It tracks the production of a players counterpart while he is on the court. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. So the problem isnt a lack of speed; its a lack of applying it. In all, Jordans 64.1 DWS rank him 21st all-time. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. Bob Cousy Bettman/Getty Images. Still, a first-rate point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. 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. For a position that was highly valued at the time, he brought a lot of sparkle, style, scoring, and domination to the court. Watching specifically for this, I found only three instances in 50 plays where Garnett bailed out Rondo on isolation plays, a rate which is lower than most point guards receiving help. 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. Penny is deserving of a much better ranking just because he is such a gifted one. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. While he does benefit from help defense, its not as often as you might think. Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. 2. Players have a difficult time getting past him. The perimeter player gets rewarded statistically for what the center did, even though he actually played shoddy defense. 20 greatest point guards ever: The HoopsHype list | HoopsHype The five best defensive point guards of all time - Sportsnaut He does such a good job of it while the ball is in front of him, theres no reason he couldnt do it after the ball-handler gets past him. 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. That makes him eligible for inclusion on this list of best point guards. The average score by point guards was 16.1. He applies his energy smartly. He finished the game with the most career postseason points and the highest average in a playoff series. Thats good for 14th all-time in NBA history and he also had 10 seasons in the top 20 for steals per game. His quick feet give him tremendous lateral movement. In many cases, I looked at their combine results. 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. As one of the elite point guards in the NBA, you would expect him to have elite athleticism, but he actually doesnt. Follow Sports Brief on Twitter for more trending and breaking news! On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. He uses his speed well, as long as hes engaged in the game. So I saddled up my workhorse, Synergy, and watched an hour or two of each of the top 15 WAM scores playing defense. OPER is the Opponents Player Efficiency Rating and has been tracked by 82games.com since 2008. With his record of successes and pioneering point guard talents, Magic is at the top of the list. 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. Does he pick up his man when switched? He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 7, 1974, to a Welsh mother, Jean, and an English father, John. Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. It might not seem like much, but for most players, this covered around 30-40 games' worth of defense. Its more than that. 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. 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. Wilt Chamberlain 14. In all, Wade was a three-time All-Defensive Team selection (all on the 2nd team), his 1620 steals rank 31st all-time and hes had six seasons where he ranked top-20 in steals per game. 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. Similarly, while each of the advanced and/or traditional metrics has value, each also misses something. Then, when players pull up and shoot, he doesnt use his length to close and get a hand in the face of the shooter. Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum top NBA quotes of the week. 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. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year career, helping him get 64.9 DWS. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? While he is frequently noted for his ability to see the court and make the right play on offense, he doesnt get the same recognition on the defensive end. SHOCKING one of the best defensive point guards of all time played great defense on a 20 year project old player. These were calculated using the raw stats available on any site carrying basic stats. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook. Its interesting that when he plays against elite point guards, or when he plays angrily, he plays much more of a physical game. Thats the advantage of the scouting portion. Interpreted as: best defensive rating with a minimum of 10000 minutes played point guards in NBA history. Rajon Rondo is probably the most athletic player in the league who plays most of his game below the rim. -- Pelton, If he had played with The Mailman or a defense as stout as the Pistons, he might have made a couple of Finals by now. Once he had the ball on the fastbreak, The Flash was gone. I actually looked for him to do it and couldnt find it. 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 . After ball-handling, the most important areas of the game for a point guard are passing and scoring. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. Cousy, in many respects, was the Celtics spirit at the moment. Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. 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. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. They tried just as hard as the valedictorian, but all they got were Bs. Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. The advantage of defensive rating is that it accounts for the things that dont show up in box scores. The disadvantage is that sometimes its not the player doing those things, and hes getting credit for someone elses great defense. Current NBA point guards known for their defensive prowess include Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley Jr., Marcus Smart, and Chris Paul. Its what separates him from being a valuable, slightly overrated defender, and an elite defender. He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. For each of the following metrics, click on the subhead to be taken to the source website for more details. Please check your email for a confirmation. Oscar is the first triple-double king and is one of the greatest NBA players of all time, no matter what position he is playing. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? It is the same with his mental engagement in the game. 50 Greatest Point Guards In NBA History - msn.com And when hes on the bench, Eric Bledsoe, who is a 15th on this list, was with Odom. The greatest point guard in NBA history. Of course having book smarts doesnt preclude you from knowing what youre doing on the court either. Either way he chases the ball until he catches it. He gets a higher score here than he technically deserves because he tries so hard. Scroll below to see where Stephen Curry ranks among the best point guards in the NBA. If you are a basketball freak, you might be interested in knowing about NBA and other Best Basketball Leagues in the World. The other thing thats surprising about Rondo with his size is how well he fights over picks. Overall, hes ninth in steals with 2,207, and Drexlers 49.9 DWS is good for 45th all-time. Thomas was ultra-quick with the ball and, at any moment, could pull up for a deadly jump shot. A point guard primarily defends on the perimeter, just as they primarily play on the perimeter on offense. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the 1st team all nine times. That helps him to dominate games defensively without having to leave the ground. Sometimes he wont give that much effort, and then the next moment hell be trying too hard. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. The Top 100 will begin to roll out next week. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Theres nothing wrong with knowing when you need it. He does get a bit of a bump here for his rebounding. MVP (1963-64), 12-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year (1960-61), Hall of Fame, Career stats Top 50 Point Guards of All-Time: Magic, The Big O and Curry top the List The Cleveland Cavaliers relied heavily on Kyrie Irving to take and hit huge shots, even when he was partnered with LeBron James. Additionally, Stockton was a fantastic shooter and defender, almost possessing no weaknesses on the floor at all. -- Pelton, No player his size, 6-foot-3, has ever bent defenses to his will as Curry does. 5-on-5: Will Curry pass Magic as best PG ever? Lowry looks around like he just woke up from a nap in a foreign city, and hes trying to figure out where hes supposed to be. Kevin Garnett 8. While the Clippers were better when Paul was on the bench, it wasnt because he was on the bench. 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. The .72 points per play he gives up in isolation is elite-level defense. -- Adams, He could hurt defenses in so many ways: Controlling tempo was one, and he was a hell of a defender, too. 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. How they moved laterally, closed out on shooters, and recovered after getting beaten were also taken into account. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. 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. He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. Damian Lillard's nuclear 71-point explosion Sunday night was jaw-dropping and somehow not all that surprising. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. -- Adande, He led the NBA in assists nine straight seasons from 1987 to 1996. The 10 Best Tall Point Guards in NBA History - Plus 2 Clothing He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. There are some disadvantages to this style of play. Honors: 7x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 1966-1967 Rookie of the Year, 1967-1968 Scoring Champion, Hall of Famer. He has a high basketball IQ, and he has that veteran savvy thing going for him, too. Williams needs to have a bit of a paradigm shift in the direction of team defense. 18.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, The player In his first season, he specialized in defense and could stop almost every point guard in the league on a regular basis. The scouting score was then combined with the WAM score to produce WAMS, with the scouting counting as one-third of the final score. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . David Robinson 6. The only thing is that the Bulls actually gave up 8.6 more points while he was on the court. He had the best peak for any point guard in NBA history, hands down. Marcus Smart. That being said, Joakim Noah was frequently required to bail him out of trouble. Mar 6, 2020; New York, New York, USA; Oklahoma City Thunder guard Chris Paul (3) reacts during the second half against the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. That would make sense, but there are two reasons to choose the unconventional scale. Ultimately, Johnson's unselfishness earned him the title of greatest point guard of all time. Speaking about hard-nosed defense-first converted shooting guards, here is one more name to the list: Dennis Johnson, one of the all-time great Celtics and at the same time one of the most underrated players in the history of the NBA. Two NBA titles and a Finals MVP award make him one of the all-time great point guards because of his ability to score from mid-range and his propensity to attack and finish at the rim. Hes able to stay in front of all but the quickest point guards in the league. Parker has a hefty 1.05 points per play against defending the jumper, even though he typically gets there and challenges shots. Hes one of the most prolific players in the game. However, he doesnt appear to have the same strength they do. 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. 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. Dennis Johnson. He might have Silly Putty for a father. 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5APG, .375 FG%, The player 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. Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. With Doc Rivers in charge, things should turn around shortly, and next year his WAM score will be among the best in the league. But he never does. Pauls been an All-Defensive Team selection nine times, being selected to the 1st team seven times and the 2nd team twice. 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). Jacks presence on a team is one of those things. Why not a normal scale of one to 10? Several sites track this, each in its slightly unique way, depending on its formula to calculate possessions. He yields a whopping 41.5 three-point percentage on the spot-up, which is just not good. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. Archibald, who was just 61 tall, was able to consistently sink the ball despite his diminutive stature. Damian Lillard (2013-Present) AP Images. Sometimes that happens, but not all that often. His lateral quickness is exceptional, making it hard for people to get around him, and thats a big part of why he is tied with Derrick Rose for the fewest points per play among qualified point guards. 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 . As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. Hell overshoot passing lanes, gambling for the steal. When Gibson played with the starters, the Bulls gave up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions. -- Doolittle, Over the past season and a half, Curry has played point guard as well as anyone else in NBA history. 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. 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. Sounds great, right? It only looks at the data. His net defensive rating is fairly close to even, and slightly above average for point guards. Other individual metrics and team metrics thin out the impact of those factors. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive Second Team five times. Top NBA point guards for 2022-23: Ranking all 30 starters Its no surprise that the best point guards in the NBA have more than just the ability to pass the basketball. How hard do they fight through them? He doesnt play on the ball physically, utilizing that advantage. 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. 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). A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. That has more to do with the second-string frontcourt, led by Lamar Odom, backing him up than it does his team defense. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. Paul gets caught in a trap that WAM cant entirely avoid because it can only look at what happens, not why it happens. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. His career averages of 27 PPG, 6.0 RPG, and 7.0 APG were arguably the best ever put up by a point guard when he retired in 1974. He can be stagnant when his man doesnt have the ball. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors Still, hes one of the best point guards of all time, and his stats show that hes a deserved All-Star. It seems to be down to less than once a game. The facts need to come first. 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, .428 3P%, The player Jordans inclusion as the best defensive shooting guard isnt surprising considering his relentless attitude to winning. Probably no point guard in the league does a better job of recovering defensively than Rose does. As a result, hes 17th all-time with 1944 and had six seasons in the top-20 in steals. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. In case you missed it, Jason Kidd was tops on the list with 75.1 DWS, good for 11th all-time. But mostly he plays smartly with an occasional brain fart. Hinrich always had a high basketball IQ. Nate Archibald 14. As a result, the picks work extremely well. Its difficult to have a perfect rating system thats entirely objective, and even more difficult to have a realistic one that is purely subjective. The five best defensive point guards of all time | Yardbarker 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. 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 defense, the point guard is tasked with making the opposing point guard as ineffective as possible. An indication of this is the fact that hes had only nine dunks in his career, the last of which was over seven years ago. "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. Best Defenders in NBA History: Top 50 Best Defensive Players Scoring point guards typically look to score first, thus preventing teammates from getting the ball. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. 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. NBA top 15 point guard rankings for 2021-22: Stephen Curry sits at No 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. The official cause of death of Flashdance singer Irene Cara has been determined. This score is to help alleviate that. Players Stats: 17.9 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 9.1 APG, 1.5 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 3x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 1988-1989 Most Improved Player. He never leaves his man to help a defender that doesnt need help, but he always seems to be there when help is needed. Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. Perhaps the best word to describe his defense is lollygaggy.. While Rose was fairly criticized for not playing hard defensively prior to Thibodeau, that criticism is no longer accurate. He works well within a system where there are no real defensive weaknesses. Dallas Mavericks (1994-96, 2008-12), Phoenix Suns (1996-2001), New Jersey Nets (2001-08), New York Knicks (2012-13), Honors The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Some would look at Conleys frontcourt and assumenot entirely incorrectlythat having Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to back him up pads his stats. He could be better than he is, but its hard to blame only him. Chris Paul is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of the 2010s. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. Chris Paul had the awkward situation this year of being smarter than his head coach, Vinny Del Negro. And I never saw him go in the wrong direction, not once. Not everything about a players value can be seen even through advanced stats, or even while hes on the court. Pauls been an All-Defensive Team selection nine times, being selected to the First Team seven times and the Second Team twice. He also is tougher than most point guards to post up. When he went up and challenged DeAndre Jordan, and then got blown up, the entire basketball world acted like theyd just seen the greatest basketball play ever. By NBA standards, he jumps like an elephant and runs like a turtle (and not one of those fast turtles youve heard tell of eithera slow turtle). Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. NBA All-Time Player Rankings: Top 10 Point Guards His ability to score and create plays made him an NBA superstar. But what kind of suit was he wearing on the last episode? He applies every bit of failing athleticism he has all the time. There was always that kid in high school or college who tried so hard to get decent grades. Walt Frazier 10. When hes not getting wrapped up, he plays the pick-and-roll well. 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. 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats Some point guards are still given a great deal of leeway in the offense. If the team gives up more points while hes on the court, thats bad. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. They were combined and adjusted to cover a range roughly between 18 and 22. Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. The second-highest regulation scoring output of the 3-point era was the culmination . They work harder, and they get things eventually, but not quite as well. 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. In balance he was a plus, but his deficiencies cant be ignored. It is really hard to say anything about Lowrys help defense. But his lack of any vertical leap kills him on the jump shot. After the opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down the court to begin an offensive play. The values for the various metrics which comprised the WAM score and scouting scores are also available on each slide. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. First, a range of 18 to 22 makes it easier to arrive at the eventual score of 100the baseline everything was weighted to. When he tries, Lowry can be a solid defensive player, but that whole when he tries qualifier is pretty significant. Rondo may not be big, but he doesnt know that. 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. Its got to be annoying, but its also disruptive, and being disruptive is positive on defense. 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. 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.