The strength of this is that it shows what the other player does offensively. 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, another player has his numbers go up because he is capable. 25. 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. His Synergy numbers compared to some of his team numbers validate that. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break and when and how to initiate the more deliberate sets. He applies himself and stays committed, but when hes beaten on a play, hell relax waiting for his bigs to pick up the slack. Even though he was 38 years old when he won his first NBA championship with the Mavericks, he had two trips to the NBA Finals with the Nets. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Why did you choose such a weird number scale? His helter-skelter wizziness has him flying around the court, and sometimes its good. Chris Paul is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of the 2010s. He doesnt put a lot of effort into chasing his man through screens. Even so, combo guards still require above-average passing skill, but not as much as possessed by "pure" point guards (which is what those in the traditional mold of a point guard are referred to). You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook. 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. As a result, opponents shot 42.9 percent from deep against him in the pick-and-roll. He arguably powers through picks better than any point guard in the league. Magic had unparalleled vision; he could see players get open and deliver the ball before they even realized they were open. An adamant multi-disciplinary journalist, Brian possesses the instincts that are comfortably intrigued by covering and writing the details as minor as the size of Kawhi Leonards hands and as significant as the Trends to watch out for in 2022. -- Peterson, Teams Each fails to realize that they are all right, and that the real answer is in the combination of what they all experienced. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. Thats the difference between what I call work intelligence and natural intelligence. Some people just have to work to pick things up. 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. Because they each feel a different thing, an argument arises as to who is right. At the very least, he could stab those quick hands of his at some more balls and disrupt the dribble from behind. Bing, despite having one of his eyes injured, was an attacking force to be reckoned with. Greg Monroe has talent on the offensive side of the ball but not a whole lot on the defensive side. Jason Kidd was the definition of a jack-of-all-trades point guard: he could pass, score and grab rebounds. Chalmers is 62 and 190 pounds, which is about average size for a point guard. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. For the purpose of this study, 82games was used because the net defensive rating was also easily available and it made for consistency. -- Adams, He could hurt defenses in so many ways: Controlling tempo was one, and he was a hell of a defender, too. Rondos lack of a need for help defense allows Garnett to help more elsewhere. If he didnt retire at 34, its interesting to see where Cousy could have landed all-time as he averaged 3.8 DWS per season. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. -- Doolittle, Cousy was an And-1 mix tape in black-and-white. Sportbrief has published an article about James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. 8. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. 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. Even when in position, he wont jump to challenge a shot. However, who are the all-time top point guards? When they do, he gets tangled up pretty badly; it happens so rarely, though, youd think he had eyes in the back of his head. 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. 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. Brandon Knight has work intelligence. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. 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. 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. 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. Hes only 63, which is relatively good size for a point guard, but he just seems bigger. Some players defined their positions. 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. Derrick Rose 15. (As an aside, in the slides, you will only see the original metric value, not the weighted number to determine the WAM. Phoenix Suns (1996-98, 2004-12), Dallas Mavericks (1998-2004), Los Angeles Lakers (2012-15), Honors 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. One of the most recognisable players in NBA history, Walt Frazier is a deserving candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame. Do they get their hands up and use their length? While no one always guards the best player, some players are much more likely to be guarding the other teams elite players, which makes them appear weaker defensively. Whatever else you want to say about Brandon Knight, just dont say he never tries. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Ben Wallace 12. For each of the following metrics, click on the subhead to be taken to the source website for more details. 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%, The player 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. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year career, helping him get 64.9 DWS. Bob Cousey 8. For the time being, his lack of effectiveness and poor decision-making precludes him from being considered one of the top five point guards. This is a necessity because of the point guard's many leadership obligations. He does those things; he just doesnt do them very hard. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. 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. Its interesting that when he plays against elite point guards, or when he plays angrily, he plays much more of a physical game. He just doesnt have the length to effectively guard against them. Seriously, you should hear Mark Jackson rave about him. Tim Duncan He had absolutely no help backing him up, and that inflates his objective numbers. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. It is akin to the blind men and the elephant in the Indian fable adapted to a poem by John Godfrey Saxe. When going against point guards who have a respectable jump shot, that becomes problematic. One of the most famous point guards of all time, Jason Kidd, could make a dazzling pass or a simple play with the finest in the game while also adoring to hightail it in transition to wear opponents down. 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, .428 3P%, The player Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. 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. The only point guard to win Defensive Player of the Year, Payton was a defensive nightmare and he never had a DWS lower than 1.2 during his 17-year career. 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. His Synergy numbers tell the story. 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. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, is also the league's best point guard. As a result of his hurling himself around the court with utter abandon, he was generally a positive when it came to help defense. In his 20 seasons, Bryant. Dallas Mavericks (1994-96, 2008-12), Phoenix Suns (1996-2001), New Jersey Nets (2001-08), New York Knicks (2012-13), Honors You cant build a house first, and then pour the foundation underneath it. The players are ranked according to their WAMS. He has above-average size and strength, but he doesnt play like it. Overall, hes ninth in steals with 2,207, and Drexlers 49.9 DWS is good for 45th all-time. In many cases, I looked at their combine results. He almost always went under the pick. MVP (2014-15), two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, Career stats He uses his length well when trying to close out on jumpers, utilizing all of his elevation and his full length. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. With both, its the combination of their size and speed that makes them so phenomenal. Thats largely true. 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. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. That would make sense, but there are two reasons to choose the unconventional scale. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. Its safe to say that Kidd is one of the greatest guards to ever play on the basketball floor. Its got to be annoying, but its also disruptive, and being disruptive is positive on defense. The list of the best defensive NBA point guards for 2022-23 starts off with two of the elite perimeter defenders overall. 12.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player 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. Is he an effective flopper? He compensates for his diminutive size by fighting hard and using that aforementioned quickness. 76ers vs. He probably can even tell you where the hot dog vendor and mascot are. At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. Gary Payton 12. By the time he was done, he had racked up 10 All-Star appearances, nine All-Defense selections, six All-NBA . . Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA.