best defensive point guards of all time

Getting paired with Tom Thibodeau has made it even better. Chris is also a leader on the defensive end of the court, having been named to nine All-Defensive Teams. -- Haberstroh, Teams -- Haberstroh, Honors If Westbrook could channel his energy in a consistent way, he would be an elite defender, but for now, hes just a solid defender whos kind of spazzy. Most of those come for one of two reasons: Either he bites on the fake and is too slow to recover, or the shooter shoots over him and he doesnt have the ups to challenge it. His record and effect on the game, particularly offensively, are legendary, and its easy to see why. But he never does. What he gives up at the point of attack, he makes up for with his team defense. What color was his tie? He might not be the fastest guy in the world, but that doesnt keep him from trying to be. 76ers vs. Kyle Lowry has exceptional speed and athleticism. In the late 1980s, he was the face of the Bad Boys Pistons, who defeated Jordan's Bulls three times in a row in the playoffs. 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. 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. Johnson had a knack for scoring against everyone and racked up impressive numbers throughout the course of his career. Hes just unable able to get high enough to legitimately challenge the shot. Why John Stockton is the greatest NBA point guard of all-time - The Roar As a result, the picks work extremely well. Dennis Johnson. The five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection has averaged more than 24 points per game since being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012. Like last time . Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade won the NBA championship in 2006 with him as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. He and Chris Paul are the contenders for smartest defensive point guard in the game today. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. But thats why we do the research. Our booby prize winner is pictured above. 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. He weighs in at only 175 pounds. On and off the court, Dave Bing was an excellent high-scoring NBA point guard who achieved greatness. You can be the best shooter in the world, but you can't score if you don't get the ball. Kevin Durant, surprisingly, also bails out his co-star a lot. His 48.8 DWS is 48th all-time and the fourth most by a point guard. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. After all, as his name implies, Billups was known for taking and making huge shots in order to help his team win. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the First Team all nine times. 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. Gary Payton 9. Over the last decade, the best point guards such as Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and others have dominated the position. 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. If a player tends to be the helper, he gets a better score. Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. Occasionally hell chase the play after hes been beaten, but not always. -- 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. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. Not to mention that he is an elite finisher around the rim, shooting 61.5 per cent on 5-foot attempts. 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. Teams As previously stated, he gets the help from Green and Leonard to guard the top point guards. Bob Cousey 8. Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. The average score by point guards was 16.1. And do they try and recover when they get beaten? Other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook, and two-time winners Steve Nash and Stephen Curry. He can be stagnant when his man doesnt have the ball. One of the greatest rebounding guards of all time. In his heyday, Parker could score 25 points a night and seldom made poor choices with the ball. If the team gives up more points while hes on the court, thats bad. In his 16-year career, Wade averaged 2.961 DWS per year and his 47.38 DWS is good for 55th overall. But mostly he plays smartly with an occasional brain fart. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . 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. Just telling your players to play harder and close out on threes isnt a real system. For a position that was highly valued at the time, he brought a lot of sparkle, style, scoring, and domination to the court. 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. Thats because they can spend all their energy quickly, while starters have to pace themselves. 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. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats If theres a weakness, though, its that when he comes up against the elite offensive point guards, he will get beaten in isolation. Jack gets beat and bailed out frequently by his teammates. Tony Parker is one of the fastest players in the league if youre going by pure speed. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. On defense, the point guard is tasked with making the opposing point guard as ineffective as possible. It doesnt seem that it would be that impressive if found it. -- Adande, The only players in NBA history with more games with 20 points and 10 assists are Oscar Robertson and Magic Johnson. Many remember Ginobili for his offense, but he was also a capable defender. For eight consecutive seasons, Cousy was the leagues top assist producer, and he was also one of the finest scorers in the league. It will be interesting to see if his new coach, Jason Kidd, can help him to work on this, as Kidd was a terrific help defender. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. Great size made him impossible for most. Bledsoe runs through his rotations, but he rounds them off or overruns them. Scouting isnt the same as just watching games. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. Above all, the point guard must understand and accept their coach's game plan; in this way, the position can be compared to a quarterback in American football. Players Stats: 18.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Stars, 8x All-NBA Selection, 2005-2006 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? 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. On the other, he so rarely allows his opponent to get past him that he doesnt need to rely on it either. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. In addition to the traditional role of the point guard, modern teams have found new ways to utilize the position. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. . 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? For a full game, Moncrief was capable of shutting down almost any guard in NBA history. If he's not on the slide and he played 1,200 minutes, he should be on this list somewhere. Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Despite the fact that he was unable to win an NBA championship, his charisma and dribbling prowess will never be forgotten. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. Some point guards are still given a great deal of leeway in the offense. Somehow, he seems to be able to get his hands in the way of a lot of shots and passes that should be out of reach. Even though Payton only played a little part in 2006, the Heats success would not have been possible without his defensive presence and leadership. Dikembe Mutombo 7. Dennis Johnson. Damian Lillard's nuclear 71-point explosion Sunday night was jaw-dropping and somehow not all that surprising. He made everything go for those Lakers teams. He had absolutely no help backing him up, and that inflates his objective numbers. Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. Top NBA point guards for 2022-23: Ranking all 30 starters | Sporting News TMGNNS LEBRON Sun, 4:30p DEN CLE 2/23, 4:00p BOS IND 2/23, 4:00p DET ORL 2/23, 4:00p MEM PHI 2/23, 4:30p NOP TOR. Closing out on shooters, hell go sailing past them. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. I considered both their actual measurables and how well they used them. When people think of NBA point guards, he set the mold. In his 20 seasons, Bryant averaged 2.5 DWS and 1.4 steals per year. As a result, he rarely gets tangled up with the pick-setter. His MVP season, he had the second-best block total by a point guard in history (although John Wall exceeded that total last year.). 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. -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. There is no doubt about it: Steph Curry is the second-best in the top 10 point guards of all time. He tends to rely on his speed to compensate for his lack of mass. He never stops moving. We ranked the best point guards, determining the list with the help of B-R's position splits. 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. When he does do it, he does it half-heartedly. 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. From that, each player was scored in five different areas on a scale of 18 (best) to 22 (worst). He had the best peak for any point guard in NBA history, hands down. Moncrief is well known for his defensive prowess. As the primary decision-maker for a team, a point guard's passing ability determines how well a point guard is able to put their decision into play. Players Stats: 16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG. Pauls been an All-Defensive Team selection nine times, being selected to the First Team seven times and the Second Team twice. When the team is winning or the game is close, he puts in real effort, but if they are down, he shows noticeably less energy. He joined the NBA in 1960 and quickly established himself, averaging 30.5 points per game and winning Rookie of the Year. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. Perhaps he just grew weary of Doug Collins' act. The average score by point guards was 16.1. 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. And his athleticism gives him a leg up, which helps him dominate. Why not a normal scale of one to 10? Among the greatest point guards of all time, Tiny is among the finest ever. His most notable awards include five NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team selections, and 12 All-Star appearances. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players. Nash is a top-ten point guard without a question. Allen Iverson 11. If someone goes past him, hell usually just wave goodbye. Needless to say, you dont see a lot of LeBron-Jamesian-chase-down blocks from Conley. MVP (2014-15), two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, Career stats In case you missed it, Jason Kidd was tops on the list with 75.1 DWS, good for 11th all-time. The ripple effect of that was that every single Bull had a worse defensive rating with Boozer than when playing with Gibson. He appears to communicate the wisdom hes accrued to his teammates. He is easily one of the physically weaker players in the league, even for his position. One of the best -- and quickest -- lob passers the game has ever seen. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. Even the fastest point guards tend to get bottled up. When Gibson played with the starters, the Bulls gave up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions. At the very least, he could stab those quick hands of his at some more balls and disrupt the dribble from behind. The players listed below are our picks for the best point guards in NBA history. -- Kevin Pelton, Teams He sometimes gets tangled up and left hopelessly out of the play. Point guard - Wikipedia Thats a difference of almost five points a game given up to point guards. If youre a fan of the TV show Suits, you might agree that Harvey Specter dresses well. Players Stats: 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 2x MVP, 8x All-Stars, 7x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers, as a "coach on the floor" or a "floor general". Exceptions were made for Derrick Rose, Danny Granger, Andrew Bynum and Kevin Love because they have all been All-Star players, and all are still, at least by age, in their prime. Top 15 Greatest Point Guards In NBA History - TheSportster 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. That earned him the nickname Mr. That all-around game made Kidd one of the league's top point guards for nearly 20 years. Its like someone took a normal-sized person and stretched out the arms and hands to make him. Players Stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG, Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. You can look at why things happen and offset the misleading things.

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