides over them. Nevertheless, its just as important. He normally makes the right play, even if he doesnt always do it well. Great size made him impossible for most. WAM is purely objective. Then, over 10,000 video clips were viewed and players were evaluated based on subjective criteria. Kevin Durant, surprisingly, also bails out his co-star a lot. He almost always went under the pick. 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player Smart people recognize their limitations. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. This typically involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. By NBA standards, he jumps like an elephant and runs like a turtle (and not one of those fast turtles youve heard tell of eithera slow turtle). He averaged 3.9 win shares per season, totaling 75.1 DWS at the end of his 19-year career - good for 11th all-time. Watching a thing, and watching for a thing, are different. His ability to score and create plays made him an NBA superstar. 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. Paul was able to keep you at bay on one side of the court while dominating the other with his scoring and passing abilities. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. For a position that was highly valued at the time, he brought a lot of sparkle, style, scoring, and domination to the court. The game has been graced by several incredible players whose names live on even after they retire. He does those things; he just doesnt do them very hard. Nash's sideways speed and power will be non-existent at some age, allowing for constant dribble. He also uses that length to be one of the best shot-blocking point guards in the league. 3. Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. He was a master at leading the fastbreak, which led to Celtics titles. The bulk of his thefts came by stealing the dribble, not by shooting the passing lanes. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. (Note: Players chosen only if they have played as a shooting guard for most, if not all, of their career.). At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. Aware of his predilections, theyll pass the ball out to the perimeter, and simultaneous to the ball-handler catching it, theyll set a pick on Westbrook. MVP (1956-57), 13-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Championships It doesnt seem that it would be that impressive if found it. Despite the fact that hes just 35, he has a limited amount of time left. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. Sometimes he wont give that much effort, and then the next moment hell be trying too hard. The five best defensive point guards of all time Jarrod Castillo Dec 16, 2019; Oklahoma City, OK, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (3) directs his team during a play against the. Magic had unparalleled vision; he could see players get open and deliver the ball before they even realized they were open. In his 20 seasons, Bryant averaged 2.5 DWS and 1.4 steals per year. 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. However, a good jump shot and the ability to score off a drive to the basket are still valuable skills. It doesnt help to be fast if you dont use it, so Bledsoes score here is lower than you might expect. This is also from the various sources we have used. Being big and strong doesnt mean players automatically got higher scores, though. The Best NBA Point Guards Of All Time - The Delite Isiah Thomas, born on April 30, 1961, and possibly the best player ever under 6-foot-1, combined talent with fierce competitiveness. Did they get pushed around easily? In his single season with the Wizards, the former NBA MVP averaged a triple-double (again), and he was a big reason why Washington made the playoffs after a rough start to the season. If the team gives up more points while hes on the court, thats bad. -- 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. Russell is regarded as one of the best point guard finishers of all time. Were shooters able to shoot over them? Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. The problem is that sometimes players are so inept, they skew the stats of other players. To recap, Jason Kidd was the best defensive point guard, Michael Jordan skied above other shooting guards, John Havlicek paced all small forwards - for the time being - and the "Mailman . His stellar pick-and-roll defensive score has more to do with being backed up by Omer Asik than it does his own play. Archibald was the first player in league history to lead the league in both points scored and assists, making him a one-man offense. All you have to do is watch him on offense to know he has all kinds of speed. Hes 63 with a 68 wingspan and an 83 standing reach. He is not a guy you would single out as an NBA player in a crowded room. His huge hands allowed him to pass as effectively with one hand as most could with two. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year career, helping him get 64.9 DWS. Top 50 Point Guards of All-Time: Magic, The Big O and Curry top the List If you just look at his measurables, Chris Paul is not impressive. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. The greatest point guard in NBA history. As Kyrie Irving showed in the decisive Game 7 versus the Warriors when he beat Stephen Curry to the game-winning jumper, Kyrie Irving is also one of the finest guards in NBA history, and he possesses some of the best hands of all time. Does he rotate on time? Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. 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. Thats good for 14th all-time in NBA history and he also had 10 seasons in the top 20 for steals per game. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive 2nd Team five times. The players are ranked according to their WAMS. Later in his career, he even improved as an outside shooter, which contributed significantly to his longevity. He was an unstoppable offensive force who could score from anywhere on the court and in any way he wanted. His high rebound rate, while partly indicative of his speed is also a result of positioning, which relates to his IQ. He averages 1.8 steals per game. Why not a normal scale of one to 10? 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. 2. For eight consecutive seasons, Cousy was the leagues top assist producer, and he was also one of the finest scorers in the league. 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. The defensive stats arent a good way to determine the totality of defense, but they are a factor and shouldnt be ignored. You dont see him take plays off, and you dont see him give up on plays. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. Ranking 50 Greatest Point Guards in NBA History When they do, he gets tangled up pretty badly; it happens so rarely, though, youd think he had eyes in the back of his head. One of the greatest point guards ever, Jason Kidd could make the flashy pass or the simple play with the best of them while also loving to hightail it in transition to wear opponents down in. Players Stats: 16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 9x All-Stars, 9x All-NBA Selection, 1990-1991 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection, 1995-1996 Defensive Player of the Year, Hall of Famer. Its possible for Nash to be the whole offense and to shoot 50-40-90 from the field on a continuous basis. Having said that, when hes playing off the ball, he knows where hes supposed to be, and hes usually there. The most pure and one of the best point guards and playmakers in NBA History is John Stockton. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented.