James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Johnson will go down as one of the top 25 all-time point guards because of his defensive presence. The former professional basketball player was born on March 26, 1962, and is regarded as one of the best passing point guards. 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. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. Paul gets caught in a trap that WAM cant entirely avoid because it can only look at what happens, not why it happens. The Case For: Upper-tier defender (9x All Defensive Team, including 4 First Team selections). He routinely gets blistered in isolation (.93 points per play), fails to close out well on shooters and lags when coming off of screens. 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. Sometimes, measurables dont tell the whole story. Between his height, lack of real effort on closing out and taking too long to figure out where hes supposed to be (if he ever figures it out all), he becomes the perfect storm for easy pickins. For Rose, his biggest issues on both sides of the ball have to do with fundamentals and understanding. For many of these metrics, sample size becomes crucial. Nash is the answer. He did it not once, not twice, but three times. Lets see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. 25. Archibald, who was just 61 tall, was able to consistently sink the ball despite his diminutive stature. He sometimes gets tangled up and left hopelessly out of the play. Ultimately, Johnson's unselfishness earned him the title of greatest point guard of all time. Its frustrating watching Holiday play because when he gets out of position, it doesnt appear that its because hes caught out of position in the sense that he doesnt know where to be. Each of these has its own value, and those specifics will be discussed more on the next slide. Is he an effective flopper? But thats why we do the research. 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. On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. Stockton embodied a true point guard - an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. Offense is so much more than just scoring. 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. 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. Our booby prize winner is pictured above. Chauncey Billups, or Mr. Adapting your system to every opponent and knowing their nuances is understandable. As one of the elite point guards in the NBA, you would expect him to have elite athleticism, but he actually doesnt. 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. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. Don't get me wrong: Steph is still the league's best shooter. There arent many point guards in the league who can match Roses pure size and strength. The "Big O" was capable of doing it all. The only time hell go under a pick is when hes supposed to. 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. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. David Robinson 6. His low foul rate of 4.5 percent is another indication that hes adept at getting into position quickly. Whatever else you want to say about Brandon Knight, just dont say he never tries. Its amazing he doesnt get punched sometimes. In his 16-year career, Wade averaged 2.961 DWS per year and his 47.38 DWS is good for 55th overall. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. He averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. He normally makes the right play, even if he doesnt always do it well. 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. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year. Even players like Derek Fisher will hang him up and then hit him with the step-back. Players have a difficult time getting past him. Over the next four weeks, well unveil the rankings for the other four positions. He doesnt use his size exceptionally badly or incredibly well, though. It is easy to have the numbers skewed by a smaller sample size. In fact, Rondo gives more help than he getscontrary to my previous opinion. One conundrum has always been how to account for who is guarding the best player on the other team. 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. The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. Jumping ability, body control and agility were all considered as well. His Synergy numbers compared to some of his team numbers validate that. His lateral quickness is below-average, and his straightaway speed isnt much either. For this reason, a small penalty was exacted for every minute under 30 minutes, and a small bonus was provided over 30 minutes. 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. Players Stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG. Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. It doesnt seem that it would be that impressive if found it. First, a range of 18 to 22 makes it easier to arrive at the eventual score of 100the baseline everything was weighted to. Defensive Rating (DRtg) is the average number of points per 100 possessions a players team surrenders while he is on the court. The result is our all-time NBA Top 100. Because of his combination of length, speed and jumping ability, Rose has become an excellent team defender against the jump shot. Gary Payton. 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. The number in the parentheses indicates where they ranked in that category. This is to avoid confusion if you want to go to the original source.). What he offers goes beyond the court. 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. 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. All that was due to Bryant emulating Jordans relentless drive to win on both sides of the floor. While it does keep the opponent in front of him, it defeats the purpose if the opponent is still getting to the basket. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. Mr. In case you missed it, Jason Kidd was tops on the list with 75.1 DWS, good for 11th all-time. Does he pick up his man when switched? Hinrich always had a high basketball IQ. WAMS includes scouting. He has two ways of guarding the isopray for help or flop. He has been improving in that regard, but its taken a while, and there are still some maddening things. Here are the answers to some questions readers are likely to have. Watching video on Lin gave me one impression that stood out above everything else: his awareness of where he was on the court and where he needed to be. They have value when there arent such extremes like the difference between Boozer and Gibson. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the First Team all nine times. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. One of the greatest point guards ever, Jason Kidd could make the flashy pass or the simple play with the best of them while also loving to hightail it in transition to wear opponents down in. On those, there is no link available. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. 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. His Synergy numbers tell the story. Russ is already on the verge of breaking into the top five of all time, but its going to be a challenge. To absolutely nobodys surprise, Michael Jordan is the best defensive shooting guard in NBA history. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. It seems to be down to less than once a game. In balance he was a plus, but his deficiencies cant be ignored. He seems to get frustrated easily. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. What is the difference between WAM and WAMS? They tried just as hard as the valedictorian, but all they got were Bs. -- 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. Overall, he is more of a gives-help defender than a needs-help defender. Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose are the two most physically gifted point guards of their generation, and, as a result, are constantly going to be compared to one another. 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? But mostly he plays smartly with an occasional brain fart. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . What he gives up at the point of attack, he makes up for with his team defense. His offensive style has been revamped to incorporate a powerful mid-range jumper along with some range as well. Rob Peterson is an NBA editor for ESPN.com. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. In addition to the traditional role of the point guard, modern teams have found new ways to utilize the position. -- 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). The players are ranked according to their WAMS. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. He uses his feet and body well, steering his man into the help defense when he knows hes not able to keep up. Jack has good but not great effort. And when hes on the bench, Eric Bledsoe, who is a 15th on this list, was with Odom. MVP (1963-64), 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year (1960-61), Hall of Fame, Career stats West became synonymous with brilliant basketball during his 14-year playing career with the Los Angeles Lakers. He was a master at leading the fastbreak, which led to Celtics titles. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats Opponents dont have much success getting around him. -- Peterson, Teams A 12-time All-Defensive Team selection, a nine-time 1st team All-Defense and three-time 2nd team All-Defense, Bryants 50.6 DWS ranks him 43rd overall. Damian Lillard's nuclear 71-point explosion Sunday night was jaw-dropping and somehow not all that surprising. Dallas Mavericks (1994-96, 2008-12), Phoenix Suns (1996-2001), New Jersey Nets (2001-08), New York Knicks (2012-13), Honors Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. You never have to question his effort or commitment. A point guard specializes in certain skills, like other player positions in basketball. Perhaps next year the Raptors will see better times, and well see less of that kind of behavior, but its a harmful habit to have picked up. He almost always went under the pick. You just dont see him make the wrong plays. He needs more of the former and less of the latter. His on-court coaching and leadership is probably the biggest reason the Clippers had the eighth most-efficient defense in the NBA last year. 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. Hes controlled in how he plays hard. With his record of successes and pioneering point guard talents, Magic is at the top of the list. 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. Magic Johnson won the National Basketball Association Most Valuable Player Award three times in his career. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. Point guards are expected to be vocal floor leaders. As a result, the picks work extremely well. An All-Star in every full season that he played for the Boston Celtics, six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy was an all-around player: he averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? He was also an outstanding playmaker and a solid scorer with a strong mid-range game. He doesnt try to make great plays, but he tries not to make mistakes, which is maybe what he should be concentrating on. He is tremendous at using that muscle to his advantage, too. He also defends well against post-up plays, yielding just .54 points per play, although thats on an admittedly small 17-play sample size. -- Peterson. James is well-known for his incredible skill and ability to score big points, which frequently help his team win crucial games. Smart people recognize their limitations. This is where everything focuses on Westbrook. Still, a first-rate point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. One of basketballs most dynamic and versatile point guards in the modern era. Chalmers will fail at things, but not because he isnt trying. 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. Gary Payton was born on July 23, 1968, and is widely regarded as one of the best defensive point guards of all time. He does all those little things that dont show up in box scores. -- Adams, Combined savvy with underrated strength. You cant build a house first, and then pour the foundation underneath it. 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. These were calculated using the raw stats available on any site carrying basic stats. His shot-making and defense made him a top-tier point guard throughout his career. When he gets it going, hes unstoppable. 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. Stats dont tell the whole story and our eyes often only confirm what we already know. Some point guards are still given a great deal of leeway in the offense. Just telling your players to play harder and close out on threes isnt a real system. Over the last decade, the best point guards such as Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and others have dominated the position. To read more, go here! 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. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. Bill Russell 3. 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. Magic had unparalleled vision; he could see players get open and deliver the ball before they even realized they were open. Thats helped him amass 47.3 DWS, 56th overall. Players Stats: 20.3 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 6.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG. He tends to use that speed and athleticism well when hes in position, too. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. But will he listen enough to a player he was just playing against to make that shift? In many cases, I looked at their combine results. Kevin Durant, surprisingly, also bails out his co-star a lot. On the flip side, Westbrook's 4.13 turnovers per game average is the highest all-time, with Johnson (3. . By combining them, we can get a better picture of the whole elephant of a players defense. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors Think: Dennis Rodman. That helps him to dominate games defensively without having to leave the ground. The Miami HEATs best player in franchise history, Dwyane Wade was an offensive maestro. He also uses that length to be one of the best shot-blocking point guards in the league. He led the NBA in scoring in only his second season, 1967-68, with 27.1 points per game. Aside from the centre, having the best point guard is critical to improving your game because every play starts with him. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. He affected the paradigm for overseas guards trying to break into the NBA. Follow Sports Brief on Twitter for more trending and breaking news! 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. There arent many point guards who can do it all, but Kidd is one of them. This implies that the point guard serves as an extension of their coach on the court, and he or she is accountable for making the right plays every night. You dont get the sense in watching him that theres a point of pride in it. -- Pelton, Today's children will ask, "Who was the Steph Curry before Steph Curry?" That said, hes 61st all-time in steals with 1392 and he had six seasons in the top-20 in steals. It is a testament to Jarrett Jack that he makes this list. Boston Celtics (1950-1963), Cincinnati Royals (1969-70), Honors 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. He doesnt put a lot of effort into chasing his man through screens. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. From that, each player was scored in five different areas on a scale of 18 (best) to 22 (worst). You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. Knight gets almost no help whatsoever from help defense. Chris Paul 13. At the very least, he could stab those quick hands of his at some more balls and disrupt the dribble from behind. Thats when you see him start to do things like not close out on shooters, merely waving his hand in the air instead. Other stats were determined by using my trusty sidekick, MS Excel, loaded up with standard stats available on most websites. He falls into his rotations smoothly. Top 10 Point Guards of All Time Best NBA Point Guards, NBA and other Best Basketball Leagues in the World, Facebook and Twitter takedown hackers targeting Ukraine political figures and military officials via fake accounts, Britney Spears called out Fans that She felt Sick to her stomach after Family plans Intervention, Stephen tWitch Boss passed away intestate, wife Allison Holker has filed Estate Control. Holiday knows what to do, but he doesnt always do it. He applies his energy smartly. 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player 6 (1957, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963), Career stats Jeremy Lin is not one of the faster point guards in the NBA, and hes not particularly quick either. This could be something that Monty Williams, a coach with outstanding player development skills, can work on in New Orleans now that Holiday is with the Pelicans. Its safe to say that Kidd is one of the greatest guards to ever play on the basketball floor. While that is by design, he shouldnt get the same credit as players who bring their full attention the entire time theyre on the court. Do they get their hands up and use their length? 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. His 47.4 DWS is 54th overall, good for an average of 2.963 DWS per season, slightly edging Wade. Jrue Holiday is making . 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. Seemingly overhauling your system for every opponent is not. Championships: 3. Whether this is a result of his reputation being undeserved or him not putting forth the effort isnt hard to determine. Jrue Holiday. Hes always looking where hes supposed to go, and moving in that direction, but he just takes his time getting there. Derrick Rose 15. As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . 43 views, 0 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from BabyYo: NRG VS KOI Highlights. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. 8. His score would be much worse if it werent for help defense from Chris Bosh, LeBron James and Chris Andersen frequently coming to his aid. By: HoopsHype. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. He might have Silly Putty for a father. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, is also the league's best point guard. To recap, Jason Kidd was the best defensive point guard, Michael Jordan skied above other shooting guards, John Havlicek paced all small forwards - for the time being - and the "Mailman . That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. Thats where we naturally focus our attention, so when it comes to things like help defense, we only notice if were looking for it, or if its extreme. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. Interpreted as: best point guard defensive rating with a minimum of 2000 minutes played per 82 team games 2022 18.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, The player He applies every bit of failing athleticism he has all the time. Thats helped him amass 47.3 DWS, 56th overall. Average players struggled, though. 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. Current NBA point guards known for their defensive prowess include Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley Jr., Marcus Smart, and Chris Paul. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. The relative value between players was not affected; they were merely weighted so that the metrics could be combined without any one metric dominating the others. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. Gary Payton 9. Even though injuries caught up with him toward the end of his illustrious career, Bryant still battled as a defender when needed. Bob Cousey 8. In the history of the combine, only nine players have recorded better sprint and agility scores, and of those, only three had a better vertical than his 37.5 inches. A point guard has perhaps the most specialized role of any position. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. On the other hand, he was frequently bailing out whoever was playing shooting guard on numerous occasions. Perhaps he just grew weary of Doug Collins' act. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. -- Adams, Honors Jacks presence on a team is one of those things. Top 20 best defensive midfielders in the world today: who are they? And I never saw him go in the wrong direction, not once. 21.6 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.9 APG, .441 3P%, We counted down the greatest players in NBA history. The American former professional basketball player was born on August 9, 1928, and played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963 and shortly for the Cincinnati Royals during the 196970 season. He also is tougher than most point guards to post up. 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. This is especially true when closing out on defenders. An All-Star in every full season that he played for the Boston Celtics, six-time NBA champion Bob Cousy was an all-around player. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 13. Therefore, with a few exceptions, players were only considered if they played at least 1,200 minutes last season (which comes out to around 30 percent of possible minutes). Bing, despite having one of his eyes injured, was an attacking force to be reckoned with. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. Scoring point guards typically look to score first, thus preventing teammates from getting the ball. Notably, several modern point guards have used a successful style of post play, a tactic usually practiced by much larger centers and forwards. He gave up just .87 points defending the spot-up (making him one of the few players to defend the spot-up better than the iso). The NBA is flush with dominant point guards. -- Peterson, Teams Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. Oscar Robertson was one of the NBA's greatest players in history. After the All-Star break, when Rose hardly played, that number fell to 17.8 and the Bulls dropped to ninth. Lowry is neither big nor strong, and he does little with what size he has.
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