In fact, no drafted guard has ever measured a worse sprint, vertical and agility test. 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. -- Adams, Honors Since I always get asked "Where's ___________?" It was just his second season when he led the league in scoring with an average of 27.1 points per game, despite some serious injury setbacks. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. 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. 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. Over the next four weeks, well unveil the rankings for the other four positions. 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. First, a range of 18 to 22 makes it easier to arrive at the eventual score of 100the baseline everything was weighted to. Archibald, who was just 61 tall, was able to consistently sink the ball despite his diminutive stature. Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. Isiah Thomas, born on April 30, 1961, and possibly the best player ever under 6-foot-1, combined talent with fierce competitiveness. J.A. 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. Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. Johnson will go down as one of the top 25 all-time point guards because of his defensive presence. Kirk Hinrich wasnt the fastest player in the NBA when he came out of college. He uses his length well when trying to close out on jumpers, utilizing all of his elevation and his full length. When he applies it, he does so effectively, especially in isolation and the pick-and-roll. Does he know when to go over the pick, and when to go under it? 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. He does all those little things that dont show up in box scores. Thats rarely going to be because of a mental error, though. Hes 63 with a 68 wingspan and an 83 standing reach. He can be stagnant when his man doesnt have the ball. 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. The biggest reason appears to be a fundamental one. You dont see him take plays off, and you dont see him give up on plays. Rondo may not be big, but he doesnt know that. Williams needs to have a bit of a paradigm shift in the direction of team defense. The only time hell go under a pick is when hes supposed to. With Doc Rivers in charge, things should turn around shortly, and next year his WAM score will be among the best in the league. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. 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 He made everything go for those Lakers teams. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. Dallas Mavericks (1994-96, 2008-12), Phoenix Suns (1996-2001), New Jersey Nets (2001-08), New York Knicks (2012-13), Honors The problem is he doesnt use that height or strength as well as youd like to see. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. Hes pouring out effort every minute hes on the court. It is really hard to say anything about Lowrys help defense. (As an aside, in the slides, you will only see the original metric value, not the weighted number to determine the WAM. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? He arguably makes more plays on his feet, both offensively and defensively, than anyone else. He seems to get frustrated easily. His record and effect on the game, particularly offensively, are legendary, and its easy to see why. -- Brad Doolittle, Robertson's averaging a triple-double in 1961-62 is probably overrated because it was a product of the fast-paced play in the 1960s, but his role in the Milwaukee Bucks' early '70s championship run is probably underrated. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. He owes his charitable demeanour to a group of elementary school parents. Bledsoe is not a great help defender, in spite of boasting a -4.9 net defensive rating. For his career, Jordan averaged 2.3 steals (third all-time) and 4.2 DWS per year. Most players will take a little on-court breather now and then. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play, so as to have the best view of the action. The classic definition of a point guard, orchestrating offense and shooting when necessary. On the positive side, Rose does a decent job of understanding his role in a complex system. -- 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). This mans achievements are indisputable, and the prospect of him winning a second NBA championship just adds to his greatness. And I never saw him go in the wrong direction, not once. He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. 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. The more often he is the primary defender, the more likely he is to be responsible for guarding the player who is getting the most plays offensively. Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring. Sometimes his teammates bailed him out; sometimes the shot just didnt go in. Top 50 Point Guards of All-Time: Magic, The Big O and Curry top the List By Jeff McDaniel | Jul 16, 2020, 5:35pm 1. One of the great conundrums in rating defense is that teammates factor into it. Rose is arguably the most athletic point guard in the league, though Russell Westbrook could present a challenge. Since its neither, he gets an even score. 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. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. That has more to do with the second-string frontcourt, led by Lamar Odom, backing him up than it does his team defense. He finished the game with the most career postseason points and the highest average in a playoff series. Sometimes he wont give that much effort, and then the next moment hell be trying too hard. He just cant do anything about it. Players Stats: 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.4 BPG, Honors: 3x MVP, 3x Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 10x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. Hes one of the slower point guards in the league now, but in spite of that, hes almost ubiquitous at times. John Stockton 6. If he tends to be the helped, he gets a worse score. A point guard specializes in certain skills, like other player positions in basketball. In recent years, the sport's shift from a fundamental style of play to a more athletic, scoring-oriented game resulted in the proliferation of so-called combo guards at the point guard position. Steph's ball-handling abilities make him a lethal ball-handler, as he can shake a defender at any time. Still, hes one of the best point guards of all time, and his stats show that hes a deserved All-Star. Rondos lack of a need for help defense allows Garnett to help more elsewhere. Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. The Cleveland Cavaliers 2016 championship run would not have been possible without Kyrie Irving, who is a two-time NBA champion. 3. Defensive Rating (DRtg) is the average number of points per 100 possessions a players team surrenders while he is on the court. The ripple effect of that was that every single Bull had a worse defensive rating with Boozer than when playing with Gibson. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. His huge hands allowed him to pass as effectively with one hand as most could with two. Alex Caruso. 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. Bledsoe is a bit of a freak. Sometimes it doesnt. Jed Jacobsohn/AP Images. However, he doesnt appear to have the same strength they do. Players Stats: 15.2 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG, Honors: 4x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection. 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. Payton is one of two point guards to have ever won the Defensive Player of the Year, and his stats show it. He gets caught thinking, and while he makes the right decision, its a split second too late. 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. He never leaves his man to help a defender that doesnt need help, but he always seems to be there when help is needed. The values for the various metrics which comprised the WAM score and scouting scores are also available on each slide. 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. 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 also uses that length to be one of the best shot-blocking point guards in the league. He merits a high score here. Therefore, with a few exceptions, players were only considered if they played at least 1,200 minutes last season (which comes out to around 30 percent of possible minutes). The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. Defensive rebounds are generally undervalued, although its also true that all defensive rebounds arent the same. Like last time . Hes always looking where hes supposed to go, and moving in that direction, but he just takes his time getting there. This is also from the various sources we have used. He does those things; he just doesnt do them very hard. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. Players Stats: 23.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 6.6 APG, 1.7 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 2x MVP, 6x All-Star, 6x All-NBA Selection, 2015-2016 Scoring Champion. Smart people recognize their limitations. Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. Conley also has crazy hops, measuring a 40.5-inch vertical at the combine, and he is one of the quickest point guards in the league. 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. There was always that kid in high school or college who tried so hard to get decent grades. He does a poor job of defending the spot-up, surrendering 1.07 points per play. -- Tom Haberstroh, NBA writer, No guard in NBA history pulled down more rebounds than Kidd, who finished with more career rebounds than Willis Reed and Alonzo Mourning, among others. 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, The player Dr. A's weekly risers and fallers: Jeremy Sochan, Christian Wood make the list, NBA Power Rankings: Kevin Durant's return could rock the West, What NBA Finals runs from LeBron, Giannis can teach Jayson Tatum, They said it! His shot-making and defense made him a top-tier point guard throughout his career. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. 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.