Seven Of Pentacles And Strength, Arthur Strawbridge Disability, Basketball Leagues In Nyc For Adults, Frank Sinatra Concerts 1980s, Articles B

He gave up 1.01 points per play on the spot-up last year. The players listed below are our picks for the best point guards in NBA history. He doesnt help much, but he doesnt get a lot of help either, so its a bit of a wash. To his credit, he has the best WAM score of any point guard without a great defensive center to back him up. He is suitable at keeping most players out on the perimeter, but against elite point guards he has more problems. Nash was never known as a strong defender, but he was capable of bothering opposing point guards to some extent. When it comes to intangibles, Chris Paul is the elite point guard in the league. The weakness is that it also includes some of what the other player does defensively, (e.g.. blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds). 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. This is also manifested in his spot-up defense. 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. Mentally subtract them from the rankings if you feel they shouldn'tbe included. To absolutely nobodys surprise, Michael Jordan is the best defensive shooting guard in NBA history. 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 . The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Whatever it was, Holiday was just not bringing effort on the defensive end last year. Whats remarkable is how quickly he gets to the shooter and gets a hand in his face, even if its all the way to the corner three and the shooter is setting when Rose takes off. Despite the fact that hes just 35, he has a limited amount of time left. Hes not looking at the ball-handler's chest, which makes him susceptible to fakes, so when his opponent breaks, Rose is momentarily frozen. 24. -- Haberstroh, Teams -- Haberstroh, Honors He was a giant of a guard, but he had all the necessary talents, including the ability to dribble and pass. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. Its difficult to have a perfect rating system thats entirely objective, and even more difficult to have a realistic one that is purely subjective. It tracks the production of a players counterpart while he is on the court. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. He applies himself and stays committed, but when hes beaten on a play, hell relax waiting for his bigs to pick up the slack. The five best defensive point guards of all time | Yardbarker On the other hand, hes not tremendously athletic. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Average players struggled, though. The Top 100 will begin to roll out next week. 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. Big O is widely regarded as one of the best offensive point guards of all time. Best Point Guard Defensive Rating 2022 | StatMuse Thanks for signing up. It is startling to see the regularity with which opponents blow past Deron Williams. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. He stands third among the top 10 point guards of all time. His net defensive rating is fairly close to even, and slightly above average for point guards. You never have to question his effort or commitment. He also is tougher than most point guards to post up. He never stops moving. Jerry West, one of the greatest point guards in NBA history, combines a lethal jump shot, tenacious defence, obsessive perfectionism, unwavering confidence, and an unwavering will to win. 1. -- 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). He led the NBA in scoring in only his second season, 1967-68, with 27.1 points per game. Top 15 Greatest Point Guards In NBA History - TheSportster You just dont see him make the wrong plays. 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. Dennis Johnson. John Stockton 6. He spends too much time getting back into the defensive play because he ran himself out of it. Taj Gibson, his backup, is a tremendous defensive player, which only amplified the effect of Boozers shortcomings. 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. Overall, he is more of a gives-help defender than a needs-help defender. He doesnt have overwhelming effort that blows you away, but he has earnest effort. It only looks at the data. Were shooters able to shoot over them? Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. This can cause other players to become disinvolved in the offense. Similarly, while each of the advanced and/or traditional metrics has value, each also misses something. Frequently, teams would set the screen, and the point guard would just step behind the three-point line while Holiday was still underneath it (often all the way into the center of the lane) and drain wide-open treys. He does an air-tight job of keeping players out of the perimeter. You cant say that Westbrook doesnt try on defense, but you can say he doesnt show consistent effort on defense. Whatever else you want to say about Brandon Knight, just dont say he never tries. He and Chris Paul are the contenders for smartest defensive point guard in the game today. Since the first time a professional basketball player dribbled a ball, weve seen some of the greatest point guards in history. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. The scouting score was then combined with the WAM score to produce WAMS, with the scouting counting as one-third of the final score. His quick feet give him tremendous lateral movement. Thats a strong indication that Rose was not relying on help defense because that same help was there for C.J. The 15 best points guards in the NBA right now, ranked - Insider That Paul was able to keep the Clippers on track through much of the season with the ever-changing defensive schemes the team had is pretty miraculous. Lin plays with consistent effort on defense, but hes stuck in fourth gear. NBA History: Ranking the Greatest Guards Ever - Bleacher Report He doesnt disrupt team defense with unnecessary gambles. The bulk of his thefts came by stealing the dribble, not by shooting the passing lanes. Some would argue that just because he went to Harvard, it doesnt mean he has a high basketball IQ, or that book intelligence isnt the same thing. With both, its the combination of their size and speed that makes them so phenomenal. Previously, Id had the impression that Rondo was beaten more often than he actually is and that Kevin Garnett just constantly bailed him out, which made his numbers look better than they are. His high rebound rate, while partly indicative of his speed is also a result of positioning, which relates to his IQ. He doesnt put a lot of effort into chasing his man through screens. In all, Jordans 64.1 DWS rank him 21st all-time. He almost always went under the pick. Oscar Robertson 3. Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. In terms of point guards, Magic is the finest there has ever been. In his rookie year, he was already averaging 2 steals per game with 0.2 blocks. Probably the most versatile point guard in NBA history, and perhaps a tad underrated given that the focus on his assists overshadowed how valuable his defense was. (As an aside, in the slides, you will only see the original metric value, not the weighted number to determine the WAM. 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. Rob Peterson is an NBA editor for ESPN.com. In the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player coaches. Emailed daily. 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. Hes not as horrible as some people would make it sound. Ranking the Best Defensive Point Guards in the NBA Also, he was disliked for flopping feigning a foul to get the ball back, yet he proved to be a key ingredient to the Spurs championship-winning formula. Walt Frazier 10. 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. But what kind of suit was he wearing on the last episode? He was second among point guards in defensive rebounds per 36 minutes. Lowry just seems to be lost on defense much of the time. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. But his lack of any vertical leap kills him on the jump shot. His 48.8 DWS is 48th all-time and the fourth most by a point guard. While the Clippers were better when Paul was on the bench, it wasnt because he was on the bench. Sometimes it doesnt. He also uses that length to be one of the best shot-blocking point guards in the league. Bledsoe repeatedly got beatenmuch more frequently than Paulyet Odom consistently had his back, blocking or altering shots. That would make sense, but there are two reasons to choose the unconventional scale. His most notable awards include five NBA championships, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, nine All-NBA First Team selections, and 12 All-Star appearances. He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. What color was his tie? His low foul rate of 4.5 percent is another indication that hes adept at getting into position quickly. Aside from his offensive prowess, Johnson had the ability to hit for power and lead the offense at a high level. Watson, Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson. Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. Stockton was the. His record and effect on the game, particularly offensively, are legendary, and its easy to see why. You can find him juggling the ball every Sunday on the field, with FIFA on his PlayStation as the night drill. He applies every bit of failing athleticism he has all the time. If Williams had more pride in his defense, he would actually ask for, and depend on, help more than he does. He tends to be beaten off the dribble more often than he should be, considering his physical advantages, but he also uses his physical ability to recover when he is beaten. It just feels like there should be another notch where pride kicks in, he gets passionateor even angryand he hits another level. The greatest point guard in NBA history. Curry has developed into much more than a 3-point specialist. Players have a difficult time getting past him. Notably, several modern point guards have used a successful style of post play, a tactic usually practiced by much larger centers and forwards.