The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). He might have Silly Putty for a father. Watching a thing, and watching for a thing, are different. He and Chris Paul are the contenders for smartest defensive point guard in the game today. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. 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. Nowadays, the point guard is expected to do more than simply run plays; he or she must also be the teams offensive leader by putting up big numbers every night! 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player 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. 21.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, .441 3P%, We counted down the greatest players in NBA history. 11. On the positive side, Rose does a decent job of understanding his role in a complex system. Normally this would be a list of FAQs, but no one has ever asked any questions (since no one has ever seen it). 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! 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. There was always that kid in high school or college who tried so hard to get decent grades. 3. For his career, Jordan averaged 2.3 steals (third all-time) and 4.2 DWS per year. The other thing thats surprising about Rondo with his size is how well he fights over picks. -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. He has the speed to get there, but not the length to disrupt the shot once he does. 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. Perhaps it was the fact that the Philadelphia 76ers were having a disappointing season without their newly acquired star, Andrew Bynum. Dont be surprised to see him as a head coach someday. While Rose was fairly criticized for not playing hard defensively prior to Thibodeau, that criticism is no longer accurate. Why did you choose such a weird number scale? 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. -- 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. One way of offsetting the problems of defensive rating is looking at on/off stats, meaning how many points does the defense give up while a player is on the court versus when he is off the court? Copyright 2023 YB Media, LLC. In case you missed it, Jason Kidd was tops on the list with 75.1 DWS, good for 11th all-time. 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. 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. Then there was that kid who just read the assignment on the bus and got straight As. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. 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. 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. My guess is that it has something to do with that. When we watch basketball, we get general impressions of defense, but the storyline is whats happening with the ball. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. He has above-average size and strength, but he doesnt play like it. Hinrich always had a high basketball IQ. But what kind of suit was he wearing on the last episode? He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. Eric Bledsoe has a reputation as being both quick and fast, even for a point guard, but he rarely shows it on defense. Hes pouring out effort every minute hes on the court. 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. But one in 20 is egregiously bad.). Dennis Johnson. You can be the best shooter in the world, but you can't score if you don't get the ball. "The Logo" Jerry West was an NBA Champion, a 14 time All-Star, ten time All-NBA First team selection, four time All-Defensive team selection, NBA scoring champion and an NBA assist leader. 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. If the team gives up more points while hes on the court, thats bad. 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. Kawhi Leonard 11. 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. On the flip side, Westbrook's 4.13 turnovers per game average is the highest all-time, with Johnson (3. . Went from dominating games strictly with his passing to making the fifth-most 3-pointers in NBA history. Seriously, you should hear Mark Jackson rave about him. 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 . Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. Lillard, on the other hand, is generally able to get things going from the perimeter anytime he wants. You dont see him take plays off, and you dont see him give up on plays. Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. -- Adande, Teams 13.1 PPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, .384 3P%, The player He plays longer than he actually is. The classic definition of a point guard, orchestrating offense and shooting when necessary. As a result, hes been a member of the All-Defensive 1st Team four times and a member of the All-Defensive 2nd Team five times. 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. Average players struggled, though. 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. 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. Even the fastest point guards tend to get bottled up. A decade of playing and a plethora of injuries havent helped him get any faster. -- Adams, He could hurt defenses in so many ways: Controlling tempo was one, and he was a hell of a defender, too. Kevin Durant, surprisingly, also bails out his co-star a lot. Point guard from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States of America 3 Jason Kidd Point guard from California, United States of America 4 Walt Frazier Point guard from Atlanta, Georgia, United States of America 5 Dennis Johnson 6 Fat Lever Point guard and Shooting guard from Pine Bluff, Arkansas load more Stockton embodied a true point guard: an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. -- 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. Hes not going to get beaten back, and he doesnt give up in transition. Sounds great, right? He was an All-Star every year of his career and led the Lakers to nine NBA Finals appearances. 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. It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. Rondo may not be big, but he doesnt know that. Despite making it to the Western Conference Finals last season, he is yet to make an appearance in the NBA Finals. Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5APG, .375 FG%, The player 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. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. Paul is just listed at just 60, and that might be generous. Its hard to notice his effort, though, because of the consistency with which he gets destroyed. But hes slightly built, and that raises some issues, especially when hes caught a fraction of a second behind a play. Steve Nash 7. 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. He had absolutely no help backing him up, and that inflates his objective numbers. From that, each player was scored in five different areas on a scale of 18 (best) to 22 (worst). Although Wade had an accomplished resume, if he had played one more season, he wouldve easily overtaken the next player on the list. Thats pretty much what you see with Conley. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. 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. Then, over 10,000 video clips were viewed and players were evaluated based on subjective criteria. 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. Broadly speaking, over 7,000 pieces of data on 226 players, in 16 different categories, were compiled into a database. Players like Deron Williams, Kyrie Irving and John Wall blew by him fairly consistently. For the time being, his lack of effectiveness and poor decision-making precludes him from being considered one of the top five point guards. Ranked: Top 25 male fitness influencers to follow in 2023, Howe dodges row over Newcastle's Saudi ownership, Former Chelsea boss spotted in Munich with his new lover, Bam Adebayo makes bold claim about the last two DPOY awards, Gary Neville ignites debate after stating ideal price for holding midfielder, Huge Ballon dOr scandal as player claims his votes were changed to Lionel Messi. Hes able to stay in front of all but the quickest point guards in the league. That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. I doubt its much beyond his height. Allen Iverson 11. We compiled a list of the top 15 point guards of all time using wholly subjective metrics from the list of active players and a few other legends. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. 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. He doesnt make stupid mistakes, but he doesnt anticipate plays either. If it tends to fall in the middle, he gets a 20. I like to compare it to the relationship between a foundation and a house. 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. -- 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). In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. Sometimes, thats just not enough, especially if hes left to guard in isolation, where hes horrid, giving up .92 points per play. He would find a way to beat his opponents, mentally and physically, and without his defensive tenacity, he wouldnt be considered the greatest of all-time. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. He needs more of the former and less of the latter. All rights reserved. The official cause of death of Flashdance singer Irene Cara has been determined. He is going to get beaten, without question. Williams needs to have a bit of a paradigm shift in the direction of team defense. Ultimately, Johnson's unselfishness earned him the title of greatest point guard of all time. Russell is regarded as one of the best point guard finishers of all time. 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. Kevin Garnett 8. He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. -- 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. Dennis Rodman 4. Hes just unable able to get high enough to legitimately challenge the shot. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. He has two ways of guarding the isopray for help or flop. When he does do it, he does it half-heartedly. To read more, go here! He spends too much time getting back into the defensive play because he ran himself out of it. Why not a normal scale of one to 10? He weighs in at only 175 pounds. Damian Lillard (2013-Present) AP Images. One of the greatest rebounding guards of all time. Many consider Bob Cousy to be a passionate athlete who was the first All-Star and dominating player for the Boston Celtics squad that included legends like Bill Russell and Kevin Collier. He might physically play below the rim, but few can touch how he plays above the neck. Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. It also helps him to have the second-most defensive plays per 36 minutes of any of the point guards on this list. Offense is so much more than just scoring. How they moved laterally, closed out on shooters, and recovered after getting beaten were also taken into account. Jack has good but not great effort. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. He owes his charitable demeanour to a group of elementary school parents. He has been improving in that regard, but its taken a while, and there are still some maddening things. Stockton is one of the greatest assist players in NBA history, if not the greatest. Bucks: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Rockets vs. Spurs: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Hawks vs. Heat: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Pistons vs. Cavaliers: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Raptors vs. Wizards: Start time, where to watch, what's the latest, Russell Westbrook still wants Sixth Man of Year award from time with Lakers, Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? Michael Jordan 10. You think, He cant be trying hard enough, but then you realize he is. However, when the game is on the line, he makes the right decision. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. Starter from the VCT lockin. The average score by point guards was 16.1. The Clippers never quite seemed to have a true defensive identity, even if they were improved. He doesnt help much, but he doesnt get a lot of help either, so its a bit of a wash. To his credit, he has the best WAM score of any point guard without a great defensive center to back him up. 7-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA selection, 7-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats 6 (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963), Career stats Alex Caruso. Jumping ability, body control and agility were all considered as well. Stockton was a member of two gold medal teams and twice reached the NBA finals during his remarkable career. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. Conley correctly identified the defender who was out of position, showing intelligence, but stupidly ignored that his man had the ball and an accurate jump shot. For his time with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson is most known for his role alongside Charles Barkley. Williams needs to do a better job of forcing opponents out of the middle and into the strong side of his defense, but he tends to fall straight back instead, letting them into the lane, which allows for easy scores. Whats remarkable is how quickly he gets to the shooter and gets a hand in his face, even if its all the way to the corner three and the shooter is setting when Rose takes off. 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. 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. If it gives up fewer points, thats good. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. He has trouble compensating for his lack of size when challenging jump shots. 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. WAM is purely objective. Players Stats: 16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG. This is what I mean by ubiquity. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. The former professional basketball player was born on March 26, 1962, and is regarded as one of the best passing point guards. The second-highest regulation scoring output of the 3-point era was the culmination . 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. He doesnt have to race around to get in position because hes almost never out of position. -- Peterson, He was the forerunner of Magic Johnson and LeBron James, and it's telling that both of those stars revere the Big O. Because of his combination of length, speed and jumping ability, Rose has become an excellent team defender against the jump shot. Therefore, a lower score is superior. 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. He could launch it from 30 feet or more with ease. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. -- Adande, Teams In his 20 seasons, Bryant. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022. His low foul rate of 4.5 percent is another indication that hes adept at getting into position quickly. Im cheating a little here. Does he pick up his man when switched? It is the same with his mental engagement in the game. In essence, hes athletic enough to do a respectable job of what hes asked to do. Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. As a result, he rarely gets tangled up with the pick-setter. Even though Payton only played a little part in 2006, the Heats success would not have been possible without his defensive presence and leadership. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . Always free! Let's see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. He also uses his quick hands to steal the dribble, and he does so without taking risks. 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 . 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats He probably can even tell you where the hot dog vendor and mascot are. He averages 1.8 steals per game. He had the best peak for any point guard in NBA history, hands down. After the opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down the court to begin an offensive play. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. Hes led the league in steals per game five times in the last six years. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. (Note: Players chosen only if they have played as a shooting guard for most, if not all, of their career.). At 63, with a wingspan of almost 68, he has decent size. It might not seem like much, but for most players, this covered around 30-40 games' worth of defense. Chalmers is 62 and 190 pounds, which is about average size for a point guard. 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. . -- Haberstroh, Honors If youre a fan of the TV show Suits, you might agree that Harvey Specter dresses well. While he does benefit from help defense, its not as often as you might think. Stats dont tell the whole story and our eyes often only confirm what we already know. The house would collapse. 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. -- Rob Peterson, One can only imagine how impressive his career totals might have been if not for the HIV virus. For a full game, Moncrief was capable of shutting down almost any guard in NBA history. See the criteria for scouting on the next slide. Occasionally hell chase the play after hes been beaten, but not always. As previously stated, he gets the help from Green and Leonard to guard the top point guards. He falls into his rotations smoothly. That makes him eligible for inclusion on this list of best point guards. It probably tells the accurate story here. 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. You can find him juggling the ball every Sunday on the field, with FIFA on his PlayStation as the night drill. 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. Players Stats: 13.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Star, 11x All-NBA Selection, 5x All-Defensive Team Selection, Hall of Famer. 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 . He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. But he never does. The NBA is flush with dominant point guards. Nash's sideways speed and power will be non-existent at some age, allowing for constant dribble. 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.
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