best defensive point guards of all time

Went from dominating games strictly with his passing to making the fifth-most 3-pointers in NBA history. He doesnt try to make great plays, but he tries not to make mistakes, which is maybe what he should be concentrating on. These point guard rankings will be the first of five articles. Perhaps the most unstoppable offensive player in NBA history, Jordan decimated and demoralized his foes on the defensive end. (I know, but it is a part of defense these days.) Not everything about a players value can be seen even through advanced stats, or even while hes on the court. Finally, both are improving on the defensive side of the ball. 10-time All-Star, six-time All-NBA selection, nine-time All-D selection, co-Rookie of the Year (1994-95), Career stats Its possible for Nash to be the whole offense and to shoot 50-40-90 from the field on a continuous basis. The Case For: Upper-tier defender (9x All Defensive Team, including 4 First Team selections). 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. -- Haberstroh, Honors Steph's ball-handling abilities make him a lethal ball-handler, as he can shake a defender at any time. The advantage of defensive rating is that it accounts for the things that dont show up in box scores. The disadvantage is that sometimes its not the player doing those things, and hes getting credit for someone elses great defense. People that just do their job dont usually pitch in and help their co-workers. . Photos: Top 10 NBA Point Guards Of All Time. He is suitable at keeping most players out on the perimeter, but against elite point guards he has more problems. Sometimes that happens, but not all that often. Who's the best offensive point guard of all time? Since I always get asked "Where's ___________?" Knight doesnt always recognize the help situations, but when he does, he is usually effective. The players listed below are our picks for the best point guards in NBA history. 1. 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. Russell is regarded as one of the best point guard finishers of all time. Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. Chris Paul fell into the same kind of trap last season. Coaches are responsible for developing young players, and it would have been fun to watch him grow under Doc Rivers. With his record of successes and pioneering point guard talents, Magic is at the top of the list. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. Interpreted as: best point guard defensive rating with a minimum of 2000 minutes played per 82 team games 2022 Lin is 63 and 200 pounds, which is decent size for a point guard, in the neighborhood of Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Russell Westbrook. Hakeem Olajuwon 2. 25. When he gets set for a defensive play, he does a respectable job. -- Pelton, Today's children will ask, "Who was the Steph Curry before Steph Curry?" Its amusing that some people say Rose doesnt apply himself on defense. The "Big O" was capable of doing it all. Stats dont make a good argument, they make a good foundation for a good argument. The .72 points per play he gives up in isolation is elite-level defense. Eventually, that learning has to become instinct, though. He may get beaten occasionally, and he might get outmuscled more frequently, but he never gets outhustled. Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. The classic definition of a point guard, orchestrating offense and shooting when necessary. Congratulations, Brian Roberts! 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. He averages 1.8 steals per game. The reason teams run so much pick-and-roll is that it works. Perhaps the best word to describe his defense is lollygaggy.. But one in 20 is egregiously bad.). However, the other side of the ball cant be overlooked because as the saying goes: defense wins championships.. While most of these stats are adjusted for minutes, the problem surfaces that bench players, playing fewer minutes, can appear to be better than they are. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. Bob Cousey 8. 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. Always free! With both, its the combination of their size and speed that makes them so phenomenal. For that reason, subjective analysis was also included. In terms of point guards, Magic is the finest there has ever been. He can be stagnant when his man doesnt have the ball. 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: he averaged 18.4 points, 7.5 assists and 5.2 rebounds per game. Derrick Rose 15. Gary Payton is one of the best ever. He weighs in at only 175 pounds. Hes pouring out effort every minute hes on the court. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. By the time he was done, he had racked up 10 All-Star appearances, nine All-Defense selections, six All-NBA . Lin plays with consistent effort on defense, but hes stuck in fourth gear. Its hard to notice his effort, though, because of the consistency with which he gets destroyed. Triple Double and for good reason: hes fourth all-time in triple-doubles with 107. Rondo consistently applies every bit of effort in him on the defensive end. 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. Later in his career, he even improved as an outside shooter, which contributed significantly to his longevity. However, who are the all-time top point guards? His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. 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. His 48.8 DWS is 48th all-time and the fourth most by a point guard. While hes not going to get a lot of those at his size, regardless of what he does, he could probably do more to try and recover. -- Peterson. Some players defined their positions. Stephen Curry 4. Its like hes chosen the worst of both worlds. 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! Dubs' Curry (leg) could return as soon as Sun. Lets say a perimeter defender gets beaten and then his center blocks the shot. He also is tougher than most point guards to post up. On those, there is no link available. Dennis Rodman 4. He only gave up .66 points per play in isolation, but he yielded .86 to the ball-handler on the pick-and-roll. Damian Lillard's nuclear 71-point explosion Sunday night was jaw-dropping and somehow not all that surprising. So I saddled up my workhorse, Synergy, and watched an hour or two of each of the top 15 WAM scores playing defense. Kevin Durant, Jayson Tatum top NBA quotes of the week. I counted off over 20 plays, specifically watching to see if Chalmers would stop the ball-handler, and he only did once. When he tries, Lowry can be a solid defensive player, but that whole when he tries qualifier is pretty significant. Defensive Rating (DRtg) is the average number of points per 100 possessions a players team surrenders while he is on the court. Paul was able to keep you at bay on one side of the court while dominating the other with his scoring and passing abilities. MVP (2014-15), two-time All-Star, two-time All-NBA selection, Career stats A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. Best Point Guard Defensive Rating 2022 | StatMuse Luka Doncic had the lowest defensive rating by a point guard in 2021-22, with a 106.5 rating. He defends pick-and-rolls exceptionally well because hes able to shake off picks without much trouble, even pushing around stronger players like Carlos Boozer or Robin Lopez at times. The NBA's best European guard, Tony Parker, monopolised opposing backcourt players with speed and agility, a tight crossover, and a gorgeous tear-drop floater in the lane. Copyright 2023 YB Media, LLC. He surpassed the achievements of every other guard in NBA history, except Russell Westbrooks achievements. While he does benefit from help defense, its not as often as you might think. Hell overshoot passing lanes, gambling for the steal. Players like Deron Williams, Kyrie Irving and John Wall blew by him fairly consistently. Lennys passing and leadership on the floor were solid, but he also had a few great scoring years on the court. He does a capable job of knowing when to help and when to stay. You dont get the sense in watching him that theres a point of pride in it. He doesnt put a lot of effort into chasing his man through screens. While no one always guards the best player, some players are much more likely to be guarding the other teams elite players, which makes them appear weaker defensively. He applies his energy smartly. Los Angeles Lakers (1979-91, 1995-96), Honors Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. As Kyrie Irving showed in the decisive Game 7 versus the Warriors when he beat Stephen Curry to the game-winning jumper, Kyrie Irving is also one of the finest guards in NBA history, and he possesses some of the best hands of all time. Six blind men all go to see an elephant which they'venever encountered before. Defense is one of the more oft-overlooked aspects of basketball because it isnt as pretty as what happens on the offensive end. However, despite Chris Paul and Jason Kidds prominence, Steve Nash became a two-time MVP who had no weaknesses on the offensive end. 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, .520 FG%, The player I considered both their actual measurables and how well they used them. Other stats were determined by using my trusty sidekick, MS Excel, loaded up with standard stats available on most websites. It is akin to the blind men and the elephant in the Indian fable adapted to a poem by John Godfrey Saxe. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. Stockton embodied a true point guard: an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. Thats just simply not true, and any amount of watching him play will verify that. 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. He arguably powers through picks better than any point guard in the league. Closing out on shooters, hell go sailing past them. Nash was never known as a strong defender, but he was capable of bothering opposing point guards to some extent. 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. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. Its difficult to have a perfect rating system thats entirely objective, and even more difficult to have a realistic one that is purely subjective. I suspect that some of this might be by design, as Holiday bore a leading part of the burden on both ends of the court for his team, so its understandable to a point, but not to the extent I saw. He seems to get frustrated easily. He joined the NBA in 1960 and quickly established himself, averaging 30.5 points per game and winning Rookie of the Year. Stockton was a member of two gold medal teams and twice reached the NBA finals during his remarkable career. Opponents dont have much success getting around him. New Orleans Hornets (2005-11), Los Angeles Clippers, (2011-present), Honors Is he an effective flopper? Let's see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. He doesnt make stupid mistakes, but he doesnt anticipate plays either. Stockton was the. -- 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). In many cases, I looked at their combine results. Seriously, you should hear Mark Jackson rave about him. -- Adande, Teams For his career, Jordan averaged 2.3 steals (third all-time) and 4.2 DWS per year. Hes still learning to apply that tremendous athleticism on the defensive end of the court, though. Magic had unparalleled vision; he could see players get open and deliver the ball before they even realized they were open. If a player tends to be the helper, he gets a better score. 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. Perhaps he just grew weary of Doug Collins' act. He leaves talented shooters alone to go double-team bad shooters. 18.4 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 7.5APG, .375 FG%, The player One of the greatest rebounding guards of all time. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar 13. Thats pretty much what you see with Conley. Chasing down balls, hell reach from behind and disrupt the dribble. Lillard, on the other hand, is generally able to get things going from the perimeter anytime he wants. 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 . But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. On defense, the point guard is tasked with making the opposing point guard as ineffective as possible. Having said that, when hes playing off the ball, he knows where hes supposed to be, and hes usually there. Were shooters able to shoot over them? He has a high basketball IQ, and he has that veteran savvy thing going for him, too. Mentally subtract them from the rankings if you feel they shouldn'tbe included. Adande, Brad Doolittle, Tom Haberstroh and Kevin Pelton are NBA writers for ESPN.com. As a result, he has received numerous awards, including the 'NBA Most Valuable Player' (MVP) award and the "PAC Player of the Year." He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. Like last time, these shooting guards are ranked based on the cumulative defensive win shares (DWS). The average score by point guards was 16.1. -- Haberstroh, Teams He has the speed to get there, but not the length to disrupt the shot once he does. 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. That would make sense, but there are two reasons to choose the unconventional scale. For his time with the Phoenix Suns, Johnson is most known for his role alongside Charles Barkley. If youre not interested in that, feel free to skip ahead. In his 20 seasons, Bryant. That earned him the nickname Mr. -- Adande, Possessed incredible court vision and creativity, all while orchestrating the frenetic game pace of his era. His lateral quickness is below-average, and his straightaway speed isnt much either. He has all the tools to be one: great reflexes and speed, and those long arms with big mitts on the end. Ergo, a negative number is a positive thing, and a positive number is a negative thing. He was second among point guards in defensive rebounds per 36 minutes. He spent his entire NBA career (19842003) as a point guard for the Utah Jazz, and the team made the playoffs in each of his 19 seasons. Dikembe Mutombo 7. But he never does. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. He stands third among the top 10 point guards of all time. The other thing thats surprising about Rondo with his size is how well he fights over picks. The true driving force of his partnership with Karl Malone. Jrue Holiday is making . To read more, go here! That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. If someone goes past him, hell usually just wave goodbye. -- Doolittle, The great Knicks ball-movement offense started with him. He also only has a 65 wingspan, which is short of the other bigger point guards, but what he has, he uses well. His Synergy scores are worse than expected, but that appears to be from players just shooting over him more than getting past him. Jordans inclusion as the best defensive shooting guard isnt surprising considering his relentless attitude to winning. No one was a better passer than him. Getting paired with Tom Thibodeau has made it even better. Right now, Westbrook's 11.2 assists and 47.5% assist rate leads the league this season. He lifted the Lakers, and transition basketball, to ethereal levels. How much a player understands his role in the defense is measured here. -- Peterson, Teams While he is frequently noted for his ability to see the court and make the right play on offense, he doesnt get the same recognition on the defensive end. Watson, Kirk Hinrich and Nate Robinson. The NBA is flush with dominant point guards. Scouting isnt the same as just watching games. 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. After all, as his name implies, Billups was known for taking and making huge shots in order to help his team win. The weakness is that it also includes some of what the other player does defensively, (e.g.. blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds). If Williams had more pride in his defense, he would actually ask for, and depend on, help more than he does. He just cant do anything about it. Cincinnati Royals (1960-70), Milwaukee Bucks (1970-74), Honors Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. If he tends to be the helped, he gets a worse score. By: HoopsHype. 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. Rose is arguably the most athletic point guard in the league, though Russell Westbrook could present a challenge. -- Pelton, No player his size, 6-foot-3, has ever bent defenses to his will as Curry does. But will he listen enough to a player he was just playing against to make that shift? If theres a weakness, though, its that when he comes up against the elite offensive point guards, he will get beaten in isolation. He was an All-Star every year of his career and led the Lakers to nine NBA Finals appearances. Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. Smart people recognize their limitations. 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. But mostly he plays smartly with an occasional brain fart. Bunnings Phoenix Tapware, Provenza Maxcore Lvp, Poster Making About Stress And Stress Management, Hotels Near Pelican Club Jupiter, Fl, America's Best Wings Nutrition Factsknife Kits For Sale, Articles B