Dennis Johnson. 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. 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. Thats pretty much what you see with Conley. His issues related to intelligence, detailed later, compound this problem. We ranked the best point guards, determining the list with the help of B-R's position splits. Thats because they can spend all their energy quickly, while starters have to pace themselves. Michael Jordan 10. He doesnt try to make great plays, but he tries not to make mistakes, which is maybe what he should be concentrating on. The Miami HEATs best player in franchise history, Dwyane Wade was an offensive maestro. 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. #VCTLOCKIN #Valorant #valorantagents #valorantgaming. Stephen Curry 4. New York Knicks (1967-1977), Cleveland Cavaliers (1977-1980), Honors: He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. -- Adams, An early ballhandling wizard, he was a point guard who was a focal point at a time when the game was dominated by big men. Whatever it was, Holiday was just not bringing effort on the defensive end last year. He has above-average size and strength, but he doesnt play like it. The next three slides will tell how this particular sausage was made. His 47.4 DWS is 54th overall, good for an average of 2.963 DWS per season, slightly edging Wade. He could create at an elite level while also scoring off the dribble from the midrange. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. Players Stats: 17.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 8.2 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection. WAM is the foundation, and WAMS is the house. The biggest reason appears to be a fundamental one. Parker is a seasoned point guard who plays the game like a pro. He plays longer than he actually is. It is akin to the blind men and the elephant in the Indian fable adapted to a poem by John Godfrey Saxe. The problem is that sometimes players are so inept, they skew the stats of other players. They must also be able to adapt to what the defense is allowing and must control the pace of the game. Rondo consistently applies every bit of effort in him on the defensive end. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. Steve Nash 7. 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. Hes able to use that size advantage by being physical, playing close and aggressive, often forcing shooters into shots they arent comfortable taking. Thats largely true. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. (Most defenders let the opponent by more than half the time. Parker has a hefty 1.05 points per play against defending the jumper, even though he typically gets there and challenges shots. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor, who can handle and distribute the ball to teammates. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. Teams Since elite offensive players tend to have a higher usage rate, players that guard elite offensive players should also have more defensive plays. His record and effect on the game, particularly offensively, are legendary, and its easy to see why. 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. 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. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. 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. The NBA is flush with dominant point guards. -- Peterson, Teams Chalmers will fail at things, but not because he isnt trying. Does he make stupid fouls or smart fouls? Generally speaking, the point guard is the player in possession of the ball for the most time during a game and is responsible for maintaining possession of the ball for their team in the face of any pressure from the opponents. Rajon Rondo is probably the most athletic player in the league who plays most of his game below the rim. With his limited speed, he is always in full throttle and getting himself around the court, pestering whoever has the ball. Moncrief is well known for his defensive prowess. 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. A decade of playing and a plethora of injuries havent helped him get any faster. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. When he lets it go, though, it seems calculated. Not only is Damian Lillard one of the most exciting players in the game today, he makes a strong case as one of the best point guards in NBA history. Hinrich always had a high basketball IQ. Magic Johnson. He stands third among the top 10 point guards of all time. Its difficult to have a perfect rating system thats entirely objective, and even more difficult to have a realistic one that is purely subjective. Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. -- 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). The players listed below are our picks for the best point guards in NBA history. If the team gives up more points while hes on the court, thats bad. Bill Russell 3. 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. Then, over 10,000 video clips were viewed and players were evaluated based on subjective criteria. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 13. Hes a key component in Tom Thibodeaus defense, and frankly, with Thibs, you just dont stay on the court if youre not putting in the effort on the defensive end. If you just look at his measurables, Chris Paul is not impressive. If theres a weakness, though, its that when he comes up against the elite offensive point guards, he will get beaten in isolation. That has more to do with the second-string frontcourt, led by Lamar Odom, backing him up than it does his team defense. On and off the court, Dave Bing was an excellent high-scoring NBA point guard who achieved greatness. 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. Nash's sideways speed and power will be non-existent at some age, allowing for constant dribble. His contributions won him a spot on the NBA All-Time 50th Anniversary Team. Its also a big part of why he has the most defensive plays per 36 minutes, using his quickness to get to those long rebounds. Blake Griffin was 21st out of 47 power forwards, and Jordan was 23rd out of 38 centers. He routinely gets blistered in isolation (.93 points per play), fails to close out well on shooters and lags when coming off of screens. The defensive stats arent a good way to determine the totality of defense, but they are a factor and shouldnt be ignored. Chasing down balls, hell reach from behind and disrupt the dribble. In his heyday, Parker could score 25 points a night and seldom made poor choices with the ball. For each of the following metrics, click on the subhead to be taken to the source website for more details. An indication of this is the fact that hes had only nine dunks in his career, the last of which was over seven years ago. 7-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA selection, 7-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats During his career, he was selected to nine All-NBA Defensive Teams and five All-Star teams. Emailed daily. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. Paul gets caught in a trap that WAM cant entirely avoid because it can only look at what happens, not why it happens. 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. 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. Some players defined their positions. Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade won the NBA championship in 2006 with him as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. Hes not as horrible as some people would make it sound. And his athleticism gives him a leg up, which helps him dominate. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. That earned him the nickname Mr. Kyrie Irving is unquestionably one of the greatest point guards of all time. His ability to score and create plays made him an NBA superstar. This could be something that Monty Williams, a coach with outstanding player development skills, can work on in New Orleans now that Holiday is with the Pelicans. 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. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. That helps him to dominate games defensively without having to leave the ground. That being said, Joakim Noah was frequently required to bail him out of trouble. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. 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. Paul was able to keep you at bay on one side of the court while dominating the other with his scoring and passing abilities. Other stats were determined by using my trusty sidekick, MS Excel, loaded up with standard stats available on most websites. The list of the best defensive NBA point guards for 2022-23 starts off with two of the elite perimeter defenders overall. 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. The former professional basketball player was born on March 26, 1962, and is regarded as one of the best passing point guards. The Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 championship run would not have been possible without Kyrie Irving, who is a two-time NBA champion. On pick-and-rolls when hes not set, teams have learned to expect this. You can look at why things happen and offset the misleading things. In many cases, I looked at their combine results. Once he had the ball on the fastbreak, The Flash was gone. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. Players Stats: 20.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG. The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. For example, in the clutch, with the Rockets engaged in a playoff run, the team locked up in a tight battle with the San Antonio Spurs and the score close with less than five minutes remaining, Lin consistently showed the same 90 percent effort he always shows. Tony Parker is one of the fastest players in the league if youre going by pure speed. He also only has a 65 wingspan, which is short of the other bigger point guards, but what he has, he uses well. Penny, a taller point guard, was an excellent dribbler and a great passer. When we watch basketball, we get general impressions of defense, but the storyline is whats happening with the ball. Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose are the two most physically gifted point guards of their generation, and, as a result, are constantly going to be compared to one another. Overall, he is more of a gives-help defender than a needs-help defender. 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. 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. 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). With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. When he gets set for a defensive play, he does a respectable job. If it gives up fewer points, thats good. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. 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 . 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. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). -- Adande, The only players in NBA history with more games with 20 points and 10 assists are Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. His Synergy scores are worse than expected, but that appears to be from players just shooting over him more than getting past him. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. And, there are also times when he does the bailing out. He picked up a complicated system almost immediately, and the Bulls were consistently a better defense with Hinrich on the court, in large part because of how well he understood the system. Some point guards are still given a great deal of leeway in the offense. MVP (1956-57), 13-time All-Star, 12-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Championships Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. He affected the paradigm for overseas guards trying to break into the NBA. Its interesting that when he plays against elite point guards, or when he plays angrily, he plays much more of a physical game. He has trouble compensating for his lack of size when challenging jump shots. 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. Rose is arguably the most athletic point guard in the league, though Russell Westbrook could present a challenge. Thats helped him amass 47.3 DWS, 56th overall. Ben Wallace 12. Does he rotate on time? A defensive point guard will try to accomplish this with constant pressure on the ball, making it difficult to maintain possession. Williams needs to have a bit of a paradigm shift in the direction of team defense. Jrue Holiday. Top 50 Point Guards of All-Time: Magic, The Big O and Curry top the List By Jeff McDaniel | Jul 16, 2020, 5:35pm 1. 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. OPER is the Opponents Player Efficiency Rating and has been tracked by 82games.com since 2008. He could play any spot on the court as well. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Hell get to the corners to challenge threes; hell pick off passes; hell get rebounds; hell get some chase-down blocks. For his time with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson is most known for his role alongside Charles Barkley. 11. (As an aside, in the slides, you will only see the original metric value, not the weighted number to determine the WAM. 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. -- Kevin Pelton, NBA Insider, May be the strongest point guard ever and consistently made everyone around him better. Archibald was the first player in league history to lead the league in both points scored and assists, making him a one-man offense. He could launch it from 30 feet or more with ease. However, when the game is on the line, he makes the right decision. 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. Lowry is neither big nor strong, and he does little with what size he has. The .72 points per play he gives up in isolation is elite-level defense. As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring. He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. In his 20 seasons, Bryant averaged 2.5 DWS and 1.4 steals per year. Coming off one of the best offensive seasons in NBA history, Curry takes the top spot on our list of the league's best point guards, followed closely by 22-year-old wunderkind Luka Doncic, who may . That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. 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. He might have Silly Putty for a father. Jack has good but not great effort. 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. But hes just not very strong. If someone goes past him, hell usually just wave goodbye. He only gave up .66 points per play in isolation, but he yielded .86 to the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. Hes controlled in how he plays hard. 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. Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. These were calculated using the raw stats available on any site carrying basic stats. Hell overshoot passing lanes, gambling for the steal. To read more, go here! It is easy to have the numbers skewed by a smaller sample size. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right, Latest Jonathan Isaac injury may signal end of his Magic career, Seven Cubs pitchers combine for spring no-hitter vs. Padres, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones comments on Tony Pollard rumor, Ben Simmons suffers back injury while rehabilitating, Insider: It's Packers, Jets 'or bust' for Aaron Rodgers, QB Anthony Richardson doesn't understand his 'project' label, Vikings HC reveals 'crazy' thoughts about star WR, XFL player released for giving another team plays from own playbook. His high rebound rate, while partly indicative of his speed is also a result of positioning, which relates to his IQ. Because they each feel a different thing, an argument arises as to who is right. 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. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. The scouting score was then combined with the WAM score to produce WAMS, with the scouting counting as one-third of the final score. It is really hard to say anything about Lowrys help defense. Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. Although Jordan won that battle, theres nothing wrong with being named the third-best defensive player at his position and one of the best shooting guards of all time. His defensive usage was the highest of any player with at least 1,200 minutes. 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. As a point guard, Frazier was one of the greatest in NBA history. Watson, Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson. If it tends to fall in the middle, he gets a 20. Among the greatest point guards of all time, Tiny is among the finest ever. If youre a fan of the TV show Suits, you might agree that Harvey Specter dresses well. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. If he didnt retire at 34, its interesting to see where Cousy could have landed all-time as he averaged 3.8 DWS per season. Michael Cooper was a great defensive guard, evident when he won the Defensive Player of the Year (DPOY) award in 1987, and James Worthy is a top-ten Small Forward of all-time and was one of the . Players Stats: 15.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 5x All-Defensive Selection, Hall of Famer. But will he listen enough to a player he was just playing against to make that shift? In the late 1980s, he was the face of the Bad Boys Pistons, who defeated Jordan's Bulls three times in a row in the playoffs. 24. The "Big O" was capable of doing it all. Lowry just seems to be lost on defense much of the time. He uses his feet and body well, steering his man into the help defense when he knows hes not able to keep up. 1. Because Derrick Rose was the NBAs youngest MVP in 2009, its unfortunate that the guy isnt higher on this list. Bledsoe is not a great help defender, in spite of boasting a -4.9 net defensive rating. Its safe to say that Kidd is one of the greatest guards to ever play on the basketball floor. Either way he chases the ball until he catches it. Despite the fact that he was unable to win an NBA championship, his charisma and dribbling prowess will never be forgotten. 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-D selection, co-Rookie of the Year (1994-95), Career stats He is tremendous at using that muscle to his advantage, too. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. Magic Johnson 2. The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. He tends to rely on his speed to compensate for his lack of mass. Even when he has to go under the pick, which is most of the time, hes so fast that hes able to close the distance before the ball-handler has time to do something with it. Hes one of the slower point guards in the league now, but in spite of that, hes almost ubiquitous at times. ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. That all-around game made Kidd one of the league's top point guards for nearly 20 years. 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. He does all those little things that dont show up in box scores. Alex Caruso. -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. When the pick gets set, he just hurls into it and uses the momentum of the bounce to send him in the right direction. WAMS includes scouting. None of them qualified based on the 1,200 minutes, so their stats from 2012 were used instead. 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. Chris Paul had the awkward situation this year of being smarter than his head coach, Vinny Del Negro. 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. Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. He also has such superior court awareness that most picks dont catch him squarely, and he just glides over them. Ultimately, Johnson's unselfishness earned him the title of greatest point guard of all time. No one was a better passer than him. By: HoopsHype. However, a good jump shot and the ability to score off a drive to the basket are still valuable skills. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. Sometimes hell even rush to defend the wrong guy while his man is draining a wide-open three. Hes only 63, which is relatively good size for a point guard, but he just seems bigger. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. The other thing thats surprising about Rondo with his size is how well he fights over picks. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. The following are the five categories and what was considered for each of them: How fast players are from end to end is only a part of speed. While he does benefit from help defense, its not as often as you might think. They were combined and adjusted to cover a range roughly between 18 and 22. It is a testament to Jarrett Jack that he makes this list. The house would collapse. But it seems like Paul is nutmegging and breaking opposing defenders ankles every game. On the other, he so rarely allows his opponent to get past him that he doesnt need to rely on it either. Even when in position, he wont jump to challenge a shot. Others with less physical prowess can dominate defensively simply because they pour everything into it. Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. In terms of career statistics and postseason accomplishments, he ranks as the NBAs fourth-best point guard of all time. -- Peterson, He's one of only a few players in history who has been deemed too good for the sport's own good. Nash is a top-ten point guard without a question. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. He was transcendent. 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. There arent many point guards in the league who can match Roses pure size and strength. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. Hed also be more willing to provide it. For the purpose of this study, 82games was used because the net defensive rating was also easily available and it made for consistency. On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. 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. He compensates for his diminutive size by fighting hard and using that aforementioned quickness. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. The American former professional basketball player was born on August 9, 1928, and played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963 and shortly for the Cincinnati Royals during the 196970 season. 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. Just because someone gets past him doesnt mean theyre going to score. 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. But his lack of any vertical leap kills him on the jump shot. Scottie Pippen 5. 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. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. Interpreted as: best point guard defensive rating with a minimum of 2000 minutes played per 82 team games 2022 The Top 100 will begin to roll out next week. Some contend its not his fault that hes short, but its not Jarrett Jacks fault that hes slow either. But it seems like Paul is nutmeggingand breaking opposing defenders ankles every game. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play.
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