Aside from his offensive prowess, Johnson had the ability to hit for power and lead the offense at a high level. In addition to the traditional role of the point guard, modern teams have found new ways to utilize the position. 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 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. On the other, he so rarely allows his opponent to get past him that he doesnt need to rely on it either. Bill Russell 3. 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. 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. Jack is one of those players that a lot of people dont know what he brings to a team in the locker room. Sounds great, right? Stockton was the. It is akin to the blind men and the elephant in the Indian fable adapted to a poem by John Godfrey Saxe. He also only has a 65 wingspan, which is short of the other bigger point guards, but what he has, he uses well. 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. 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. 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. 5-on-5: Will Curry pass Magic as best PG ever? Walt Frazier 10. Then, when players pull up and shoot, he doesnt use his length to close and get a hand in the face of the shooter. Additionally, Stockton was a fantastic shooter and defender, almost possessing no weaknesses on the floor at all. Lin is a mixed bag when it comes to help defense. He never leaves his man to help a defender that doesnt need help, but he always seems to be there when help is needed. -- 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). He applies his energy smartly. -- Doolittle, Cousy was an And-1 mix tape in black-and-white. On the positive side, Rose does a decent job of understanding his role in a complex system. He has become one of the hardest working point guards in the league on both ends. Also with both, theyve shown more success utilizing their physical attributes on the offensive end than the defensive end. When going against point guards who have a respectable jump shot, that becomes problematic. If he's not on the slide and he played 1,200 minutes, he should be on this list somewhere. But one in 20 is egregiously bad.). Im cheating a little here. By: HoopsHype. Does he pick up his man when switched? Then our ESPN expert panel voted on thousands of head-to-head matchups, with voting based on both peak performance and career value. His quickness and slim frame allow him to slip through gaps in the defence and create more opportunities for himself. Lee Rose has described a point guard as a coach on the floor, who can handle and distribute the ball to teammates. However, a good jump shot and the ability to score off a drive to the basket are still valuable skills. That would make sense, but there are two reasons to choose the unconventional scale. Gary Payton 9. To say he gets pushed around would be generous. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. He almost always went under the pick. He always seems to know exactly where everyone is. An indication of this is the fact that hes had only nine dunks in his career, the last of which was over seven years ago. The weakness is that it also includes some of what the other player does defensively, (e.g.. blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds). DWS are how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. How they moved laterally, closed out on shooters, and recovered after getting beaten were also taken into account. Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. 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. He was an unstoppable offensive force who could score from anywhere on the court and in any way he wanted. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. On pick-and-rolls when hes not set, teams have learned to expect this. Gary Payton is one of the best ever. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). 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. 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 . How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. Tim Duncan #VCTLOCKIN #Valorant #valorantagents #valorantgaming. 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. The problem is that sometimes players are so inept, they skew the stats of other players. That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. If youre a fan of the TV show Suits, you might agree that Harvey Specter dresses well. Mike Conley is exceptionally quick, virtually teleporting himself from one part of the court to another at times. On the other hand, hes not tremendously athletic. These point guard rankings will be the first of five articles. If he had just a little more strength and could get through the screens just a tad bit quicker, then that ground could be eaten up ever so fractionally sooner, and he would be able to have that smidgen of success needed to effectively challenge those three-point shots. With both, its the combination of their size and speed that makes them so phenomenal. Some would look at Conleys frontcourt and assumenot entirely incorrectlythat having Zach Randolph and Marc Gasol to back him up pads his stats. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. Stockton embodied a true point guard - an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. 11. Trail Blazers playoff failures have been a major blemish on both his game and his career so far. Defensive Points per Play Synergy tracks every play of every game of the season and, when possible (as it is not always possible), they assign an. In fact, Rondo gives more help than he getscontrary to my previous opinion. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . Stephen Curry 4. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. Finals MVP, 12-time All-Star, five-time All-NBA selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats He has all the tools to be one: great reflexes and speed, and those long arms with big mitts on the end. They were combined and adjusted to cover a range roughly between 18 and 22. Derrick Rose 15. In his 16-year career, Wade averaged 2.961 DWS per year and his 47.38 DWS is good for 55th overall. His Synergy numbers compared to some of his team numbers validate that. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. 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. Sometimes hell even rush to defend the wrong guy while his man is draining a wide-open three. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. -- Doolittle, Perhaps someday Paul will reach the conference finals and we can focus more on his incredible accomplishments as a scorer, distributor and defender and less on his teams' inability to turn them into deep playoff runs. Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. You can be the best shooter in the world, but you can't score if you don't get the ball. The scouting score was then combined with the WAM score to produce WAMS, with the scouting counting as one-third of the final score. Triple Double was so far ahead of his time in terms of size, speed, strength and stats. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. -- Peterson, Teams These were calculated using the raw stats available on any site carrying basic stats. According to Hoops Stats, in his MVP season, the Bulls gave up the fewest points to opposing point guards. After the opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down the court to begin an offensive play. He surpassed the achievements of every other guard in NBA history, except Russell Westbrooks achievements. Even when in position, he wont jump to challenge a shot. Even though injuries caught up with him toward the end of his illustrious career, Bryant still battled as a defender when needed. In his 20 seasons, Bryant averaged 2.5 DWS and 1.4 steals per year. Only two other players besides Moncrief have won the NBAs defensive player of the year award twice. Watching specifically for this, I found only three instances in 50 plays where Garnett bailed out Rondo on isolation plays, a rate which is lower than most point guards receiving help. The next three slides will tell how this particular sausage was made. The problem is he doesnt use that height or strength as well as youd like to see. 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. For that reason, subjective analysis was also included. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors Point guards are often valued more for their assist totals than for their scoring. While Rose was fairly criticized for not playing hard defensively prior to Thibodeau, that criticism is no longer accurate. You can find him juggling the ball every Sunday on the field, with FIFA on his PlayStation as the night drill. 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 . You're the worst defensive point guard in the NBA!!! The Glove is hands down the best defender a the point guard position. By my count, about 70 percent of the time, the ball-handler will get past him and get a shot off. -- Pelton. 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. He merits a high score here. Hes one of the slower point guards in the league now, but in spite of that, hes almost ubiquitous at times. What he gives up at the point of attack, he makes up for with his team defense. He also uses his quick hands to steal the dribble, and he does so without taking risks. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. He is in charge of getting the ball into the hands of the shooters. 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. 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. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. 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. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. Tony Parker is one of the fastest players in the league if youre going by pure speed. He also shows poor awareness at times, getting surprised by picks as if the setter had just popped up from out of the floor like a Whac-A-Mole. One conundrum has always been how to account for who is guarding the best player on the other team. What color was his tie? The biggest reason appears to be a fundamental one. I counted off over 20 plays, specifically watching to see if Chalmers would stop the ball-handler, and he only did once. On the one hand, he doesnt seem cogent enough of his surroundings most of the time to really offer any. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. Scottie Pippen 5. Adande, His Game 6 in the 1980 Finals, while jumping center as a 20-year-old rookie, has to be on the Mt. Big Shot, is one of the finest point guard leaders in the NBA. Synergy tracks every play of every game of the season and, when possible (as it is not always possible), they assign an initial defender on a play. Even players like Derek Fisher will hang him up and then hit him with the step-back. Thats a difference of almost five points a game given up to point guards. He doesnt try to make great plays, but he tries not to make mistakes, which is maybe what he should be concentrating on. Thats rarely going to be because of a mental error, though. Archibald, who was just 61 tall, was able to consistently sink the ball despite his diminutive stature. 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 doesnt cheat in either direction, though. -- Adande, Nash is the only player in history to go 50-40-90 while averaging 10 assists per game. Jeremy Lin is not one of the faster point guards in the NBA, and hes not particularly quick either. You need to build something on it. -- Adams, Honors Chris is also a leader on the defensive end of the court, having been named to nine All-Defensive Teams. But hes slightly built, and that raises some issues, especially when hes caught a fraction of a second behind a play. Mamelodi Sundowns coach Rhulani Mokwena denies outrageous Egypt claims, Brooklyn Nets comeback from 28 down to stun Boston Celtics, Alex Iwobi: Nigerian star set for possible exit at English Premier League club Everton, Premier League player caught inhaling laughing gas after a night out, Real Madrid identify Premier League star as 'Plan B' if Bellingham deal fails, Top 15 most handsome football players in the world in 2023. He gets a higher score here than he technically deserves because he tries so hard. Players like Rose, Russell Westbrook and Kyrie Irving consistently cross him over and get past him. Then, over 10,000 video clips were viewed and players were evaluated based on subjective criteria. Does he know when to help and not to help? They must also be able to adapt to what the defense is allowing and must control the pace of the game. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. Wilt Chamberlain 14. This article first appeared on Sportsnaut and was syndicated with permission. 1. 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. Watching Parker play defense for a while, particularly zooming in on the pick-and-roll plays, his impressive court awareness stands out. But hes just not very strong. Above all, the point guard must understand and accept their coach's game plan; in this way, the position can be compared to a quarterback in American football. -- 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. It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. He gets crossed over pretty easily, and not just by the Associations elite point guards. Do the likes of Magic Johnson and Stephen Curry rise to the top of the point guard rankings, or is it possible for someone with undeniable natural skill like Penny Hardaway to crack the elite group? He doesnt have overwhelming effort that blows you away, but he has earnest effort. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. There is no doubt about it: Steph Curry is the second-best in the top 10 point guards of all time. As a result, he has received numerous awards, including the 'NBA Most Valuable Player' (MVP) award and the "PAC Player of the Year." Brandon Knight has work intelligence. The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. Watching him rotate was watching perfection. Emailed daily. Their primary job is to facilitate scoring opportunities for their team, or sometimes for themselves. Magic Johnson 2. Did they get pushed around easily? 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. After the All-Star break, when Rose hardly played, that number fell to 17.8 and the Bulls dropped to ninth. Because of his combination of length, speed and jumping ability, Rose has become an excellent team defender against the jump shot. Isaiah Thomas 5. Because he is the one who touches the basketball first on every possession, the NBAs point guard has long been considered its most vital position. The number in the parentheses indicates where they ranked in that category.

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