The result is our all-time NBA Top 100. As a result of his hurling himself around the court with utter abandon, he was generally a positive when it came to help defense. He had unusual strength for his size, quick feet, elite hands, and timing to help him hold down opponents one-on-one and rack up steals. The effect was that the Bulls' starters all looked inferior to their backups. A defensive point guard will try to accomplish this with constant pressure on the ball, making it difficult to maintain possession. Were shooters able to shoot over them? A point guard should always look out for teammates and be able to pass well. How hard do they fight through them? If you are a basketball freak, you might be interested in knowing about NBA and other Best Basketball Leagues in the World. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022. Does he know when to go over the pick, and when to go under it? In fact, a player may have great individual numbers precisely because he is actually detrimental to his team. Championships: 3. He weighs in at only 175 pounds. To read more, go here! Since elite offensive players tend to have a higher usage rate, players that guard elite offensive players should also have more defensive plays. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. He applies his energy smartly. He had the second-best defensive rating in the NBA. In addition to the traditional role of the point guard, modern teams have found new ways to utilize the position. On those, there is no link available. 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. Smart people recognize their limitations. 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. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. 3. Players Stats: 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 2x MVP, 8x All-Stars, 7x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. When he went up and challenged DeAndre Jordan, and then got blown up, the entire basketball world acted like theyd just seen the greatest basketball play ever. Closing out on shooters, hell go sailing past them. 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.
Dame is better than ever, but the Blazers are stuck in quicksand One of the best -- and quickest -- lob passers the game has ever seen. 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. I gave Paul the highest possible score here to offset the total ineptness of the coaching staff, and the frontcourt help he got last season, but he would have a high score regardless. Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. The biggest reason appears to be a fundamental one. Payton is one of two point guards to have ever won the Defensive Player of the Year, and his stats show it. [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. So I saddled up my workhorse, Synergy, and watched an hour or two of each of the top 15 WAM scores playing defense. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. 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. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. He gets a ton of help from his teammates and isnt asked to give a lot back. There arent many point guards in the league who can match Roses pure size and strength. During each of his five NBA championship rings, he was one of the finest players in the league. 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. Ben Wallace 12. The Clippers were 10 points better with Lamar Odom on the court than DeAndre Jordan according to NBA.com/STATS. Lowry looks around like he just woke up from a nap in a foreign city, and hes trying to figure out where hes supposed to be. On the other hand, you cant deny what happened, regardless of how much you watch. Point guards must be able to maintain possession of the ball in crowded spaces and in traffic and be able to advance the ball quickly.
Top 15 Greatest Point Guards In NBA History - TheSportster How they moved laterally, closed out on shooters, and recovered after getting beaten were also taken into account. He tends to use that speed and athleticism well when hes in position, too. Stats dont make a good argument, they make a good foundation for a good argument. He could create at an elite level while also scoring off the dribble from the midrange. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. Greg Monroe has talent on the offensive side of the ball but not a whole lot on the defensive side. Even though injuries caught up with him toward the end of his illustrious career, Bryant still battled as a defender when needed. Gary Payton 12. -- Peterson, He's one of only a few players in history who has been deemed too good for the sport's own good. -- 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. 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. That helps him to dominate games defensively without having to leave the ground. Whether you like him or not (and I personally dont), you have to respect that he plays the game as hard as it can be played. 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. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. 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. His 48.8 DWS is 48th all-time and the fourth most by a point guard. While he recovers most of the time, its worth asking why he gets beaten. Starter from the VCT lockin. He might physically play below the rim, but few can touch how he plays above the neck. Some would look at Conleys frontcourt and assumenot entirely incorrectlythat having Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to back him up pads his stats. Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade won the NBA championship in 2006 with him as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. All you have to do is watch him on offense to know he has all kinds of speed. Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Dennis Rodman 4. Hes able to use that size advantage by being physical, playing close and aggressive, often forcing shooters into shots they arent comfortable taking. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers, as a "coach on the floor" or a "floor general". Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. 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. Offense is so much more than just scoring. Its probably no coincidence that Stephen Currys defense took a giant step forward this season playing alongside Jack, and you might see a similar progression from Kyrie Irving next year. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Because they each feel a different thing, an argument arises as to who is right. When it comes to intangibles, Chris Paul is the elite point guard in the league. Jack has good but not great effort. Those are the questions I was looking to answer. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. 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. He does an air-tight job of keeping players out of the perimeter. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors While it does keep the opponent in front of him, it defeats the purpose if the opponent is still getting to the basket. 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. Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. After watching Paul play defense for a while, what stands out over everything else is that he just never stops movingliterally. Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. I like to compare it to the relationship between a foundation and a house. Penny, a taller point guard, was an excellent dribbler and a great passer. Most players will take a little on-court breather now and then. Rondo likes to do this chest bump thing where he meets the opponent past the half-court line and just bumps his chest into him repeatedly. Its interesting that when he plays against elite point guards, or when he plays angrily, he plays much more of a physical game. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. 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. What is the difference between WAM and WAMS? 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. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. Gary Payton is one of the best ever. 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. In the last entry, we focused on the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time. Jason Kidd 9. For the purpose of this study, 82games was used because the net defensive rating was also easily available and it made for consistency. Stats dont tell the whole story and our eyes often only confirm what we already know. It will be interesting to see if his new coach, Jason Kidd, can help him to work on this, as Kidd was a terrific help defender. Ultimately, Johnson's unselfishness earned him the title of greatest point guard of all time. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. 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. 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. 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. You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. He presses hard as long as the opponent is in front of him, but will frequently give up on the play once the defender is past him. 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 doesnt have to race around to get in position because hes almost never out of position. Because Derrick Rose was the NBAs youngest MVP in 2009, its unfortunate that the guy isnt higher on this list. SHOCKING one of the best defensive point guards of all time played great defense on a 20 year project old player. On defense, the point guard is tasked with making the opposing point guard as ineffective as possible. Point guards are expected to run the team's offense by controlling the ball and making sure that it gets to the right player at the right time. Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. OPER is the Opponents Player Efficiency Rating and has been tracked by 82games.com since 2008. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. -- Brad Doolittle, Robertson's averaging a triple-double in 1961-62 is probably overrated because it was a product of the fast-paced play in the 1960s, but his role in the Milwaukee Bucks' early '70s championship run is probably underrated. Fairly straightforward, this takes into account height, length and strength. Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. Nash is a top-ten point guard without a question. That had the effect of distorting Pauls on/off numbers. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. Hell get to the corners to challenge threes; hell pick off passes; hell get rebounds; hell get some chase-down blocks. 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. Humility can often be a sign of intelligence at work, and it is with Hinrich. Chris is also a leader on the defensive end of the court, having been named to nine All-Defensive Teams. Players Stats: 24.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 5x All-Stars, 4x All-NBA Selection, 2012-2013 Rookie of the Year. Always free! It is the same with his mental engagement in the game. Jrue Holiday is making . Sportbrief has published an article about James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 13. He doesnt cheat in either direction, though. Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. He is easily one of the physically weaker players in the league, even for his position. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Having said that, he does play team defense, too, and he is part of the team. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. 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). For a player who lacks lateral quickness and a player that has been in the league as long as he has, you would think Williams would have learned to do a better job of steering opponents into the help defense. When he needs to button down, he does, but he also tends to take off the middle of games, relying heavily on the help defense. Jacks presence on a team is one of those things. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. He also only has a 65 wingspan, which is short of the other bigger point guards, but what he has, he uses well. 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. 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. While his pick-and-roll stats, according to Synergy, are excellent, at .68 points per play, half the time he seems to get bailed out by his frontcourt. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. Only two NBA championships would make him the second-best player in NBA history. Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. 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. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. Averaging 1.5 steals per game, Wade could block transition shots as well with the best of them. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break and when and how to initiate the more deliberate sets. 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. You cant build a house first, and then pour the foundation underneath it. He actually plays his best games against his best opponents. He doesnt play on the ball physically, utilizing that advantage. Lin plays with consistent effort on defense, but hes stuck in fourth gear. 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. From there, hes playing catch up. Players Stats: 16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG. Conley also has crazy hops, measuring a 40.5-inch vertical at the combine, and he is one of the quickest point guards in the league. He arguably powers through picks better than any point guard in the league. Hes just unable able to get high enough to legitimately challenge the shot. Its hard to notice his effort, though, because of the consistency with which he gets destroyed. For this reason, a point guard is usually, but not always, more skilled and focused on passing than shooting. Jack gets beat and bailed out frequently by his teammates. He keeps track of his man when holding back in the lane to cut off passing lanes. As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. He just doesnt have the length to effectively guard against them. 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, .428 3P%, The player The players are ranked according to their WAMS. When he was at his peak, Rose was one of the greatest point guards of all time, and he merits a spot in the top 15. Closing out on jumpers is an issue, especially when coming off screens, where he yields a 46.7 shooting percentage from the three-point line. In all, Wade was a three-time All-Defensive Team selection (all on the 2nd team), his 1620 steals rank 31st all-time and hes had six seasons where he ranked top-20 in steals per game. And, there are also times when he does the bailing out. Whatever it was, Holiday was just not bringing effort on the defensive end last year.
The 10 Best Tall Point Guards in NBA History - Plus 2 Clothing It is startling to see the regularity with which opponents blow past Deron Williams. -- Kevin Pelton, NBA Insider, May be the strongest point guard ever and consistently made everyone around him better. 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. Players Stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG, Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. He just doesnt have the physical tools to play at an elite level. 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. He manages to defend the pick-and-roll reasonably well by doing something I can only call bouncing over picks. It is akin to the blind men and the elephant in the Indian fable adapted to a poem by John Godfrey Saxe. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. 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 Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the 1st team all nine times. Lin is a mixed bag when it comes to help defense. Its amazing he doesnt get punched sometimes. Coaches are responsible for developing young players, and it would have been fun to watch him grow under Doc Rivers. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. He just cant do anything about it. 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. ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. Phoenix Suns (1996-98, 2004-12), Dallas Mavericks (1998-2004), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-15), Honors -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. Since I always get asked "Where's ___________?" 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. Notably, several modern point guards have used a successful style of post play, a tactic usually practiced by much larger centers and forwards. Hes like a runner trying to run a mile by alternating between walking and sprinting 100 yards at a time. ALL-TIME #NBARANK, 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25, The player In his heyday, Parker could score 25 points a night and seldom made poor choices with the ball. Each fails to realize that they are all right, and that the real answer is in the combination of what they all experienced. He closed out on jump-shooters half-heartedly, which is bad enough, but when you combine that with the way he played pick-and-roll plays, it was even worse.
Point guard - Wikipedia All the other tools and effort can be rendered useless by a little stupidity. When he does do it, he does it half-heartedly. The Glove is hands down the best defender a the point guard position. Over the next four weeks, well unveil the rankings for the other four positions. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. Let's see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. In other words, giving up 15 points to Russell Westbrook is much more impressive than giving up 14 to Derek Fisher, but the raw stats dont tell you who was guarding whom. 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%, The player Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. The only thing is that the Bulls actually gave up 8.6 more points while he was on the court. Sometimes even when hes being smart, he gets a little dumb.
Top 5 Defensive Point Guards in NBA History - Basketball Articles 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. Chris Paul fell into the same kind of trap last season. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. The strength of this is that it shows what the other player does offensively. The house would collapse. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive Second Team five times. They tried just as hard as the valedictorian, but all they got were Bs. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. The NBA's best European guard, Tony Parker, monopolised opposing backcourt players with speed and agility, a tight crossover, and a gorgeous tear-drop floater in the lane. He averages 1.8 steals per game. He could play any spot on the court as well. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players. To absolutely nobodys surprise, Michael Jordan is the best defensive shooting guard in NBA history. There are a number of different types of metrics available from various websites. Thats pretty much what you see with Conley. The more often he is the primary defender, the more likely he is to be responsible for guarding the player who is getting the most plays offensively. Still, hes one of the best point guards of all time, and his stats show that hes a deserved All-Star. When people think of NBA point guards, he set the mold. He might not be the fastest guy in the world, but that doesnt keep him from trying to be. The other metrics help alleviate the extremes because they also indicate what a players personal defense does. If you just look at his measurables, Chris Paul is not impressive. Players have a difficult time getting past him. -- Doolittle, Over the past season and a half, Curry has played point guard as well as anyone else in NBA history. Being big and strong doesnt mean players automatically got higher scores, though. 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. And when hes on the bench, Eric Bledsoe, who is a 15th on this list, was with Odom. 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. That deceptive length helps him nab 2.5 steals per 36 minutes and grab a ridiculous number of rebounds for a person his height. Therefore, with a few exceptions, players were only considered if they played at least 1,200 minutes last season (which comes out to around 30 percent of possible minutes). If a player tends to be the helper, he gets a better score. 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. Its no surprise that the best point guards in the NBA have more than just the ability to pass the basketball. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . The second-highest regulation scoring output of the 3-point era was the culmination . 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. 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. In his 20 seasons, Bryant. David Robinson 6. His huge hands allowed him to pass as effectively with one hand as most could with two. Went from dominating games strictly with his passing to making the fifth-most 3-pointers in NBA history. Hes a learning player, and his extensive time sitting last year may have helped his grasp of defense as well as offense. 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. There arent many point guards who can do it all, but Kidd is one of them. Refusing to back down because youre afraid of being put on a poster is a good thing, not a bad thing. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats Paul, who was born on May 6, 1985, has long been regarded as one of the game's greatest point guards, a fact reinforced by his selection to the 75th Anniversary Team.