5-on-5: Will Curry pass Magic as best PG ever? For the purpose of this study, 82games was used because the net defensive rating was also easily available and it made for consistency. 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. If he had just a little more strength and could get through the screens just a tad bit quicker, then that ground could be eaten up ever so fractionally sooner, and he would be able to have that smidgen of success needed to effectively challenge those three-point shots. Magic Johnson won the National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award three times in his career. [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. Nash was never known as a strong defender, but he was capable of bothering opposing point guards to some extent. FOXSports.com - Best all-time point guards at the Wayback Machine (archived July 12, 2005), accessed 2008-02-09 This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 17:58 . You can look at why things happen and offset the misleading things. While most of these stats are adjusted for minutes, the problem surfaces that bench players, playing fewer minutes, can appear to be better than they are. Russ is already on the verge of breaking into the top five of all time, but its going to be a challenge. They have value when there arent such extremes like the difference between Boozer and Gibson. He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. Hes like a runner trying to run a mile by alternating between walking and sprinting 100 yards at a time. -- Adande, Teams Cousy, in many respects, was the Celtics spirit at the moment. Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Durant's return could rock the West, What NBA Finals runs from LeBron, Giannis can teach Jayson Tatum, They said it! Its like hes chosen the worst of both worlds. While Rose is slightly faster, Westbrook is slightly bigger. Does he make stupid fouls or smart fouls? Jordans inclusion as the best defensive shooting guard isnt surprising considering his relentless attitude to winning. Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. Other defenders deficiencies are hidden by being put on weaker offensive players. 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. He does a poor job of defending the spot-up, surrendering 1.07 points per play. Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. Do the likes of Magic Johnson and Stephen Curry rise to the top of the point guard rankings, or is it possible for someone with undeniable natural skill like Penny Hardaway to crack the elite group? 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. The biggest reason appears to be a fundamental one. Below is a list of the 25 Best point guards of the NBA. 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. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Last season, when Rose was healthy early on, they gave up the thirdmost, 16.3 points. You dont see him take plays off, and you dont see him give up on plays. He joined the NBA in 1960 and quickly established himself, averaging 30.5 points per game and winning Rookie of the Year. It is startling to see the regularity with which opponents blow past Deron Williams. Does he know when to help and not to help? If theres a weakness, though, its that when he comes up against the elite offensive point guards, he will get beaten in isolation. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. Johnson is widely recognized as one of the all-time great point guards, particularly for his defense. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. Its what separates him from being a valuable, slightly overrated defender, and an elite defender. He has a high basketball IQ, and he has that veteran savvy thing going for him, too. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. New Orleans Hornets (2005-11), Los Angeles Clippers, (2011-present), Honors Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. This year, without Rose, the Bulls were 23rd, at 21.0 points per game. He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. -- Pelton. Occasionally hell chase the play after hes been beaten, but not always. The list of the best defensive NBA point guards for 2022-23 starts off with two of the elite perimeter defenders overall. Not everything about a players value can be seen even through advanced stats, or even while hes on the court. It only looks at the data. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. Nevertheless, its just as important. Eventually, that learning has to become instinct, though. Aside from his offensive prowess, Johnson had the ability to hit for power and lead the offense at a high level. At 64, hes big enough to guard shooting guards, as well as point guards. West became synonymous with brilliant basketball during his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers. -- Kevin Pelton, Teams 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. One of the most recognisable players in NBA history, Walt Frazier is a deserving candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame. So I saddled up my workhorse, Synergy, and watched an hour or two of each of the top 15 WAM scores playing defense. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. He was born on March 23, 1973. -- Adams, For nine consecutive years, Nash's teams led the NBA in offensive rating. Additionally, Stockton was a fantastic shooter and defender, almost possessing no weaknesses on the floor at all. People that just do their job dont usually pitch in and help their co-workers. So the problem isnt a lack of speed; its a lack of applying it. 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. He fights through picks, going over them when he can and under them when he cant. If it tends to fall in the middle, he gets a 20. -- Rob Peterson, One can only imagine how impressive his career totals might have been if not for the HIV virus. Watching video on Lin gave me one impression that stood out above everything else: his awareness of where he was on the court and where he needed to be. At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. 10-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats Other stats were determined by using my trusty sidekick, MS Excel, loaded up with standard stats available on most websites. His most notable awards include five NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team selections, and 12 All-Star appearances. Therefore, a lower score is superior. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. The explosiveness and rim-running ability of Damian Lillard extend beyond his ability to shoot the ball from a distance. Paul gets caught in a trap that WAM cant entirely avoid because it can only look at what happens, not why it happens. For eight consecutive seasons, Cousy was the leagues top assist producer, and he was also one of the finest scorers in the league. 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. Kawhi Leonard 11. The corresponding WAM or WAMS scores indicate how many points a group of like-skilled players on the court would theoretically give up in 100 possessions. 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. ALL-TIME #NBARANK, 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25, The player 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. Sometimes it doesnt. Back in the 80s and 90s as a member of the Portland Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets, Clyde The Glide Drexler and Michael Jordan constantly battled for the title of best shooting guard. In order to claim that title, both players had to play defense as well. Hes always looking where hes supposed to go, and moving in that direction, but he just takes his time getting there. -- J.A. Dennis Johnson. His ability to score and create plays made him an NBA superstar. Gary Payton was born on July 23, 1968, and is widely regarded as one of the best defensive point guards of all time. It is really hard to say anything about Lowrys help defense. When going against point guards who have a respectable jump shot, that becomes problematic. In order to answer that, we introduce Weighted Averaged Metrics (WAM) and WAM with Scouting (WAMS), a pair of advanced defensive metrics which combine other stats and metrics, weight them so that each represents an equal relative value, and then use them all to derive a final score. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. Steve Nash 7. -- Adams, He could hurt defenses in so many ways: Controlling tempo was one, and he was a hell of a defender, too. Also with both, theyve shown more success utilizing their physical attributes on the offensive end than the defensive end. The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. The number in the parentheses indicates where they ranked in that category. 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. In 2021, Paul became the first player in NBA history to score over 20,000 points and dish out over 10,000 assists before LeBron James followed suit later in 2022. That deceptive length helps him nab 2.5 steals per 36 minutes and grab a ridiculous number of rebounds for a person his height. I like to compare it to the relationship between a foundation and a house. 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. #VCTLOCKIN #Valorant #valorantagents #valorantgaming. Players Stats: 15.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 2003-2004 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 2x All-Defensive Team Selection. But his lack of any vertical leap kills him on the jump shot. Sounds great, right? Trail Blazers playoff failures have been a major blemish on both his game and his career so far. James is well-known for his incredible skill and ability to score big points, which frequently help his team win crucial games. Thats helped him amass 47.3 DWS, 56th overall. 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, .428 3P%, The player He falls into his rotations smoothly. 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. 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). Whether this is a result of his reputation being undeserved or him not putting forth the effort isnt hard to determine. Eric Bledsoe has a reputation as being both quick and fast, even for a point guard, but he rarely shows it on defense. Opponents dont have much success getting around him. Even when in position, he wont jump to challenge a shot. Thats a pretty large difference, and it shows he is at his best when he can utilize his quickness, while at his worst when he has to use his strength. Lin plays with consistent effort on defense, but hes stuck in fourth gear. 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. Synergy tracks every play of every game of the season and, when possible (as it is not always possible), they assign an initial defender on a play. Hes just over 60" without shoes but has a wingspan of 67.5. Only four players in the history of the combine are as short or shorter and have at least that kind of reach. Coaches are responsible for developing young players, and it would have been fun to watch him grow under Doc Rivers. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. Hed also be more willing to provide it. After the opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down the court to begin an offensive play. That had the effect of distorting Pauls on/off numbers. Hes not looking at the ball-handler's chest, which makes him susceptible to fakes, so when his opponent breaks, Rose is momentarily frozen. 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. Robertson amassed 26,710 points and 9,887 assists during his 14-year NBA career with the Cincinnati Royals and Milwaukee Bucks. Bob Cousey 8. Kyrie Irving is unquestionably one of the greatest point guards of all time. We have listed down 25 of the finest point guards, so lets see who makes it to the top 10 point guards of all time. And I never saw him go in the wrong direction, not once. There is no doubt that Stephen Curry inherited his incredible shooting ability from his father, Dell, who was a successful NBA marksman himself, but the younger Curry's game is more diverse than Dell's. Gary Payton. There's no way Stockton & Curry are better than Isiah. Brandon Knight has exceptional speed and quickness. 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. You need to build something on it. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. 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. Gary Payton, widely regarded as one of the best defensive point guards in NBA history, saw a similar decline in his defensive abilities after the age of 35. He never stops moving. His quickness and slim frame allow him to slip through gaps in the defence and create more opportunities for himself. His MVP season, he had the second-best block total by a point guard in history (although John Wall exceeded that total last year.). Hell overshoot passing lanes, gambling for the steal. As a point guard, Tim Hardaway was one of the most popular and respected players in the NBA during his time with the Miami Heat. Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. Even when picks are set behind his back, he instinctively knows they are there and just steps over them seamlessly. Have a look! In addition, Cousy, dubbed "The Houdini of the Hardwood," led the NBA in assists for 8 straight seasons, creating a whole new blend of ball-handling and passing skills for the league. 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. Great size made him impossible for most. He might not be the fastest guy in the world, but that doesnt keep him from trying to be. 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 defends pick-and-rolls exceptionally well because hes able to shake off picks without much trouble, even pushing around stronger players like Carlos Boozer or Robin Lopez at times. 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. John Stockton 6. Aside from the centre, having the best point guard is critical to improving your game because every play starts with him. 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. 18.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, The player Needless to say, you dont see a lot of LeBron-Jamesian-chase-down blocks from Conley. Johnson had a knack for scoring against everyone and racked up impressive numbers throughout the course of his career. While hes able to keep himself from getting pushed around when point guards, or even shooting guards, try and post up on him, hes not able to dig through picks the way the other three are. Bledsoe is not a great help defender, in spite of boasting a -4.9 net defensive rating. Holiday knows what to do, but he doesnt always do it. 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. In his 20 seasons, Bryant. Hes only 63, which is relatively good size for a point guard, but he just seems bigger. You think, He cant be trying hard enough, but then you realize he is. Parker has a hefty 1.05 points per play against defending the jumper, even though he typically gets there and challenges shots. One of the most innovative offensive players, San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili was a very unique player. The ripple effect of that was that every single Bull had a worse defensive rating with Boozer than when playing with Gibson. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. Do they get their hands up and use their length? -- Peterson. Does he know when to go over the pick, and when to go under it? Did they get pushed around easily? Of course, sometimes his opponent scored, too. At 5ft 3in (1.60m) the shortest player in NBA history, Muggsy Bogues enjoyed 889 games in a 14-year career as a point guard. Stockton is one of the greatest assist players in NBA history, if not the greatest. 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. He was a giant of a guard, but he had all the necessary talents, including the ability to dribble and pass. He simply doesnt have the same ability as the elite point guards to get up in the air, and that hinders his ability to defend the jump shot. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. It was just his second season when he led the league in scoring with an average of 27.1 points per game, despite some serious injury setbacks. Each of these has its own value, and those specifics will be discussed more on the next slide. 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. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. The Glove is hands down the best defender a the point guard position. In many cases, I looked at their combine results. 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. He works well within a system where there are no real defensive weaknesses. 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. Even the fastest point guards tend to get bottled up. Coming over as a 25-year-old rookie, Ginobili only had two seasons where he had fewer than one steal per game and he averaged 1.3 steals for his career. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. Jumping ability, body control and agility were all considered as well. ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. 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. I suspect that some of this might be by design, as Holiday bore a leading part of the burden on both ends of the court for his team, so its understandable to a point, but not to the extent I saw. It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. Dennis Johnson. Tony Parker is one of the fastest players in the league if youre going by pure speed. Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. 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. -- 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. 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. Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. Jason Kidd 9. He secures first place in the top 10 NBA point guards of all time. His contributions won him a spot on the NBA All-Time 50th Anniversary Team. 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. Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. As a result, the picks work extremely well. He has trouble compensating for his lack of size when challenging jump shots. He also has such superior court awareness that most picks dont catch him squarely, and he just glides over them. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . 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. In fact, Rondo gives more help than he getscontrary to my previous opinion. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. He does an air-tight job of keeping players out of the perimeter. Still, Nash's greatest historical legacy will be paving the way for Stephen Curry and a new generation of point guards in a league that embraced point guards making plays with a wide-open court. 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%, The player Alex Caruso. 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. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Why not a normal scale of one to 10? Rondo consistently applies every bit of effort in him on the defensive end. Refusing to back down because youre afraid of being put on a poster is a good thing, not a bad thing. Best Point Guard Defensive Rating 2022 | StatMuse Luka Doncic had the lowest defensive rating by a point guard in 2021-22, with a 106.5 rating. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. 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. Sometimes, all that the on/off stats tell you is the difference between two players that play the same position. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, is also the league's best point guard. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. 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. This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission. Hes 63 with a 68 wingspan and an 83 standing reach. On the other hand, you cant deny what happened, regardless of how much you watch. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? While he recovers most of the time, its worth asking why he gets beaten. On those, there is no link available. 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. Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Since elite offensive players tend to have a higher usage rate, players that guard elite offensive players should also have more defensive plays. 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. In systems like the Grizzlies play, the point guard is the first line of defense. Theres a running debate over the relative importance of stats versus watching. Stats tell you what happened, but you cant know why it happened unless you watch. Considering his challenges with speed, he did reasonably well with the pick-and-roll, again because of his size and strength to fight through picks. One of basketballs most dynamic and versatile point guards in the modern era. He averages 1.8 steals per game. Chris Paul 13. Its frustrating watching Holiday play because when he gets out of position, it doesnt appear that its because hes caught out of position in the sense that he doesnt know where to be. But he never does. He could launch it from 30 feet or more with ease. Conley is generously listed at 61 and 180 pounds. 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. 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats Lowry is neither big nor strong, and he does little with what size he has. In addition to the traditional role of the point guard, modern teams have found new ways to utilize the position. If you dont want to consider them, then dont. He is in charge of getting the ball into the hands of the shooters. When you look at his on/off numbers, you expect that hed be a solid help defender, but you dont see much evidence of that. Meanwhile, we are presenting the top 10 by position. 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. 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.
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