Jason Kidd was the definition of a jack-of-all-trades point guard: he could pass, score and grab rebounds. 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. Still, a first-rate point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors 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. As a point guard, Frazier was one of the greatest in NBA history. -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. From that, each player was scored in five different areas on a scale of 18 (best) to 22 (worst). 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5APG, .375 FG%, The player Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. When he does do it, he does it half-heartedly. He routinely gets blistered in isolation (.93 points per play), fails to close out well on shooters and lags when coming off of screens. 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. In his single season with the Wizards, the former NBA MVP averaged a triple-double (again), and he was a big reason why Washington made the playoffs after a rough start to the season. 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. Its why Williams gives up .92 points per play in isolation, one of the worst averages among point guards. Then, after a single down year, he had y straight years of 2 steals per . For example, there was a play in which he was switched up against the Clippers, and he was put on Chauncey Billups, while Tony Allen was on Chris Paul. A point guard primarily defends on the perimeter, just as they primarily play on the perimeter on offense. 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. That had the effect of distorting Pauls on/off numbers. 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. In the NBA, point guards generally range from 6ft 1in (1.85m) to 6ft 4in (1.93m) whereas in the WNBA, point guards are usually 5ft 9in (1.75m) or shorter. If he's not on the slide and he played 1,200 minutes, he should be on this list somewhere. Jason Kidd 9. You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. For a position that was highly valued at the time, he brought a lot of sparkle, style, scoring, and domination to the court. While his pick-and-roll stats, according to Synergy, are excellent, at .68 points per play, half the time he seems to get bailed out by his frontcourt. As a result of his hurling himself around the court with utter abandon, he was generally a positive when it came to help defense. That said, here are the NBAs five best defensive shooting guards of all-time, based on their DWS. The foundation (the facts or stats) needs to be laid first, and then the house (opinions about how, or why, something is) is built on top of it. Players Stats: 17.7 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 8.2 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection. -- Peterson, He's one of only a few players in history who has been deemed too good for the sport's own good. 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. When defending the isolation play, he gives up a nauseating .94 points per play, a strong indication of that. Sometimes, all that the on/off stats tell you is the difference between two players that play the same position. It is the same with his mental engagement in the game. Since I always get asked "Where's ___________?" According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. -- Adams, Combined savvy with underrated strength. In terms of career statistics and postseason accomplishments, he ranks as the NBAs fourth-best point guard of all time. Why did you choose such a weird number scale? If it tends to fall in the middle, he gets a 20. After ball-handling, the most important areas of the game for a point guard are passing and scoring. Russ is already on the verge of breaking into the top five of all time, but its going to be a challenge. Hes not as horrible as some people would make it sound. He also plays through to the end of the play when his man doesnt have the ball, which is not something you see all point guards do. His shot-making and defense made him a top-tier point guard throughout his career. His most notable awards include five NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team selections, and 12 All-Star appearances. They tried just as hard as the valedictorian, but all they got were Bs. 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. As a result, he rarely gets tangled up with the pick-setter. He always picks up on the switch. Scoring point guards typically look to score first, thus preventing teammates from getting the ball. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats It only looks at the data. The Clippers were 10 points better with Lamar Odom on the court than DeAndre Jordan according to NBA.com/STATS. Hes able to use that size advantage by being physical, playing close and aggressive, often forcing shooters into shots they arent comfortable taking. Over 90 percent of the time, the ball-handler gets by him. He also used his incredible basketball IQ to steal the ball and defend at a high level. 2. Aware of his predilections, theyll pass the ball out to the perimeter, and simultaneous to the ball-handler catching it, theyll set a pick on Westbrook. 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. Only two NBA championships would make him the second-best player in NBA history. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. What color was his tie? Kevin Garnett 8. No question hell be inducted into the Hall of Fame, and hes one of the greatest rim-attacking players in NBA history. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. The perimeter player gets rewarded statistically for what the center did, even though he actually played shoddy defense. -- Doolittle, Cousy was an And-1 mix tape in black-and-white. -- Haberstroh, Teams The 25 greatest point guards of all time | Yardbarker Williams needs to do a better job of forcing opponents out of the middle and into the strong side of his defense, but he tends to fall straight back instead, letting them into the lane, which allows for easy scores. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. That makes sense since Parker has assumed the primary responsibility on offense and theres no reason to wear himself out playing defense. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. 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. It is really hard to say anything about Lowrys help defense. He only gave up .66 points per play in isolation, but he yielded .86 to the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. Hes listed at 62 which seems about right, and hes broad-shouldered and strong for his height, but he also seems to have shorter limbs, although I cant find his wingspan listed on Draft Express. Players like Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving consistently cross him over and get past him. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. 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. Smart people recognize their limitations. Injuries robbed Rose of the opportunity to become one of the games top five point guards. Sometimes that happens, but not all that often. He is easily one of the physically weaker players in the league, even for his 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. Thats a strong indication that Rose was not relying on help defense because that same help was there for C.J. 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. Jack gets beat and bailed out frequently by his teammates. 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. One of the most innovative offensive players, San Antonio Spurs legend Manu Ginobili was a very unique player. 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. 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. He has a high basketball IQ, and he has that veteran savvy thing going for him, too. Hes so undersized, youd think he was just some regular guy. Defensive Rating (DRtg) is the average number of points per 100 possessions a players team surrenders while he is on the court. It tracks the production of a players counterpart while he is on the court. Russell is regarded as one of the best point guard finishers of all time. He benefits tremendously from help defense as previously mentioned, but that doesnt mean he doesnt also provide help defense. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. My guess is that it has something to do with that. 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 net defensive rating of 4.2 is an indication of both a lack of his helping and asking for help. -- Peterson, Teams 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. Of course, sometimes his opponent scored, too. . He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. He was the league's Rookie of the Year in 1966-67 and was named to the All-NBA First Team twice and the Second Team once, and he appeared in seven NBA All-Star Games. 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. All the other tools and effort can be rendered useless by a little stupidity. Jack is one of those players that a lot of people dont know what he brings to a team in the locker room. Congratulations, Brian Roberts! 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. As a result, the picks work extremely well. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). 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. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. He also has such superior court awareness that most picks dont catch him squarely, and he just glides over them. But only once did he actually truly defend the play. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. But hes just not very strong. Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. His huge hands allowed him to pass as effectively with one hand as most could with two. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the First Team all nine times. Nash is the answer. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor, who can handle and distribute the ball to teammates. By taking the total number of plays and the total number of minutes (regular and postseason combined, because Synergy just throws it all together) we can determine how many times per 36 minutes a player was the initial defender on the play. 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? 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. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. Rushmore of greatest postseason performances in league history. Additionally, Stockton was a fantastic shooter and defender, almost possessing no weaknesses on the floor at all. -- Doolittle, Over the past season and a half, Curry has played point guard as well as anyone else in NBA history. Ranking the Best Defensive Point Guards in the NBA When the game is on the line, you like to see players find fifth, but Lin never does. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google. He had the second-best defensive rating in the NBA. In the NBA, Isiah Thomas is an amazing leader and is truly the most competitive force on the court that we have seen from a tiny guy. Even when picks are set behind his back, he instinctively knows they are there and just steps over them seamlessly. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. He made everything go for those Lakers teams. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, is also the league's best point guard. Miami Heat and Dwyane Wade won the NBA championship in 2006 with him as a member of the Seattle SuperSonics. Honors: 6x All-Star, 2x All-NBA Selection, 2011-2012 Rookie of the Year, Players Stats: 22.4 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.4 BPG. 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. Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). His record and effect on the game, particularly offensively, are legendary, and its easy to see why. How they moved laterally, closed out on shooters, and recovered after getting beaten were also taken into account. 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. Best Defenders in NBA History: Top 50 Best Defensive Players -- Pelton, Perhaps the most incredible part of the Big O's triple-double season is that he finished third in MVP voting (behind winner Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain, who averaged 50.4 PPG). It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. The Miami HEATs best player in franchise history, Dwyane Wade was an offensive maestro. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Top NBA point guards for 2022-23: Ranking all 30 starters Born on July 15, 1990, Damian is an American professional basketball player for the Portland Trail Blazers of the National Basketball Association. After years of being sidelined by ailments, the grandeur that should have been his was snatched from him. While it does keep the opponent in front of him, it defeats the purpose if the opponent is still getting to the basket. He was a giant of a guard, but he had all the necessary talents, including the ability to dribble and pass. 50 Greatest NBA Point Guards of All Time - Bleacher Report The result is our all-time NBA Top 100. The five best defensive point guards of all time - Sportsnaut You can find him juggling the ball every Sunday on the field, with FIFA on his PlayStation as the night drill. The Cleveland Cavaliers relied heavily on Kyrie Irving to take and hit huge shots, even when he was partnered with LeBron James. Gary Payton 12. Do they get their hands up and use their length? Lillard, on the other hand, is generally able to get things going from the perimeter anytime he wants. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. He was a master at leading the fastbreak, which led to Celtics titles. Hes pouring out effort every minute hes on the court. Watson, Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson. 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). He is tremendous at using that muscle to his advantage, too. And, there are also times when he does the bailing out. That earned him the nickname Mr. Chris Paul 13. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . People that just do their job dont usually pitch in and help their co-workers. His Synergy numbers compared to some of his team numbers validate that. Because they each feel a different thing, an argument arises as to who is right. The 10 Best Tall Point Guards in NBA History - Plus 2 Clothing Then again, the limited number of plays may be, in part, due to the fact that hes so hard to post up. In case you missed it, Jason Kidd was tops on our point guard list with 75.1 defensive win shares, good for 11th all-time. Ultimately, Johnson's unselfishness earned him the title of greatest point guard of all time. However, hes not the slowest point guard in the league either, and when hes not biting on the crossovers, hes able to do a decent job of staying in front of most average point guards. By the time he was done, he had racked up 10 All-Star appearances, nine All-Defense selections, six All-NBA . He was also an outstanding playmaker and a solid scorer with a strong mid-range game. 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. Best Point Guard Defensive Rating 2022 | StatMuse Nevertheless, its just as important. Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. What is the difference between WAM and WAMS? Refusing to back down because youre afraid of being put on a poster is a good thing, not a bad thing. A point guard should always look out for teammates and be able to pass well. 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. In his rookie year, he was already averaging 2 steals per game with 0.2 blocks. Either way he chases the ball until he catches it. A 12-time All-Defensive Team selection, a nine-time 1st team All-Defense and three-time 2nd team All-Defense, Bryant's 50.6 DWS ranks him 43rd overall. -- 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). 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. Even when he has to go under the pick, which is most of the time, hes so fast that hes able to close the distance before the ball-handler has time to do something with it. Rose is arguably the most athletic point guard in the league, though Russell Westbrook could present a challenge. Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum top NBA quotes of the week. As previously stated, he gets the help from Green and Leonard to guard the top point guards. This is also manifested in his spot-up defense. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. On Detroits 2004 NBA championship squad, he led the likes of Rip Hamilton, Ben Wallace and Rasheed Wallace to victory over the LA Lakers superteam. For this reason, a small penalty was exacted for every minute under 30 minutes, and a small bonus was provided over 30 minutes. J.A. But what kind of suit was he wearing on the last episode? He has a barrel chest, broad shoulders and 20 pounds on most point guards, so he gives the appearance of dwarfing players that are technically as tall as he is. In other words, giving up 15 points to Russell Westbrook is much more impressive than giving up 14 to Derek Fisher, but the raw stats dont tell you who was guarding whom.