best defensive point guards of all time best defensive point guards of all time

His defensive usage was the highest of any player with at least 1,200 minutes. He led the league in total steals this year and did so without playing a lot of gambling defense. That said, hes 61st all-time in steals with 1392 and he had six seasons in the top-20 in steals. You need to build something on it. Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. There was always that kid in high school or college who tried so hard to get decent grades. 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. When Gibson played with the starters, the Bulls gave up 10 fewer points per 100 possessions. However his brilliant and consistent team defense team keeps passing lanes secure and helps prevent a lot of plays from developing the way they normally would. He applies his energy smartly. Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. Danny Green and Kawhi Leonard, two of the better perimeter defenders in the league, often take up the responsibility for guarding the best point guards. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. How hard do they fight through them? But thats why we do the research. All you have to do is watch him on offense to know he has all kinds of speed. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. Hes incredibly focused while on the court, but hes always working things out in his head; they dont come automatically, and that costs him time. As a point guard, Frazier was one of the greatest in NBA history. 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. The Big O's best statistical season came in 1961-62, when he averaged a triple-double for the entire season, a feat that has never been duplicated. 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. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive 2nd Team five times. When going against point guards who have a respectable jump shot, that becomes problematic. He is not a guy you would single out as an NBA player in a crowded room. Chris Paul is widely considered to be one of the best point guards of the 2010s. The "Big O" was capable of doing it all. He never stops moving. Jrue Holiday is not fast so much as he is quick. His lateral movement and reaction time are exceptional, and thats indicated by his isolation defense. His net defensive rating is fairly close to even, and slightly above average for point guards. The point guard is positioned on the perimeter of the play, so as to have the best view of the action. Bob Cousy Bettman/Getty Images. -- Haberstroh, Honors Doc Rivers has had a lot of input into how Rondo plays the game. Williams needs to have a bit of a paradigm shift in the direction of team defense. Its no surprise that the best point guards in the NBA have more than just the ability to pass the basketball. Thats 20th all-time, with Kidd being the only other guard above him. His MVP season, he had the second-best block total by a point guard in history (although John Wall exceeded that total last year.). J.A. While that is by design, he shouldnt get the same credit as players who bring their full attention the entire time theyre on the court. Nixon played 6 seasons with the Lakers, making the All-Star Teams in 1982 and 1982 when he posted 17.6 PPG and 17.2 PPG respectively. His ability to score and create plays made him an NBA superstar. READ ALSO: James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022 and more. Thats rarely going to be because of a mental error, though. The relative value between players was not affected; they were merely weighted so that the metrics could be combined without any one metric dominating the others. Kyrie Irving is unquestionably one of the greatest point guards of all time. This typically involves setting up plays on the court, getting the ball to the teammate in the best position to score, and controlling the tempo of the game. 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. If you are a basketball freak, you might be interested in knowing about NBA and other Best Basketball Leagues in the World. The list of the best defensive NBA point guards for 2022-23 starts off with two of the elite perimeter defenders overall. Lillard has been one of the NBA's most dangerous scorers, capable of striking shots from anywhere on the floor. Top 20 best defensive midfielders in the world today: who are they? When he applies it, he does so effectively, especially in isolation and the pick-and-roll. There arent a lot of players that could lock down Michael Jordan, the greatest player of all time. However, hes not the slowest point guard in the league either, and when hes not biting on the crossovers, hes able to do a decent job of staying in front of most average point guards. Players Stats: 12.6 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 8.7 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 10x All-Star, 6x All-NBA Selection, 1994-1995 Rookie of the Year, 9x All-Defensive Team Selection, Hall of Famer. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats Then there was that kid who just read the assignment on the bus and got straight As. 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. Surely the most underappreciated great player in NBA history because he was quietly dependable rather than flashy and never broke through on the biggest stage. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. Alex Caruso. Therefore, a lower score is superior. (Note: Players chosen only if they have played as a shooting guard for most, if not all, of their career.). Take, for example, Carlos Boozer in 2012. Jrue Holiday is making . The weakness is that it also includes some of what the other player does defensively, (e.g.. blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds). Pauls been an All-Defensive Team selection nine times, being selected to the First Team seven times and the Second Team twice. The facts need to come first. He spends too much time getting back into the defensive play because he ran himself out of it. 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. 18.9 PPG, 5.9 RPG, 6.1 APG, .490 FG%, The player On the flip side, Westbrook's 4.13 turnovers per game average is the highest all-time, with Johnson (3. . His offensive style has been revamped to incorporate a powerful mid-range jumper along with some range as well. The best shooter ever not just in terms of accuracy but also in creatively getting looks with but a sliver's opening and with unlimited range. The point guard (PG), also called the one or the point, is one of the five positions in a regulation basketball game. Brandon Knight has work intelligence. His issues related to intelligence, detailed later, compound this problem. Not to mention that he is an elite finisher around the rim, shooting 61.5 per cent on 5-foot attempts. Wilt Chamberlain 14. Hes fearless, and no matter how large the big setting the pick is, he wont back down. After the opponent scores, it is typically the point guard who brings the ball down the court to begin an offensive play. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. And when hes on the bench, Eric Bledsoe, who is a 15th on this list, was with Odom. 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. This is also manifested in his spot-up defense. Hes not as horrible as some people would make it sound. Williams tends to play defense, but he only seems to do the minimum. Hes controlled in how he plays hard. Just telling your players to play harder and close out on threes isnt a real system. For example, the Spurs absolutely ate him alive in the playoffs with Tony Parker, who averaged 24.5 points for the series. The house would collapse. Gary Payton. He uses his length well when trying to close out on jumpers, utilizing all of his elevation and his full length. Jrue Holiday. Its safe to say that Kidd is one of the greatest guards to ever play on the basketball floor. The point guard was always capable of scoring the ball at the . He has the speed to get there, but not the length to disrupt the shot once he does. The American former professional basketball player was born on August 9, 1928, and played point guard for the Boston Celtics from 1950 to 1963 and shortly for the Cincinnati Royals during the 196970 season. As a result of his hurling himself around the court with utter abandon, he was generally a positive when it came to help defense. He does an air-tight job of keeping players out of the perimeter. While he recovers most of the time, its worth asking why he gets beaten. He finished the game with the most career postseason points and the highest average in a playoff series. When hes not getting wrapped up, he plays the pick-and-roll well. Although Stockton accumulated numerous All-NBA nods, he only made the All-Defensive Second Team five times. He yields a whopping 41.5 three-point percentage on the spot-up, which is just not good. He doesnt disrupt team defense with unnecessary gambles. The greater problem is how easily he gets disrupted on pick-and-roll defense. Although Drexler never made an All-Defensive Team in his career, he did average two steals per game for his 15-year career. The most striking thing about Hinrich is just how often he is the initial defender on the play. 5 (1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988), Career stats On top of that, when Parkers man slips past him, he has one of the best defenders in the history of the universe, Tim Duncan, to help him out. 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. When it comes to intangibles, Chris Paul is the elite point guard in the league. The undisputed first great point guard, Cousy remains the only guard in NBA history to be named First-Team All-NBA in 10 straight seasons. Bledsoes defensive numbers would be far worse if he werent getting helped out by Odom all the time. Players Stats: 14.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.6 BPG, Honors: 1978-1979 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 9x All-Defense Selection, 2x All-NBA Team Selection, Hall of Famer. I counted off over 20 plays, specifically watching to see if Chalmers would stop the ball-handler, and he only did once. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. They have value when there arent such extremes like the difference between Boozer and Gibson. That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. The effect was that the Bulls' starters all looked inferior to their backups. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the 1st team all nine times. Then, when players pull up and shoot, he doesnt use his length to close and get a hand in the face of the shooter. 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. The explosiveness and rim-running ability of Damian Lillard extend beyond his ability to shoot the ball from a distance. 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. 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. This implies that the point guard serves as an extension of their coach on the court, and he or she is accountable for making the right plays every night. Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. Nash is the answer. Hes like a runner trying to run a mile by alternating between walking and sprinting 100 yards at a time. His net defensive rating of minus-7.7, combined with his lack of a defensively-solid backup big, is a strong indication of his value as a help defender. He lacks the strength to effectively go over screens consistently, so he has to go under them. 'Whatever seed we are, we're ready': Is there room for Cleveland among the East elite? All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. He surpassed the achievements of every other guard in NBA history, except Russell Westbrooks achievements. Players Stats: 15.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 5.4 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.2 BPG, Honors: 2003-2004 Finals MVP, 5x All-Star, 3x All-NBA Selection, 2x All-Defensive Team Selection. He doesnt use his size exceptionally badly or incredibly well, though. Johnson had a knack for scoring against everyone and racked up impressive numbers throughout the course of his career. While hes able to keep himself from getting pushed around when point guards, or even shooting guards, try and post up on him, hes not able to dig through picks the way the other three are. 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. Theres a running debate over the relative importance of stats versus watching. Stats tell you what happened, but you cant know why it happened unless you watch. 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. This score is to help alleviate that. In balance he was a plus, but his deficiencies cant be ignored. For eight consecutive seasons, Cousy was the leagues top assist producer, and he was also one of the finest scorers in the league. Ben Wallace 12. Championships: 3. Speed is important; a speedy point guard is better able to create separation and space off the dribble, giving themselves room to work. 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. Is he an effective flopper? During the 1960-1961 season, the then-32-year-old Cousy racked up 6.3 DWS, the most in his career. It looked like teams designed plays counting on him being lazy. He has become one of the hardest working point guards in the league on both ends. Who's the best offensive point guard of all time? Its possible for Nash to be the whole offense and to shoot 50-40-90 from the field on a continuous basis. He gets a ton of help from his teammates and isnt asked to give a lot back. To create All-Time #NBArank, we put together a ballot with the 150 greatest players ever. -- Pelton, So precise with his passes and timely with his shots. Interpreted as: best defensive rating with a minimum of 10000 minutes played point guards in NBA history. He just cant do anything about it. Whenever anyone imagines a point guard, chances are theyre thinking of Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 9.5 APG, .485 FG%, The player 25. 3. Dennis Johnson. -- Pelton, No player his size, 6-foot-3, has ever bent defenses to his will as Curry does. These were calculated using the raw stats available on any site carrying basic stats. Two-time MVP (2004-05, 2005-06), eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, Career stats Do they get their hands up and use their length? Stephen Curry 4. Just because someone gets past him doesnt mean theyre going to score. 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. 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 may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. Jason Kidd 9. Closing out on shooters, hell go sailing past them. Whatever else you want to say about Brandon Knight, just dont say he never tries. All pre-draft measurements were obtained from the database hosted on Draft Express. Furthermore, he is a legend for the Phoenix Suns and one of the teams finest players. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. A point guard that has enough ball-handling skill and quickness to be able to drive to the basket in a half-court set is also very valuable and considered by some to be a must for a successful offense. Paradoxically tough on the court and flashy off of it, Frazier epitomized the '70s-era backcourt style in which roles were less defined. In the 13 seasons in which he played more than 60 games, mostly with the Chicago Bulls, the 1988 Defensive Player of the Year was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection all first-team honors and a three-time steals champion. Sometimes it doesnt. Paul is just listed at just 60, and that might be generous. At 63, with a wingspan of almost 68, he has decent size. I considered both their actual measurables and how well they used them. If it gives up fewer points, thats good. Moncrief is well known for his defensive prowess. The strength of this is that it shows what the other player does offensively. Like last time . He closed out on jump-shooters half-heartedly, which is bad enough, but when you combine that with the way he played pick-and-roll plays, it was even worse. Eventually, you need to form an opinion about why not just know what. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. Either way he chases the ball until he catches it. Overall, hes ninth in steals with 2,207, and Drexlers 49.9 DWS is good for 45th all-time. -- Adams, He could hurt defenses in so many ways: Controlling tempo was one, and he was a hell of a defender, too. Now hes in Phoenix, and well see how both he and Jeff Hornacek develop in their new roles. 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. At 64, hes big enough to guard shooting guards, as well as point guards. Even his athletic scores dont indicate greatness. He does add a lot, but its not frenetic, its just frantic. Widely known as one of the best, if not the best, point guards of all time, Chris Pauls offensive exploits are well-documented. That deceptive length helps him nab 2.5 steals per 36 minutes and grab a ridiculous number of rebounds for a person his height. Along with leadership and a general basketball acumen, ball-handling is a skill of great importance to a point guard. This year, without Rose, the Bulls were 23rd, at 21.0 points per game. Sometimes hell even rush to defend the wrong guy while his man is draining a wide-open three. Players Stats: 15.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 2006-2007 Finals MVP, 6x All-Star, 4x All-NBA Selection. Hes 63 with a 68 wingspan and an 83 standing reach. When he gets set for a defensive play, he does a respectable job. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. OPER is the Opponents Player Efficiency Rating and has been tracked by 82games.com since 2008. Tim Duncan Averaging 1.5 steals per game, Wade could block transition shots as well with the best of them. He doesnt have to race around to get in position because hes almost never out of position. While the Clippers were better when Paul was on the bench, it wasnt because he was on the bench. 10-time All-Star, 11-time All-NBA selection, five-time All-D selection, Hall of Fame, Career stats He always seems to know exactly where everyone is. Even players like Derek Fisher will hang him up and then hit him with the step-back. Thats good for 14th all-time in NBA history and he also had 10 seasons in the top 20 for steals per game. He uses quickness to capably guard the perimeter, but thats in large part because hes not always defending the elite point guards. Pass-first points of the past have given way to dynamic creators who can score as well as set up teammates. -- 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). Overall, he is more of a gives-help defender than a needs-help defender. 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. Curry has developed into much more than a 3-point specialist. We have listed down 25 of the finest point guards, so lets see who makes it to the top 10 point guards of all time. 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! But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. 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.