The Top 10 Point Guards in NBA History
I was in the middle of writing the third part of my article about the last 3 Boston Celtics coaches, this one about Joe Mazzulla. But I decided I wanted to wait till after this year’s playoffs run and see what happens. With this part of the season being pretty uninteresting, as the team already locked the 1st seed. So I wanted to do something fun that isn’t directly Celtics related.
I decided to make lists of the top 10 players at each position. I want this to be apart of making my own top 100 players of all time later on, but let’s just start here for now.
HM: Russell Westbrook
Russell Westbrook barley makes it off the list. This spot to around the 7 spot are tough to rank, I feel like any given day they can be swapped around based upon what argument I am feeling that day. Westbrook is one of the most, if not thee most, athletic players to ever grace the NBA. A ferocious scorer, and an energetic passer and rebounder, this made Westbrook the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple double for a full year and win an MVP. What makes me knock Westbrook down is the playoff success and his efficiency. As the number 1 option in the post-Durant OKC era, he could never go past the first round, even after he got Paul George. This came with consistent lack-luster playoff performances. He can also be labeled a shot-chucker, as he consistently put up over 20 shots a game in his prime, while not being a great shooter or scorer. This also came with tons of turnovers, as he averaged 4.8 turnovers per game from his MVP in 2017, to his last OKC year in 2019. Going from the second option didn’t help anything either in Houston or Washington. Still too inefficient, taking too many shots, and not being careful with the ball. His defense started to gradually regress, going from a pretty good defender to a lazy defender. Still, Westbrook is one of the most electrifying talents we have ever seen in the league, and just barley didn’t make the cut on this list.
10: John Stockton
John Stockton is another player I find a tad hard to rate. In my opinion, I think he can be quite overrated, as other lists you’ll see have him in the number 4–6 area all time for point guards. What might be a challenge is that he has never been the number one dude on his team for his entire career, unlike anyone else on this list. He is one of the best passers-by of all time, that can’t be understated. Very efficient, didn’t commit a ton of turnovers, and was smart with his role. Quite an efficient scorer too, at a 51%/38%/83% clip for his career. Granted, he only averaged about 10 FGA per game. What is so decisive about Stockton is his best asset, and also something that in a weird way hinders him, which is how durable he was. In his whole career, Stockton missed only 22 games. That is crazy impressive. I think this sort of overrates him though with people who primarily use his all-time Assists and Steals stats to say how good he is. In reality, Stockton played in a safe system, that involved him feeding Karl Malone, which lead to all those assists. He also racked up plenty of defensive teams in his prime, which are highly suspect and only got earned due to his knack at stealing, even though he was never a great defender in his career. He did endure some finals trips, and was consistently solid in the playoffs in his career, which gives him some points. All in all, he is one of the best assist men and second options ever, but I think it is hard to say he is more than that.
9: Gary Payton
Gary Payton comes in at the 9 spot. Payton’s best asset is one of the best defenders the league has ever seen, being one of the only guards to win a DPOY besides Michael Jordan and eventually Marcus Smart. He was All-Defensive First Team for 9 straight seasons, from 1994–2002. Payton is one of the all-around best guards to play, as he was a great passer and scorer to go along with that elite defense. Payton didn’t have the craziest playoff success as the lead option of his team, but got his team to the finals, and almost was able to pull of an upset against the Jordan Bulls until some poor coaching had Payton not guarding Jordan for the rest of the series. Payton did thankfully get a ring as a role player of the 2006 Miami Heat. Payton was one of the most complete guards you could have on a team.
8: Jason Kidd
Kidd and Payton have quite a lot in common. They have similar comparisons as players, both being elite guard defenders and passers. Kidd also led his Nets to some final appearances, until losing to a dynasty in the Kobe/Shaq Lakers. Eventually, Kidd earned his ring as a key role player for the 2011 Mavericks. Comparatively, Kidd was not an amazing scorer in his prime, but was so elite at passing and defending. I think playmaking notches Kidd slightly above Payton, but I think it is almost neck-and-neck with each other.
7: Steve Nash
Steve Nash is another player that can be a bit tough to rank. I feel like ranking a 2x MVP at number 7 in a list feels a bit wrong, though those awards come with a lot of controversy. There is a reason Nash won those MVP’s, his style of play and the system he worked in was league changing. Like what I mentioned above with Kidd, playmaking is where Nash shines. His passing, along with his excellent shooting (only players beside Larry Bird and Kevin Durant to have multiple 50/40/90 seasons), made him a whole system himself. His success is comparable to the likes of Nikola Jokic, their playmaking is so elite that it makes an offense near perfect when they’re on the floor. The knock-on Nash is his playoff success and his two-way play. Nash isn’t the defender Kidd or Payton are, and he doesn’t have any crazy playoff runs. I cut him some slack in that department though. He was consistently good in the playoffs; it wasn’t like he was a playoff dropper. Those Phoenix Suns teams just had the displeasure of running into prime, powerhouse Spurs and Mavericks teams that ran the west in the mid 2000’s.
6: Chris Paul
Chris Paul feels like the model for what an “ideal” point guard would be. Great scorer, excellent playmaker, leader, and amazing defender. His best attribute that has bumped him up in the rankings is clearly how much of a floor raiser he is. Chris Paul has gone from team to team, and made franchises competitive. Gets drafted to the Hornets, and has runner up-MVP seasons with a below average team. Goes to the Clippers, and brings the franchise more success than they have ever seen. His Rockets tenure brought the team to the brink against the greatest roster ever assembled. When it seems like his age is catching up to him? Goes to the Thunder and aids them to a playoff team. Then finally, elevates the Suns, and helped complete that team to his first finals of his career. The only exception would be this year, with the Warriors. When that is the exception, in your age 38 season on a disfunction team, that is impressive. The big knock would be the elephant in the room, the playoff success. I think Paul gets way too much criticism for this though. His Hornets and Clippers teams had plenty of flaws. Houston had to go against the super-team Warriors, and the Suns were 2 wins away from a championship against one of the best defenses ever assembled. There where unfortunate injuries along the way, but while healthy, Paul played consistently well in the playoffs.
5: Isiah Thomas
The scrappy leader of the 80s Detroit Bad Boys comes in at number 5. Thomas was an elite playmaker and finisher. He also had a great touch from the midrange area. What pushes him over the edge, and into the top 5, is his playoff success. Not many players can say they beat Bird, especially Jordan, but Thomas’ Pistons did it consistently, and lead to them being back-to-back champions in the late 80s. It was a hard comparison between Thomas and Paul, they are pretty similar when comparing each other. A knock on Thomas is that he is only an ok defender on some otherwise stellar defensive teams. He also isn’t the best shooter either, only averaging about 29% from three in his career. On the other side, I think those rings as the number 1 option in a tough eastern conference hold a lot of weight, and that pushes Thomas over for me.
4: Jerry West
When you’re the logo of the sport, you got to be pretty high on this list. It is crazy it took Jerry West till almost the end of his career to win a championship. His only kryptonite was running into juggernaut Celtics teams every year. West is known for being a prolific playoff performer. Averaging 31/7.5/4 on 47% and being the only player to win finals MVP on the losing team is ridiculous. For his career, he averages 29 PPG on 47% shooting. Not to mention, West also averaged 40 PPG in the 1965 playoffs on the same efficiency. Even for his era of the 60’s, a pretty weak all-around era, West is just an unreal scorer and postseason player. I think Jerry West, along with the guy right above him, are two examples of early era NBA players that would dominate in any generation.
3: Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson put up some ridiculous numbers in his prime. His MVP year in 1964? 31/11/10 on 48% shooting. Robertson could fill stat sheets. He gets similar comparisons to a Russell Westbrook in that same vein. Oscar was an amazing scorer, passer, and rebounder, all while being incredibly efficient in an era where efficiency wasn’t important. His later years in Milwaukee, where he grabbed his only championship, were noted for how much he improved defensively and how well he worked with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Robertson was one of the most overall impactful players to ever grace the NBA.
2: Magic Johnson
What do you even have to say about Magic. I mentioned how a player like Nash is a system on his own with how good his playmaking is, and Magic is all that and more. Johnson is the best playmaker to ever play. Those Showtime Lakers offenses were pure spectacle and lead to plenty of winning. 5x NBA champion, 3x MVP and 3x Finals MVP, all in only 11 seasons (excluding his 96 season, where he came back at age 36, played 32 games and still got MVP votes). Having that much success in a pretty short prime is incredible, he doesn’t get enough credit for that. What do you even have to say about Magic Johnson? He is far and away the best point guard to ever play… except for one player in my eyes.
1: Stephen Curry
Yup, I think I finally came full circle that Curry is the best PG to ever be in the NBA. I think Magic changed the game by making the game faster and really being the player to maximize the fast break. Stephen Curry’s impact with his shooting was felt so hard that it completely changed the NBA and how teams need to be built. The man is an unstoppable force it feels like offensively. A two-time MVP, and the first unanimous MVP for a good reason. Explain to me how someone averages 31 PPG… and is apart of the 50/40/90 club? I really don’t think we will ever have a season like his 2016 ever again. Curry also doesn’t get his flowers for how great he has been able to stay, all while entering his mid 30’s and off of many injuries. 4x champion, 2x MVP, 1x Finals MVP (should be 2x, but we won’t get into that). This is coming from a Celtics fan that had to watch this guy kick my teams ass in the Finals, Curry is the best point guard of all time.
There’s my list! I plan on doing each of the next 4 positions for my next articles, so that should be fun! I will get back to more Celtics specific talk come playoff time, so lookout for that too.
Thank you for reading!
-Zachary Gannon @ Celtics Capital.
