Micah Adams is the lead NBA research specialist for ESPN Stats and Info. He has become one of the hardest working point guards in the league on both ends. 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. 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. The Clippers were 10 points better with Lamar Odom on the court than DeAndre Jordan according to NBA.com/STATS. Not Paul. Jacks presence on a team is one of those things. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Its what separates him from being a valuable, slightly overrated defender, and an elite defender. Is he an effective flopper? 11. He also used his incredible basketball IQ to steal the ball and defend at a high level. Whatever it was, Holiday was just not bringing effort on the defensive end last year. Hes only 63, which is relatively good size for a point guard, but he just seems bigger. The Top 100 will begin to roll out next week. The other thing thats surprising about Rondo with his size is how well he fights over picks. For a position that was highly valued at the time, he brought a lot of sparkle, style, scoring, and domination to the court. Of course having book smarts doesnt preclude you from knowing what youre doing on the court either. 76ers vs. 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. The former professional basketball player was born on March 26, 1962, and is regarded as one of the best passing point guards. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. Bob Cousy Bettman/Getty Images. In his rookie year, he was already averaging 2 steals per game with 0.2 blocks. Although Drexler never made an All-Defensive Team in his career, he did average two steals per game for his 15-year career. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. He gives up too much space and still gets beaten. Thats good for 14th all-time in NBA history and he also had 10 seasons in the top 20 for steals per game. He was a giant of a guard, but he had all the necessary talents, including the ability to dribble and pass. Tim Duncan Over 90 percent of the time, the ball-handler gets by him. Oscar Robertson 3. Nash was never known as a strong defender, but he was capable of bothering opposing point guards to some extent. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. 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. Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. On those, there is no link available. They have value when there arent such extremes like the difference between Boozer and Gibson. Who's the best offensive point guard of all time? That had the effect of distorting Pauls on/off numbers. For many of these metrics, sample size becomes crucial. This can cause other players to become disinvolved in the offense. Hes led the league in steals per game five times in the last six years. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the 1st team all nine times. They say that defense is mostly about effort. Jeremy Lin is not one of the faster point guards in the NBA, and hes not particularly quick either. Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. It only looks at the data. Second, having a five-point range on a 22-point scale prevents any one statistic from overly dominating the others. Steve Nash 7. For example, in the clutch, with the Rockets engaged in a playoff run, the team locked up in a tight battle with the San Antonio Spurs and the score close with less than five minutes remaining, Lin consistently showed the same 90 percent effort he always shows. There are some disadvantages to this style of play. He gets a ton of help from his teammates and isnt asked to give a lot back. The best shooter ever not just in terms of accuracy but also in creatively getting looks with but a sliver's opening and with unlimited range. With his athleticism and speed, there is no way that Rose should get beaten off the dribble as often as he does. Hell overshoot passing lanes, gambling for the steal. Point guards must be able to maintain possession of the ball in crowded spaces and in traffic and be able to advance the ball quickly. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. 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. Coaches are responsible for developing young players, and it would have been fun to watch him grow under Doc Rivers. 3. He wont even try and fight over a pick if he gets caught in one, but just quits on the play. 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 . If he didnt retire at 34, its interesting to see where Cousy could have landed all-time as he averaged 3.8 DWS per season. 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-D selection, co-Rookie of the Year (1994-95), Career stats 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. To read more, go here! His huge hands allowed him to pass as effectively with one hand as most could with two. It doesnt help to be fast if you dont use it, so Bledsoes score here is lower than you might expect. 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. 18.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, The player Its got to be annoying, but its also disruptive, and being disruptive is positive on defense. He always picks up on the switch. -- Adande, He led the NBA in assists nine straight seasons from 1987 to 1996. Jack has good but not great effort. Does he rotate on time? The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. That said, here are the NBAs five best defensive shooting guards of all-time, based on their DWS. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. The same applies to any decent basketball argument (or any other kind, for that matter). When Gibson played with the starters, the Bulls gave up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions. You never have to question his effort or commitment. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. He yields a whopping 41.5 three-point percentage on the spot-up, which is just not good. Hes just unable able to get high enough to legitimately challenge the shot. He doesnt play on the ball physically, utilizing that advantage. Kyrie Irving is unquestionably one of the greatest point guards of all time. Then again, the limited number of plays may be, in part, due to the fact that hes so hard to post up. Below is a list of the 25 Best point guards of the NBA. But will he listen enough to a player he was just playing against to make that shift? While he recovers most of the time, its worth asking why he gets beaten. He made everything go for those Lakers teams. Greg Monroe has talent on the offensive side of the ball but not a whole lot on the defensive side. 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. 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. Despite the fact that he was unable to win an NBA championship, his charisma and dribbling prowess will never be forgotten. He doesnt have overwhelming effort that blows you away, but he has earnest effort. Paul was able to keep you at bay on one side of the court while dominating the other with his scoring and passing abilities. He never leaves his man to help a defender that doesnt need help, but he always seems to be there when help is needed. Stats dont tell the whole story and our eyes often only confirm what we already know. Lin plays with consistent effort on defense, but hes stuck in fourth gear. 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. Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. The biggest reason appears to be a fundamental one. He also uses his quick hands to steal the dribble, and he does so without taking risks. Because they each feel a different thing, an argument arises as to who is right. His most notable awards include five NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team selections, and 12 All-Star appearances. Derrick Rose 15. In fact, a player may have great individual numbers precisely because he is actually detrimental to his team. James is well-known for his incredible skill and ability to score big points, which frequently help his team win crucial games. -- Haberstroh, Honors Therefore, its a Theoretically Asked Questions, or TAQ. Kawhi Leonard 11. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats In fact, hes a bit of a bull on the court and tries to intimidate his counterpart. -- Adande, The best two-way small player in league history, Paul embodies the era in which he plays by running the pick-and-roll as well as anyone has ever run it. It doesnt seem that it would be that impressive if found it. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Jrue Holiday. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. Hes 63 with a 68 wingspan and an 83 standing reach. 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. 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. When hes coming off screens, hes especially horrible, giving up 1.15 points per play. He presses hard as long as the opponent is in front of him, but will frequently give up on the play once the defender is past him. 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. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. His shot-making and defense made him a top-tier point guard throughout his career. As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. He gets easily overpowered when bigger point guards post him up. Even though he was 38 years old when he won his first NBA championship with the Mavericks, he had two trips to the NBA Finals with the Nets. As a point guard, Tim Hardaway was one of the most popular and respected players in the NBA during his time with the Miami Heat. An adamant multi-disciplinary journalist, Brian possesses the instincts that are comfortably intrigued by covering and writing the details as minor as the size of Kawhi Leonards hands and as significant as the Trends to watch out for in 2022. Its like hes just punching the clock and collecting his wages. As one of the elite point guards in the NBA, you would expect him to have elite athleticism, but he actually doesnt. Paradoxically tough on the court and flashy off of it, Frazier epitomized the '70s-era backcourt style in which roles were less defined. Now hes in Phoenix, and well see how both he and Jeff Hornacek develop in their new roles. 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. Holiday knows what to do, but he doesnt always do it. 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. This is also manifested in his spot-up defense. The corresponding WAM or WAMS scores indicate how many points a group of like-skilled players on the court would theoretically give up in 100 possessions. Later in his career, he even improved as an outside shooter, which contributed significantly to his longevity. 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. 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. Parker is a seasoned point guard who plays the game like a pro. After watching Paul play defense for a while, what stands out over everything else is that he just never stops movingliterally. Adande, His Game 6 in the 1980 Finals, while jumping center as a 20-year-old rookie, has to be on the Mt. He weighs in at only 175 pounds. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. 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. Walt Frazier 10. Chasing down balls, hell reach from behind and disrupt the dribble. 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. 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. Players like Deron Williams, Kyrie Irving and John Wall blew by him fairly consistently. Jack gets beat and bailed out frequently by his teammates. Simply put, defensive win shares (DWS) are defined by how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. Stockton was the. 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. Bledsoe repeatedly got beatenmuch more frequently than Paulyet Odom consistently had his back, blocking or altering shots. 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. His contributions won him a spot on the NBA All-Time 50th Anniversary Team. His on-court coaching and leadership is probably the biggest reason the Clippers had the eighth most-efficient defense in the NBA last year. He doesnt cheat in either direction, though. 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. -- Haberstroh, Teams Our booby prize winner is pictured above. Fairly straightforward, this takes into account height, length and strength. If it gives up fewer points, thats good. All pre-draft measurements were obtained from the database hosted on Draft Express. Teams In the MVP vote for the 1967-1968 season, he finished second behind the unstoppable Wilt Chamberlain. His defensive usage was the highest of any player with at least 1,200 minutes. Thats largely true. Ben Wallace 12. He tends to do the right thing, but then hell do something kind of stupid that makes you wonder what hes thinkingeven if what hes thinking is right. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. He needs more of the former and less of the latter. At the very least, he could stab those quick hands of his at some more balls and disrupt the dribble from behind. He is not a guy you would single out as an NBA player in a crowded room. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. On the other hand, hes not tremendously athletic. In his first season, he specialized in defense and could stop almost every point guard in the league on a regular basis. He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. Westbrooks Synergy numbers on the pick-and-roll (.75) and isolation (.7) suggest hes better than he actually is. Lowry just seems to be lost on defense much of the time. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. While the Clippers were better when Paul was on the bench, it wasnt because he was on the bench. He plays longer than he actually is. He doesnt try to make great plays, but he tries not to make mistakes, which is maybe what he should be concentrating on. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. Thomas was ultra-quick with the ball and, at any moment, could pull up for a deadly jump shot. His length is better; he has a 65.75 wingspan. Did they get pushed around easily? 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. His score represents the average of trying hard and not trying at all once the ball gets past him. Pauls been an All-Defensive Team selection nine times, being selected to the First Team seven times and the Second Team twice. Thanks for signing up. Although Wade had an accomplished resume, if he had played one more season, he wouldve easily overtaken the next player on the list. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. He has all the tools to be one: great reflexes and speed, and those long arms with big mitts on the end. The Glove is hands down the best defender a the point guard position. (Most defenders let the opponent by more than half the time. -- Doolittle, Over the past season and a half, Curry has played point guard as well as anyone else in NBA history. At 5ft 3in (1.60m) the shortest player in NBA history, Muggsy Bogues enjoyed 889 games in a 14-year career as a point guard. He doesnt just bring effort to every game; he brings it in all the right ways. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. Then there was that kid who just read the assignment on the bus and got straight As. Of course, sometimes his opponent scored, too. It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. Just because someone gets past him doesnt mean theyre going to score. One of the greatest rebounding guards of all time. Hes the closest thing in the world to Kevin Garnetts Mini-Me. He merits a high score here. By: HoopsHype. 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 . The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. 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. 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. 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. He doesnt use his size exceptionally badly or incredibly well, though. Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. Thats the advantage of the scouting portion. He uses his speed well, as long as hes engaged in the game. 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. -- 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). A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the shot clock and the game clock, the score, the numbers of remaining timeouts for both teams, etc. For this reason, a small penalty was exacted for every minute under 30 minutes, and a small bonus was provided over 30 minutes. Stephen Curry 4. Therefore, a lower score is superior. Holiday wouldnt just go under the pick; he would go too far under the pick. Nevertheless, its just as important. Hinrich always had a high basketball IQ. Williams needs to have a bit of a paradigm shift in the direction of team defense. If you just look at his measurables, Chris Paul is not impressive. His issues related to intelligence, detailed later, compound this problem. 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). He does so by using positioning, skillful footwork and what lateral quickness he does have (which is a liberal use of the word "quickness") to minimize the damage. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. 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. After years of being sidelined by ailments, the grandeur that should have been his was snatched from him. He manages to defend the pick-and-roll reasonably well by doing something I can only call bouncing over picks. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. This is not so common anymore, as most coaches are now solely specialized in coaching and are non-players. 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. 43 views, 0 likes, 0 loves, 0 comments, 0 shares, Facebook Watch Videos from BabyYo: NRG VS KOI Highlights. He has been improving in that regard, but its taken a while, and there are still some maddening things. In his 16-year career, Wade averaged 2.961 DWS per year and his 47.38 DWS is good for 55th overall. He has above-average size and strength, but he doesnt play like it. He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. Sixth-greatest point guard in basketball history. For each player, I watched between one and two hours of footage of defense, taking account of specific things and grading them in five different areas. While he does benefit from help defense, its not as often as you might think. Even players like Derek Fisher will hang him up and then hit him with the step-back. Brandon Knight has exceptional speed and quickness. For this reason, a point guard is usually, but not always, more skilled and focused on passing than shooting. That deceptive length helps him nab 2.5 steals per 36 minutes and grab a ridiculous number of rebounds for a person his height. 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 . WAMS includes scouting. One of the most recognisable players in NBA history, Walt Frazier is a deserving candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame. No one was a better passer than him. Although both Kidd and Paul were more accurate shooters, his passing range was broader than any of them. The total numbers were then adjusted to arrive at a score ranging between 90 (best) and 110 (worst). Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum top NBA quotes of the week. Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. However, he doesnt appear to have the same strength they do. He gave up 1.01 points per play on the spot-up last year. Top 20 best defensive midfielders in the world today: who are they?