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? Conley is generously listed at 61 and 180 pounds. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. Born on July 15, 1990, Damian is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. 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. Its why Williams gives up .92 points per play in isolation, one of the worst averages among point guards. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers, as a "coach on the floor" or a "floor general". But he jogs when he should run, is lackadaisical closing out shooters and goes through the motions when running through his rotations. He applies his energy smartly. The game has been graced by several incredible players whose names live on even after they retire. A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. Its like hes just punching the clock and collecting his wages. 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. Knight gets almost no help whatsoever from help defense. The ripple effect of that was that every single Bull had a worse defensive rating with Boozer than when playing with Gibson. 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. 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. 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. Thats good for 14th all-time in NBA history and he also had 10 seasons in the top 20 for steals per game. He gets crossed over pretty easily, and not just by the Associations elite point guards. If he wins an NBA championship, Chris Paul, the current number one point guard, will rise even higher on this ranking. Another major evaluation factor is the assist-to-turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. He was a master at leading the fastbreak, which led to Celtics titles. He is entirely too aggressive. Also, he was disliked for flopping feigning a foul to get the ball back, yet he proved to be a key ingredient to the Spurs championship-winning formula. He gave up 1.01 points per play on the spot-up last year. 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. Because Derrick Rose was the NBAs youngest MVP in 2009, its unfortunate that the guy isnt higher on this list. 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 may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. He always picks up on the switch. Not everything about a players value can be seen even through advanced stats, or even while hes on the court. Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy! Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. This is what I mean by ubiquity. On the other hand, hes not tremendously athletic. Even though Payton only played a little part in 2006, the Heats success would not have been possible without his defensive presence and leadership. For this reason, a point guard is usually, but not always, more skilled and focused on passing than shooting. 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. Here he is. Its more than that. He also has such superior court awareness that most picks dont catch him squarely, and he just glides over them. The reason teams run so much pick-and-roll is that it works. The only thing is that the Bulls actually gave up 8.6 more points while he was on the court. He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. 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. He applies himself and stays committed, but when hes beaten on a play, hell relax waiting for his bigs to pick up the slack. -- Adande, Teams Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. He has been improving in that regard, but its taken a while, and there are still some maddening things. After years of being sidelined by ailments, the grandeur that should have been his was snatched from him. You never have to question his effort or commitment. Jumping ability, body control and agility were all considered as well. Like last time, these shooting guards are ranked based on the cumulative defensive win shares (DWS). His defensive usage was the highest of any player with at least 1,200 minutes. Bledsoe is a bit of a freak. That makes him eligible for inclusion on this list of best point guards. His low foul rate of 4.5 percent is another indication that hes adept at getting into position quickly. 2. 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. Lillard would likely be at the top of this list if measured as an offensive package as a whole. 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 doesnt have to race around to get in position because hes almost never out of position. 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. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. As a result, hes been a member of the All-Defensive First Team four times and a member of the All-Defensive Second Team five times. 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. 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. In nine seasons with the Detroit Pistons, plus two with the Washington Bullets and one with the Boston Celtics, Bing gathered 18,327 points in 901 competitions (20.3 ppg). Perhaps the most unstoppable offensive player in NBA history, Jordan decimated and demoralized his foes on the defensive end. Meanwhile, we are presenting the top 10 by position. He doesnt disrupt team defense with unnecessary gambles. He doesnt put a lot of effort into chasing his man through screens. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. Dennis Rodman 4. Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. 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. Does he know when to help and not to help? Lillard, on the other hand, is generally able to get things going from the perimeter anytime he wants. -- Adande, He led the NBA in assists nine straight seasons from 1987 to 1996. 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. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. 6 (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963), Career stats Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. He could create at an elite level while also scoring off the dribble from the midrange. Gary Payton 9. Ranking the best point guards of all time and selecting the top 10 point guards of all time are two of the most difficult things to do. He spends too much time getting back into the defensive play because he ran himself out of it. Still, hes one of the best point guards of all time, and his stats show that hes a deserved All-Star. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. The other thing thats surprising about Rondo with his size is how well he fights over picks. He just doesnt have the length to effectively guard against them. 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. -- Adams, Honors Overall, he is more of a gives-help defender than a needs-help defender. At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. When people think of NBA point guards, he set the mold. Does he make stupid fouls or smart fouls? 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. Others with less physical prowess can dominate defensively simply because they pour everything into it. There are few players on this list who can match his incredible scoring, rebounding, and playmaking prowess. Since elite offensive players tend to have a higher usage rate, players that guard elite offensive players should also have more defensive plays. On top of that, when Parkers man slips past him, he has one of the best defenders in the history of the universe, Tim Duncan, to help him out. He is a natural playmaker with excellent point guard abilities, creating the ideal point guard prototype. This can cause other players to become disinvolved in the offense. Some players defined their positions. Current NBA point guards known for their defensive prowess include Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley Jr., Marcus Smart, and Chris Paul. The number in the parentheses indicates where they ranked in that category. Jordan also had two seasons (86-87 and 87-88) where he was in the top-20 in blocks per game and seven seasons in the top-20 in defensive rating. While Rose was fairly criticized for not playing hard defensively prior to Thibodeau, that criticism is no longer accurate. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. It is easy to have the numbers skewed by a smaller sample size. Probably no point guard in the league does a better job of recovering defensively than Rose does. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. Im cheating a little here. His 48.8 DWS is 48th all-time and the fourth most by a point guard. 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. Players Stats: 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5 APG, 0.0 SPG, 0.0 BPG, Honors: 1956-1957 MVP, 13x All-Star, 12x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. Teams You dont get the sense in watching him that theres a point of pride in it. Chauncey Billups, or Mr. For all the hammering Im doing on Chalmers, it remains true that the Heat are better with him on the court than off of it, but its questionable if thats because hes on it. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . When hes not getting wrapped up, he plays the pick-and-roll well. Total Defensive Plays per 36 Minutes, or TDP/36 is simply the total number of defensive rebounds, steals and blocks a player accrues every 36 minutes. 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. Something was great about that play, but it was Knight showing the heart to challenge Jordan, not Jordan dunking on a man a foot shorter than himself. He has above-average size and strength, but he doesnt play like it. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. He has a real grasp of the game, and he helps convey that to his teammates. The perimeter player gets rewarded statistically for what the center did, even though he actually played shoddy defense. Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. In terms of point guards, Magic is the finest there has ever been. Young players who are relatively short are now developing the scoring aspects of their skill-sets, whereas previously these players would find it difficult to enter the NBA without true point guard skills. -- Tom Haberstroh, NBA writer, No guard in NBA history pulled down more rebounds than Kidd, who finished with more career rebounds than Willis Reed and Alonzo Mourning, among others. Championships: 3. He has trouble compensating for his lack of size when challenging jump shots. Stockton was the. He doesnt try to make great plays, but he tries not to make mistakes, which is maybe what he should be concentrating on. Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. Kyrie Irving is unquestionably one of the greatest point guards of all time. Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. It probably tells the accurate story here. 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. 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. Sometimes, thats just not enough, especially if hes left to guard in isolation, where hes horrid, giving up .92 points per play. The .72 points per play he gives up in isolation is elite-level defense. 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. 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5APG, .375 FG%, The player 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. Injuries robbed Rose of the opportunity to become one of the games top five point guards. Hes able to stay in front of all but the quickest point guards in the league. The debate over whether it should have been a flagrant is mootclearly that got into James head because he was talking about it after the game. On the other hand, no matter how solid the foundation is, you cant move into it. The players are ranked according to their WAMS. The greatest point guard in NBA history. 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. Exploiting the fact that the opposing point guard is often an undersized player with limited strength, several modern point guards have developed games close to the basket that include being able to utilize the drop step, spin move, and fade away jump shot. No one was a better passer than him. 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 . Lowry just seems to be lost on defense much of the time. Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. But hes slightly built, and that raises some issues, especially when hes caught a fraction of a second behind a play. So the problem isnt a lack of speed; its a lack of applying it. The weakness is that it also includes some of what the other player does defensively, (e.g.. blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds). NBA: Ranking top 10 point guards ever - ESPN.com You dont see him take plays off, and you dont see him give up on plays. He averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Jason Kidd 9. When it came to size, the main flaw in his game was that he was very fast and explosive with his handles. Thats largely true. However, when the game is on the line, he makes the right decision. Sometimes that works, such as his quick darts under picks. His helter-skelter wizziness has him flying around the court, and sometimes its good. He seems to get frustrated easily. 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 . 7-time All-Star, 6-time All-NBA selection, 7-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats [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. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. Emailed daily. 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. He compensates for his diminutive size by fighting hard and using that aforementioned quickness. He benefits tremendously from help defense as previously mentioned, but that doesnt mean he doesnt also provide help defense. For a position that was highly valued at the time, he brought a lot of sparkle, style, scoring, and domination to the court. Thats because they can spend all their energy quickly, while starters have to pace themselves. Its possible for Nash to be the whole offense and to shoot 50-40-90 from the field on a continuous basis. Jordans inclusion as the best defensive shooting guard isnt surprising considering his relentless attitude to winning. -- Kevin Pelton, NBA Insider, May be the strongest point guard ever and consistently made everyone around him better. Bledsoe spent the majority of his time with Odom, while Chris Paul spent the majority of his time with Jordan, which confuses the on/off ratings. Does he know when to go over the pick, and when to go under it? Jerry West, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, combines a lethal jump shot, tenacious defence, obsessive perfectionism, unwavering confidence, and an unwavering will to win. For his time with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson is most known for his role alongside Charles Barkley. At 6-foot-1, he's the shortest NBA Finals MVP in league history, a reflection of his unique ability to dominate at the point guard position. 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. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. In the 13 seasons in which he played more than 60 games, mostly with the Chicago Bulls, the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection all first-team honors and a three-time steals champion. Starter from the VCT lockin. Thats a strong indication that Rose was not relying on help defense because that same help was there for C.J. These combo point guards can surprise defenses. Even though he normally does, he shouldnt have to and wouldnt if he were playing smarter. In the MVP vote for the 1967-1968 season, he finished second behind the unstoppable Wilt Chamberlain. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive Second Team five times. ESPN ranked the Top 10 PGs of all time & they have @iamisiahthomas ranked 5th. Other stats were determined by using my trusty sidekick, MS Excel, loaded up with standard stats available on most websites. 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. (Note: Players chosen only if they have played as a shooting guard for most, if not all, of their career.). Most players will take a little on-court breather now and then. Nixon played 6 seasons with the Lakers, making the All-Star Teams in 1982 and 1982 when he posted 17.6 PPG and 17.2 PPG respectively. The Greatest Defensive PG's in NBA History! - ranker.com Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. All the other tools and effort can be rendered useless by a little stupidity. 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. The Case For: Upper-tier defender (9x All Defensive Team, including 4 First Team selections). Hes like a runner trying to run a mile by alternating between walking and sprinting 100 yards at a time. 1. The former professional basketball player was born on March 26, 1962, and is regarded as one of the best passing point guards. Allen Iverson 11. In systems like the Grizzlies play, the point guard is the first line of defense. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. -- Doolittle, Perhaps someday Paul will reach the conference finals and we can focus more on his incredible accomplishments as a scorer, distributor and defender and less on his teams' inability to turn them into deep playoff runs. Although Wade had an accomplished resume, if he had played one more season, he wouldve easily overtaken the next player on the list. He is not a guy you would single out as an NBA player in a crowded room. He plays way too far off the ball, supposedly so he wont get beaten, but since he perpetually gets beaten like a drum anyway, why not play closer up so he can at least do a better job of defending the jump shot? Several sites track this, each in its slightly unique way, depending on its formula to calculate possessions. Also with both, theyve shown more success utilizing their physical attributes on the offensive end than the defensive end. He just cant do anything about it. 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player On the other hand, he was frequently bailing out whoever was playing shooting guard on numerous occasions. However, a good jump shot and the ability to score off a drive to the basket are still valuable skills. The five best defensive NBA shooting guards of all time Sometimes, measurables dont tell the whole story. Players Stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG. 43 views, 0 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from BabyYo: NRG VS KOI Highlights. Jed Jacobsohn/AP Images. Paul is just listed at just 60, and that might be generous. The house would collapse. 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. If someone goes past him, hell usually just wave goodbye. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. Top 10 Point Guards of All Time - Point Guard Rankings - Observer Desk 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. Why did you choose such a weird number scale? He also used his incredible basketball IQ to steal the ball and defend at a high level. All-Time #NBArank: Top 10 point guards ever, 'Not going out this way': Nets, down 28, stun C's, Kerr touts 5-0 homestand: Dubs 'turned a corner', KD: Mavs tilt, Kyrie meeting 'just another game', Owner: Snyder, Fields will bring Hawks success, Isaac has surgery on adductor, done for season, Clips' Powell out at least a week to treat shoulder, LeBron to have tendon injury checked in 3 weeks. Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. -- Pelton, Today's children will ask, "Who was the Steph Curry before Steph Curry?" In fact, its probably the most important thing. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. Tony Parker is one of the fastest players in the league if youre going by pure speed. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. Micah Adams is the lead NBA research specialist for ESPN Stats and Info. Jrue Holiday is not fast so much as he is quick. His lateral movement and reaction time are exceptional, and thats indicated by his isolation defense.