Averaging 1.5 steals per game, Wade could block transition shots as well with the best of them. He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. He never leaves his man to help a defender that doesnt need help, but he always seems to be there when help is needed. Stockton embodied a true point guard - an extension of the coach that ran the team's offense seamlessly. He didnt have an eye-popping number, but he was in the top 25 percent of players there. Its what separates him from being a valuable, slightly overrated defender, and an elite defender. One of the most recognisable players in NBA history, Walt Frazier is a deserving candidate for the Basketball Hall of Fame. During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. In the last entry, we focused on the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, but now, we turn to the five best defensive shooting guards in NBA history. His quick feet give him tremendous lateral movement. Sounds great, right? The second-highest regulation scoring output of the 3-point era was the culmination . 50 Greatest NBA Point Guards of All Time - Bleacher Report Curry has developed into much more than a 3-point specialist. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year career, helping him get 64.9 DWS. Even players like Derek Fisher will hang him up and then hit him with the step-back. Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. Dont be surprised to see him as a head coach someday. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. Chris is also a leader on the defensive end of the court, having been named to nine All-Defensive Teams. When he does, he gets put off and his effort isnt there anymore. 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. He does all those little things that dont show up in box scores. The official cause of death of Flashdance singer Irene Cara has been determined. He wont even try and fight over a pick if he gets caught in one, but just quits on the play. 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! When he was off the ball, it was spectacular. There arent many point guards who can do it all, but Kidd is one of them. In his 20 seasons, Bryant averaged 2.5 DWS and 1.4 steals per year. In systems like the Grizzlies play, the point guard is the first line of defense. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, .520 FG%, The player Starter from the VCT lockin. He was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, on February 7, 1974, to a Welsh mother, Jean, and an English father, John. That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. So I saddled up my workhorse, Synergy, and watched an hour or two of each of the top 15 WAM scores playing defense. On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. 8. Notably, several modern point guards have used a successful style of post play, a tactic usually practiced by much larger centers and forwards. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? Gary Payton is one of the best ever. Point guard - Wikipedia Jordan also had two seasons (86-87 and 87-88) where he was in the top-20 in blocks per game and seven seasons in the top-20 in defensive rating. He uses his speed well, as long as hes engaged in the game. Copyright 2023 YB Media, LLC. A decade of playing and a plethora of injuries havent helped him get any faster. When he was at his peak, Rose was one of the greatest point guards of all time, and he merits a spot in the top 15. Hes not looking at the ball-handler's chest, which makes him susceptible to fakes, so when his opponent breaks, Rose is momentarily frozen. Its safe to say that Kidd is one of the greatest guards to ever play on the basketball floor. He gets crossed over pretty easily, and not just by the Associations elite point guards. In his rookie year, he was already averaging 2 steals per game with 0.2 blocks. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. You're the worst defensive point guard in the NBA!!! Jeremy Lin is not one of the faster point guards in the NBA, and hes not particularly quick either. For many of these metrics, sample size becomes crucial. If you are a basketball freak, you might be interested in knowing about NBA and other Best Basketball Leagues in the World. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. Scouting isnt the same as just watching games. Michael Jordan 10. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. There are some serious contenders in Steve Nash and Walter Frazier, so hell have to settle for fourth place in the race. You dont get the sense in watching him that theres a point of pride in it. To say he gets pushed around would be generous. Players Stats: 16.5 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 6.7 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.2 BPG. As a point guard, Frazier was one of the greatest in NBA history. On the other hand, no matter how solid the foundation is, you cant move into it. It tracks the production of a players counterpart while he is on the court. Greg Monroe has talent on the offensive side of the ball but not a whole lot on the defensive side. Eric Bledsoe has a reputation as being both quick and fast, even for a point guard, but he rarely shows it on defense. 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 is going to get beaten, without question. This mans achievements are indisputable, and the prospect of him winning a second NBA championship just adds to his greatness. Perhaps next year the Raptors will see better times, and well see less of that kind of behavior, but its a harmful habit to have picked up. 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. That all-around game made Kidd one of the league's top point guards for nearly 20 years. The Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 championship run would not have been possible without Kyrie Irving, who is a two-time NBA champion. Rushmore of greatest postseason performances in league history. 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 best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. That concludes the WAP portion of our programming schedule. I like to compare it to the relationship between a foundation and a house. Over the last decade, the best point guards such as Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard, Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, and others have dominated the position. He almost always went under the pick. 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. -- Adande, Teams 18.7 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 9.9 APG, 2.3 SPG, The player Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. 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. Steve Nash 7. 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 From there, hes playing catch up. Interpreted as: best point guard defensive rating with a minimum of 2000 minutes played per 82 team games 2022 He tends to rely on his speed to compensate for his lack of mass. He led the NBA in scoring in only his second season, 1967-68, with 27.1 points per game. Magic Johnson. 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. 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. Other individual metrics and team metrics thin out the impact of those factors. All the other tools and effort can be rendered useless by a little stupidity. He is a natural playmaker with excellent point guard abilities, creating the ideal point guard prototype. Sometimes, thats just not enough, especially if hes left to guard in isolation, where hes horrid, giving up .92 points per play. Each touches a different part of the elephant, one an ear, another the torso and so on. Hes only 63, which is relatively good size for a point guard, but he just seems bigger. But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. Although Jordan won that battle, theres nothing wrong with being named the third-best defensive player at his position and one of the best shooting guards of all time. Magic had unparalleled vision; he could see players get open and deliver the ball before they even realized they were open. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. 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. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. The perimeter player gets rewarded statistically for what the center did, even though he actually played shoddy defense. While Gregg Popovich and his brilliant system deserve a lot of the credit, Tony is a Finals MVP and is a multiple NBA champion who deserves to be recognised for his role in the legendary Spurs dynasty. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . Let's see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. READ ALSO: James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. This is where everything focuses on Westbrook. 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. Greatest NBA point guards of all-time: Where Russell - Sportsnaut 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. When Gibson played with the starters, the Bulls gave up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions. As a rookie, Bill Russell relied on Cousy to lead the league in assists, and he won the MVP Award for his efforts. Thats where we naturally focus our attention, so when it comes to things like help defense, we only notice if were looking for it, or if its extreme. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. Nate Archibald 14. His low foul rate of 4.5 percent is another indication that hes adept at getting into position quickly. -- Adams, The fashion forerunner to Russell Westbrook. -- Peterson, Teams 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.