Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. Pun intended. Watts Van Lier Frazier Price Ward Bing White Buckner Walker Kidd Hollins Williams Cleamons Bibby Porter Buse Snow McMillan Tinsley Armstrong Knight Carter 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 97.4 97.6 98.1 99.6 99.9 100.4 100.9 101.1 101.5 101 . Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. Stephen Curry 4. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. READ ALSO: James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Overall, hes ninth in steals with 2,207, and Drexlers 49.9 DWS is good for 45th all-time. If youre not interested in that, feel free to skip ahead. This is one of those cases where scouting helps. Since its neither, he gets an even score. Penny, a taller point guard, was an excellent dribbler and a great passer. Jrue Holiday is not fast so much as he is quick. His lateral movement and reaction time are exceptional, and thats indicated by his isolation defense. The seven-time All-Star was one of the best two-way guards of his time, and his performance in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA FInals remains one for the ages. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. Although both Kidd and Paul were more accurate shooters, his passing range was broader than any of them. A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. For a player who lacks lateral quickness and a player that has been in the league as long as he has, you would think Williams would have learned to do a better job of steering opponents into the help defense. He has been improving in that regard, but its taken a while, and there are still some maddening things. He almost always went under the pick. The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Mr. 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. For eight consecutive seasons, Cousy was the leagues top assist producer, and he was also one of the finest scorers in the league. Steve Nash 7. Like last time . None of them qualified based on the 1,200 minutes, so their stats from 2012 were used instead. Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. -- Peterson, A menace on both ends of the court, Frazier was at his best in the 1970 NBA Finals when tallied 36 points, 19 assists, 7 rebounds in a title-clinching Game 7. 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. It probably tells the accurate story here. He is in charge of getting the ball into the hands of the shooters. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. Bob Cousey 8. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. Jrue Holiday. Is he an effective flopper? You can find him juggling the ball every Sunday on the field, with FIFA on his PlayStation as the night drill. It seems to be down to less than once a game. He does get a bit of a bump here for his rebounding. 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. Finals MVP, 12-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats He was an All-Star every year of his career and led the Lakers to nine NBA Finals appearances. The Top 100 will begin to roll out next week. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year. He also defends well against post-up plays, yielding just .54 points per play, although thats on an admittedly small 17-play sample size. 1987 Lakers are often seen as one of the greatest teams ever. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. 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. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. He seems to get frustrated easily. 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. Let me remind everyone, young and old, I played against @iamisiahthomas when he was hurt & hobbling on one leg and @iamisiahthomas still scored 25 points in one quarter in the NBA Finals! On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. Let's see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. Jacks presence on a team is one of those things. 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. Scottie Pippen 5. This is where everything focuses on Westbrook. The average score by point guards was 16.1. He averages 1.8 steals per game. Probably no point guard in the league does a better job of recovering defensively than Rose does. MVP (2014-15), two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, Career stats Three-time MVP (1986-87, 1988-89, 1989-90), three-time Finals MVP, 12-time All-Star, 10-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Championships That makes sense since Parker has assumed the primary responsibility on offense and theres no reason to wear himself out playing defense. Lin is 63 and 200 pounds, which is decent size for a point guard, in the neighborhood of Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook. When it comes to intangibles, Chris Paul is the elite point guard in the league. Each of these has its own value, and those specifics will be discussed more on the next slide. Jordans inclusion as the best defensive shooting guard isnt surprising considering his relentless attitude to winning. 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. Eventually, that learning has to become instinct, though. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. If a player tends to be the helper, he gets a better score. They work harder, and they get things eventually, but not quite as well. There are a number of different types of metrics available from various websites. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. More explosive and athletic point guards focus on scoring as opposed to play-making, forgoing assists and ball-movement, and often defense, for higher scoring numbers. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. We compiled a list of the top 15 point guards of all time using wholly subjective metrics from the list of active players and a few other legends. Chalmers will fail at things, but not because he isnt trying. All pre-draft measurements were obtained from the database hosted on Draft Express. He led the NBA in scoring in only his second season, 1967-68, with 27.1 points per game. Per NBA.com/STATS, the Clippers were almost 10 points per 100 possessions better defensively while Lamar Odom was on the court instead of DeAndre Jordan, yet Paul was on the court three times as much with Jordan as Odom. 18.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, The player Knight gets almost no help whatsoever from help defense. They say that defense is mostly about effort. However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. In case you missed it, Jason Kidd was tops on the list with 75.1 DWS, good for 11th all-time. 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 does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. Coming off one of the best offensive seasons in NBA history, Curry takes the top spot on our list of the league's best point guards, followed closely by 22-year-old wunderkind Luka Doncic, who may . The scouting score was then combined with the WAM score to produce WAMS, with the scouting counting as one-third of the final score. Even players like Derek Fisher will hang him up and then hit him with the step-back. Mentally subtract them from the rankings if you feel they shouldn'tbe included. He wont even try and fight over a pick if he gets caught in one, but just quits on the play. 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. Among the greatest point guards of all time, Tiny is among the finest ever. Chris Paul is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of the 2010s. In 2021, Paul became the first player in NBA history to score over 20,000 points and dish out over 10,000 assists before LeBron James followed suit later in 2022. The values for the various metrics which comprised the WAM score and scouting scores are also available on each slide. Closing out on jumpers is an issue, especially when coming off screens, where he yields a 46.7 shooting percentage from the three-point line. When he gets it going, hes unstoppable. -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. He made everything go for those Lakers teams. -- Adams, Thomas was as tough as they come, could score with the best of them (such a sweet stroke) and, make no mistake, was the baddest of the Bad Boys. He picked up a complicated system almost immediately, and the Bulls were consistently a better defense with Hinrich on the court, in large part because of how well he understood the system. Pauls been an All-Defensive Team selection nine times, being selected to the 1st team seven times and the 2nd team twice. His quickness and slim frame allow him to slip through gaps in the defence and create more opportunities for himself. -- Kevin Pelton, Teams 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. He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. Paul was able to keep you at bay on one side of the court while dominating the other with his scoring and passing abilities. Rob Peterson is an NBA editor for ESPN.com. With his record of successes and pioneering point guard talents, Magic is at the top of the list. You're the worst defensive point guard in the NBA!!! 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. Congratulations, Brian Roberts! In the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player coaches. You also can follow along @ESPNNBA and on Facebook. He manages to defend the pick-and-roll reasonably well by doing something I can only call bouncing over picks. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. You can almost rate Chalmers improving basketball intelligence by how many times per game he gets yelled at by his superstar teammates. Neither of those is really a criticism of Parker, but its a reality. Yet somehow he manages to compensate and do a reasonably fair job of defending, even in isolation. Still, Nash's greatest historical legacy will be paving the way for Stephen Curry and a new generation of point guards in a league that embraced point guards making plays with a wide-open court. 76ers vs. Thats a pretty large difference, and it shows he is at his best when he can utilize his quickness, while at his worst when he has to use his strength. Sometimes hell even rush to defend the wrong guy while his man is draining a wide-open three. As a result, hes 17th all-time with 1944 and had six seasons in the top-20 in steals. When the game is on the line, you like to see players find fifth, but Lin never does. Curry has won three NBA championships and cemented his status as the finest shooter in NBA history since becoming a superstar and two-time MVP. 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). Eric Bledsoe has a reputation as being both quick and fast, even for a point guard, but he rarely shows it on defense. 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. Brandon Knight has exceptional speed and quickness. Right now, Westbrook's 11.2 assists and 47.5% assist rate leads the league this season. There was always that kid in high school or college who tried so hard to get decent grades. 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. Its probably no coincidence that Stephen Currys defense took a giant step forward this season playing alongside Jack, and you might see a similar progression from Kyrie Irving next year. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. Bledsoe is not a great help defender, in spite of boasting a -4.9 net defensive rating. In fact, a player may have great individual numbers precisely because he is actually detrimental to his team. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. He is suitable at keeping most players out on the perimeter, but against elite point guards he has more problems. As a result, the picks work extremely well. It doesnt help to be fast if you dont use it, so Bledsoes score here is lower than you might expect. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 7, 1974, to a Welsh mother, Jean, and an English father, John. 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. The true driving force of his partnership with Karl Malone. He is going to get beaten, without question. Isiah Thomas, born on April 30, 1961, and possibly the best player ever under 6-foot-1, combined talent with fierce competitiveness. His contributions won him a spot on the NBA All-Time 50th Anniversary Team. 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. Pass-first points of the past have given way to dynamic creators who can score as well as set up teammates. In his 16-year career, Wade averaged 2.961 DWS per year and his 47.38 DWS is good for 55th overall. Players Stats: 13.1 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 10.5 APG, 2.2 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Star, 11x All-NBA Selection, 5x All-Defensive Team Selection, Hall of Famer. That all-around game made Kidd one of the league's top point guards for nearly 20 years. Having said that, he does play team defense, too, and he is part of the team. He uses his speed well, as long as hes engaged in the game. 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. 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? The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. John Stockton 6. His issues related to intelligence, detailed later, compound this problem. Sometimes, measurables dont tell the whole story. Theres nothing wrong with knowing when you need it. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. 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. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. The .72 points per play he gives up in isolation is elite-level defense. If you just look at his measurables, Chris Paul is not impressive. 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. Kevin Durant, surprisingly, also bails out his co-star a lot. The Cleveland Cavaliers relied heavily on Kyrie Irving to take and hit huge shots, even when he was partnered with LeBron James. Its amazing he doesnt get punched sometimes. Golden State Warriors (2009-present), Honors David Robinson 6. He finished the game with the most career postseason points and the highest average in a playoff series. He compensates for his diminutive size by fighting hard and using that aforementioned quickness. 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 . How they moved laterally, closed out on shooters, and recovered after getting beaten were also taken into account. The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). Who are the best defensive point guards in the NBA, and how are they determined? The same applies to any decent basketball argument (or any other kind, for that matter). But one in 20 is egregiously bad.). All you have to do is watch him on offense to know he has all kinds of speed. Stats dont make a good argument, they make a good foundation for a good argument. When hes not getting wrapped up, he plays the pick-and-roll well. He has the most assists and steals of any player in NBA history and is a master of the pick & roll. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. His net defensive rating is fairly close to even, and slightly above average for point guards. His MVP season, he had the second-best block total by a point guard in history (although John Wall exceeded that total last year.). I counted off over 20 plays, specifically watching to see if Chalmers would stop the ball-handler, and he only did once. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. Players Stats: 16.3 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 9x All-Stars, 9x All-NBA Selection, 1990-1991 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection, 1995-1996 Defensive Player of the Year, Hall of Famer. Sportbrief has published an article about James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. On the other hand, hes not tremendously athletic. Wayne Gretzky on the court, Nash could hurt opponents by getting rid of the ball quickly or by holding on to it for so long that the defense finally made a mistake. Chris is also a leader on the defensive end of the court, having been named to nine All-Defensive Teams. 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. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. Normally this would be a list of FAQs, but no one has ever asked any questions (since no one has ever seen it). (I know, but it is a part of defense these days.) Dont be surprised to see him as a head coach someday. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right, Latest Jonathan Isaac injury may signal end of his Magic career, Seven Cubs pitchers combine for spring no-hitter vs. Padres, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones comments on Tony Pollard rumor, Ben Simmons suffers back injury while rehabilitating, Insider: It's Packers, Jets 'or bust' for Aaron Rodgers, QB Anthony Richardson doesn't understand his 'project' label, Vikings HC reveals 'crazy' thoughts about star WR, XFL player released for giving another team plays from own playbook. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. This is also from the various sources we have used. Even point guards who are not given this much freedom, however, are still extensions of their coach on the floor and must display good leadership skills. But thats why we do the research. He doesnt use his size exceptionally badly or incredibly well, though. 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. Dallas Mavericks (1994-96, 2008-12), Phoenix Suns (1996-2001), New Jersey Nets (2001-08), New York Knicks (2012-13), Honors Do players go under picks when they should go over them? He just doesnt have the length to effectively guard against them. Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. On the other hand, no matter how solid the foundation is, you cant move into it. Ranking 50 Greatest Point Guards in NBA History Photo Gallery | NBA.com Teams G League WNBA BAL NBA 2K NBA Store NBA League Pass Tickets Schedule Team News Gameday Youth Basketball Shop. He doesnt have overwhelming effort that blows you away, but he has earnest effort. A point guard should know when and how to instigate a fast break and when and how to initiate the more deliberate sets. Micah Adams is the lead NBA research specialist for ESPN Stats and Info. We have listed down 25 of the finest point guards, so lets see who makes it to the top 10 point guards of all time. When going against point guards who have a respectable jump shot, that becomes problematic. 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%, The player The players listed below are our picks for the best point guards in NBA history. First, a range of 18 to 22 makes it easier to arrive at the eventual score of 100the baseline everything was weighted to. Conley correctly identified the defender who was out of position, showing intelligence, but stupidly ignored that his man had the ball and an accurate jump shot. Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. He was a giant of a guard, but he had all the necessary talents, including the ability to dribble and pass. Several sites track this, each in its slightly unique way, depending on its formula to calculate possessions. He just cant do anything about it. While it does keep the opponent in front of him, it defeats the purpose if the opponent is still getting to the basket. Of course having book smarts doesnt preclude you from knowing what youre doing on the court either. He gambles too much, and that often gets him caught out of the play. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. The former professional basketball player was born on March 26, 1962, and is regarded as one of the best passing point guards.