Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. Normally this would be a list of FAQs, but no one has ever asked any questions (since no one has ever seen it). In the NBA, point guards generally range from 6ft 1in (1.85m) to 6ft 4in (1.93m) whereas in the WNBA, point guards are usually 5ft 9in (1.75m) or shorter. 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. He applies every bit of failing athleticism he has all the time. He has become one of the hardest working point guards in the league on both ends. 13.1 PPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, .384 3P%, The player Chauncey Billups, or Mr. In his heyday, Parker could score 25 points a night and seldom made poor choices with the ball. Even when in position, he wont jump to challenge a shot. In his first season, he specialized in defense and could stop almost every point guard in the league on a regular basis. Stats dont tell the whole story and our eyes often only confirm what we already know. By my count, about 70 percent of the time, the ball-handler will get past him and get a shot off. Thomas was ultra-quick with the ball and, at any moment, could pull up for a deadly jump shot. It tracks the production of a players counterpart while he is on the court. Think: Dennis Rodman. Then, after a single down year, he had y straight years of 2 steals per . The ripple effect of that was that every single Bull had a worse defensive rating with Boozer than when playing with Gibson. He uses quickness to capably guard the perimeter, but thats in large part because hes not always defending the elite point guards. Its hard to notice his effort, though, because of the consistency with which he gets destroyed. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. -- Adande, Teams For example, there was a play in which he was switched up against the Clippers, and he was put on Chauncey Billups, while Tony Allen was on Chris Paul. While he was doing that, Billups, who actually had the ball the whole time, just stepped back behind the three-point line and drained the three. 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. 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. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. 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. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Meanwhile, another player has his numbers go up because he is capable. Does he know when to go over the pick, and when to go under it? 21.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, .441 3P%, We counted down the greatest players in NBA history. In recent years, the sport's shift from a fundamental style of play to a more athletic, scoring-oriented game resulted in the proliferation of so-called combo guards at the point guard position. Hes controlled in how he plays hard. Additionally, Stockton was a fantastic shooter and defender, almost possessing no weaknesses on the floor at all. The Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 championship run would not have been possible without Kyrie Irving, who is a two-time NBA champion. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022. The "Big O" was capable of doing it all. Hed also be more willing to provide it. Tim Duncan Some would look at Conleys frontcourt and assumenot entirely incorrectlythat having Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to back him up pads his stats. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. Anyways, we hope you enjoyed going through the rankings with Magic Johnson securing first place in the Top 10 NBA point guards of all time. Paradoxically tough on the court and flashy off of it, Frazier epitomized the '70s-era backcourt style in which roles were less defined. With his athleticism and speed, there is no way that Rose should get beaten off the dribble as often as he does. That makes sense since Parker has assumed the primary responsibility on offense and theres no reason to wear himself out playing defense. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. Jason Kidd 9. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the 1st team all nine times. His Synergy numbers tell the story. [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. One conundrum has always been how to account for who is guarding the best player on the other team. DWS are how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. Interpreted as: best point guard defensive rating with a minimum of 2000 minutes played per 82 team games 2022 He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. Having said that, he does play team defense, too, and he is part of the team. They tried just as hard as the valedictorian, but all they got were Bs. On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. Wilt Chamberlain 14. 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. Ben Wallace 12. 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. In many cases, I looked at their combine results. Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. He is suitable at keeping most players out on the perimeter, but against elite point guards he has more problems. Let me remind everyone, young and old, I played against @iamisiahthomas when he was hurt & hobbling on one leg and @iamisiahthomas still scored 25 points in one quarter in the NBA Finals! Point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. Therefore, a lower score is superior. When he was off the ball, it was spectacular. Players Stats: 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 1963-1964 MVP, 12x All-Star, 11x All-NBA Selection, 1960-1961 Rookie of the Year, Hall of Famer. He does an air-tight job of keeping players out of the perimeter. As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. Thats just simply not true, and any amount of watching him play will verify that. He has a real grasp of the game, and he helps convey that to his teammates. 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. The other metrics help alleviate the extremes because they also indicate what a players personal defense does. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 7, 1974, to a Welsh mother, Jean, and an English father, John. Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy! Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. His Synergy numbers compared to some of his team numbers validate that. He also uses his quick hands to steal the dribble, and he does so without taking risks. Even when picks are set behind his back, he instinctively knows they are there and just steps over them seamlessly. 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. It is easy to have the numbers skewed by a smaller sample size. He seems to get frustrated easily. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. The explosiveness and rim-running ability of Damian Lillard extend beyond his ability to shoot the ball from a distance. 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. Players Stats: 18.8 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 6x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 1972-1973 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. (Note: Players chosen only if they have played as a shooting guard for most, if not all, of their career.). With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. But what kind of suit was he wearing on the last episode? The problem is that sometimes players are so inept, they skew the stats of other players. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. Bob Cousey 8. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. This is one of those cases where scouting helps. I actually looked for him to do it and couldnt find it. Fairly straightforward, this takes into account height, length and strength. For each of the following metrics, click on the subhead to be taken to the source website for more details. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the First Team all nine times. 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 still struggles against the spot-up, though, because of issues that will be addressed later. Then, when players pull up and shoot, he doesnt use his length to close and get a hand in the face of the shooter. 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 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. 18.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 6.1 APG, .490 FG%, The player Thats helped him amass 47.3 DWS, 56th overall. As previously stated, he gets the help from Green and Leonard to guard the top point guards. His net defensive rating of minus-7.7, combined with his lack of a defensively-solid backup big, is a strong indication of his value as a help defender. 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. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 13. When hes not getting wrapped up, he plays the pick-and-roll well. I like to compare it to the relationship between a foundation and a house. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. He doesnt just bring effort to every game; he brings it in all the right ways. It is one thing to be able to recognize the player that is in a tactically advantageous position, but it is another thing entirely to be able to deliver the ball to that player. 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. Trail Blazers playoff failures have been a major blemish on both his game and his career so far. Johnson will go down as one of the top 25 all-time point guards because of his defensive presence. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. 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. 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. Hes able to use that size advantage by being physical, playing close and aggressive, often forcing shooters into shots they arent comfortable taking. After years of being sidelined by ailments, the grandeur that should have been his was snatched from him. 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 undisputed first great point guard, Cousy remains the only guard in NBA history to be named First-Team All-NBA in 10 straight seasons. For each player, I watched between one and two hours of footage of defense, taking account of specific things and grading them in five different areas. 24. 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. 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. He has 12 All-Star selections, 10 All-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive Team selections, and a second-place MVP finish in his third season at 22. But only once did he actually truly defend the play. . In the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player coaches. Then, over 10,000 video clips were viewed and players were evaluated based on subjective criteria. He was an unstoppable offensive force who could score from anywhere on the court and in any way he wanted. Sometimes even when hes being smart, he gets a little dumb. This can cause other players to become disinvolved in the offense. 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. The only time hell go under a pick is when hes supposed to. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. Mentally subtract them from the rankings if you feel they shouldn'tbe included. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. 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. Over the next four weeks, well unveil the rankings for the other four positions. Adapting your system to every opponent and knowing their nuances is understandable. -- Doolittle, Cousy was an And-1 mix tape in black-and-white. 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. His on-court coaching and leadership is probably the biggest reason the Clippers had the eighth most-efficient defense in the NBA last year.