best defensive point guards of all time

They must also be able to adapt to what the defense is allowing and must control the pace of the game. Like last time . He normally makes the right play, even if he doesnt always do it well. Its possible for Nash to be the whole offense and to shoot 50-40-90 from the field on a continuous basis. He also only has a 65 wingspan, which is short of the other bigger point guards, but what he has, he uses well. Instead of passing after bringing up the ball they quickly drive to the basket or step back for an outside shot. He does get a bit of a bump here for his rebounding. Its more than that. The weakness is that it also includes some of what the other player does defensively, (e.g.. blocks, steals, and defensive rebounds). 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. Curry has developed into much more than a 3-point specialist. He was the league's third player to reach 25,000 points (after Wilt Chamberlain and Oscar Robertson). Bledsoe is not a great help defender, in spite of boasting a -4.9 net defensive rating. Russ is already on the verge of breaking into the top five of all time, but its going to be a challenge. A defensive point guard will also pressure opponents in passing lanes in an attempt to generate steals and scoring opportunities for their own team. Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right, Latest Jonathan Isaac injury may signal end of his Magic career, Seven Cubs pitchers combine for spring no-hitter vs. Padres, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones comments on Tony Pollard rumor, Ben Simmons suffers back injury while rehabilitating, Insider: It's Packers, Jets 'or bust' for Aaron Rodgers, QB Anthony Richardson doesn't understand his 'project' label, Vikings HC reveals 'crazy' thoughts about star WR, XFL player released for giving another team plays from own playbook. He has been improving in that regard, but its taken a while, and there are still some maddening things. Parker applies himself defensively in bursts, and this appears to be by design. He has a high basketball IQ, and he has that veteran savvy thing going for him, too. 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. They are available for those who want to know where they fit, and it doesn'thurt anyone to include them. (I know, but it is a part of defense these days.) Rondo may not be big, but he doesnt know that. Stockton embodied a true point guard: an extension of the coach that ran the teams offense seamlessly. Stats dont tell the whole story and our eyes often only confirm what we already know. He has a barrel chest, broad shoulders and 20 pounds on most point guards, so he gives the appearance of dwarfing players that are technically as tall as he is. Now hes in Phoenix, and well see how both he and Jeff Hornacek develop in their new roles. -- Adams, An early ballhandling wizard, he was a point guard who was a focal point at a time when the game was dominated by big men. Lillard, on the other hand, is generally able to get things going from the perimeter anytime he wants. Over the next four weeks, well unveil the rankings for the other four positions. Perhaps the best word to describe his defense is lollygaggy.. A point guard should always look out for teammates and be able to pass well. His foot speed is as good as anyone's in the league, and you cant measure that. It only looks at the data. Jason Kidd 9. Once he had the ball on the fastbreak, The Flash was gone. Even his athletic scores dont indicate greatness. On the flip side, Westbrook's 4.13 turnovers per game average is the highest all-time, with Johnson (3. . Though he had a relatively short career he only played 13 seasons his 50.4 DWS is 44th overall. He doesnt cheat in either direction, though. Then, after a single down year, he had y straight years of 2 steals per . In many cases, I looked at their combine results. When we watch basketball, we get general impressions of defense, but the storyline is whats happening with the ball. Probably no point guard in the league does a better job of recovering defensively than Rose does. Having said that, when hes playing off the ball, he knows where hes supposed to be, and hes usually there. -- Pelton, If he had played with The Mailman or a defense as stout as the Pistons, he might have made a couple of Finals by now. Hes able to use that size advantage by being physical, playing close and aggressive, often forcing shooters into shots they arent comfortable taking. All that was due to Bryant emulating Jordans relentless drive to win on both sides of the floor. Damian Lillard (2013-Present) AP Images. 8. Its difficult to have a perfect rating system thats entirely objective, and even more difficult to have a realistic one that is purely subjective. While it does keep the opponent in front of him, it defeats the purpose if the opponent is still getting to the basket. Some players defined their positions. Pun intended. He was transcendent. He was a 13-time NBA All-Star during the early half of the Celtics dynasty, winning six NBA championships during his 13-year tenure with the team. 11. Other point guards who have been named NBA MVP include Bob Cousy, Oscar Robertson, Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, and Russell Westbrook, and two-time winners Steve Nash and Stephen Curry. Players Stats: 19.2 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 9.3 APG, 1.9 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 1989-1990 Finals MVP, 12x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. Hes controlled in how he plays hard. Even though he was 38 years old when he won his first NBA championship with the Mavericks, he had two trips to the NBA Finals with the Nets. Jrue Holiday is making . Over 90 percent of the time, the ball-handler gets by him. He wont even try and fight over a pick if he gets caught in one, but just quits on the play. A point guard needs always to have in mind the times on the shot clock and the game clock, the score, the numbers of remaining timeouts for both teams, etc. He applies every bit of failing athleticism he has all the time. But hes slightly built, and that raises some issues, especially when hes caught a fraction of a second behind a play. He still struggles against the spot-up, though, because of issues that will be addressed later. Thomas was ultra-quick with the ball and, at any moment, could pull up for a deadly jump shot. -- 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. At the very least, he could stab those quick hands of his at some more balls and disrupt the dribble from behind. 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. Hes pouring out effort every minute hes on the court. Even when he has to go under the pick, which is most of the time, hes so fast that hes able to close the distance before the ball-handler has time to do something with it. If you just look at his measurables, Chris Paul is not impressive. Total Defensive Plays per 36 Minutes, or TDP/36 is simply the total number of defensive rebounds, steals and blocks a player accrues every 36 minutes. Players Stats: 15.6 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 3.6 APG, 1.2 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 5x All-Star, 5x All-NBA Selection, 2x Defensive Player of the Year, 5x All-Defensive Selection, Hall of Famer. Thats the advantage of the scouting portion. 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. By my count, about 70 percent of the time, the ball-handler will get past him and get a shot off. Players Stats: 18.8 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.6 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 2010-2011 MVP, 3x All-Star, 1x All-NBA Selection, 2008-2009 Rookie of the Year. He uses his length well when trying to close out on jumpers, utilizing all of his elevation and his full length. Although Jordan won that battle, theres nothing wrong with being named the third-best defensive player at his position and one of the best shooting guards of all time. Best Defenders in NBA History: Top 50 Best Defensive Players By Clark Boinis | Jul 12, 2021, 4:05pm 1. 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. There was always that kid in high school or college who tried so hard to get decent grades. From there, hes playing catch up. At 64, hes big enough to guard shooting guards, as well as point guards. Similarly, while each of the advanced and/or traditional metrics has value, each also misses something. Stockton embodied a true point guard - an extension of the coach that ran the team's offense seamlessly. His length is better; he has a 65.75 wingspan. On pick-and-rolls when hes not set, teams have learned to expect this. In his book The Winner Within, Pat Riley described Magic as a club DJ. A defensive point guard will try to accomplish this with constant pressure on the ball, making it difficult to maintain possession. All-Time #NBArank continues with a countdown of the best shooting guards in NBA history. As one of the elite point guards in the NBA, you would expect him to have elite athleticism, but he actually doesnt. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? By combining them, we can get a better picture of the whole elephant of a players defense. One aspect of Roses year-long absence that gets lost is how much the team suffered defensively without him. Does he rotate on time? But Gary Payton did as a member of the Seattle Supersonics. Westbrooks Synergy numbers on the pick-and-roll (.75) and isolation (.7) suggest hes better than he actually is. While he was doing that, Billups, who actually had the ball the whole time, just stepped back behind the three-point line and drained the three. He also plays through to the end of the play when his man doesnt have the ball, which is not something you see all point guards do. He didnt have an eye-popping number, but he was in the top 25 percent of players there. The Miami HEATs best player in franchise history, Dwyane Wade was an offensive maestro. 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. One of the greatest rebounding guards of all time. The problem is he doesnt use that height or strength as well as youd like to see. Bill Russell 3. In fact, Rondo gives more help than he getscontrary to my previous opinion. His net defensive rating is fairly close to even, and slightly above average for point guards. He doesnt use the shortest angles when running under picks, but he takes path of least resistance instead. Pass-first points of the past have given way to dynamic creators who can score as well as set up teammates. His contributions won him a spot on the NBA All-Time 50th Anniversary Team. It is startling to see the regularity with which opponents blow past Deron Williams. 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. 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. ALL-TIME #NBARANK, 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11-15 | 16-20 | 21-25, The player Scottie Pippen 5. Despite his little size, he made up for it offensively by being lightning fast and had the whole attacking package. With his record of successes and pioneering point guard talents, Magic is at the top of the list. Some players with tremendous athleticism just dont apply it on both ends of the court. But only once did he actually truly defend the play. He gave up 1.01 points per play on the spot-up last year. Is he an effective flopper? Coming off one of the best offensive seasons in NBA history, Curry takes the top spot on our list of the league's best point guards, followed closely by 22-year-old wunderkind Luka Doncic, who may . Even though hes been injured a lot, Paul is averaging over two steals a game for his career. His lateral quickness is exceptional, making it hard for people to get around him, and thats a big part of why he is tied with Derrick Rose for the fewest points per play among qualified point guards. 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. There are some serious contenders in Steve Nash and Walter Frazier, so hell have to settle for fourth place in the race. The NBA is a point guard's paradise these days, so let's start All-Time #NBArank with our pantheon points. Players Stats: 14.3 PPG, 3.0 RPG, 8.5 APG, 0.7 SPG, 0.1 BPG, Honors: 2x MVP, 8x All-Stars, 7x All-NBA Selection, Hall of Famer. LeBron James, the best player in the NBA, is also the league's best point guard. In the past, this was particularly true, as several point guards such as Lenny Wilkens served their teams as player coaches. There are times where he makes a bone-headed gamble and loses, trying to get the extra steal, but thats about the only flaw there is with him mentally. It is the same with his mental engagement in the game. His Synergy scores are worse than expected, but that appears to be from players just shooting over him more than getting past him. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. Del Negro just worried about the matchup without ever developing a true defensive system or identity with the Clippers. Thats a difference of almost five points a game given up to point guards. Even though Payton only played a little part in 2006, the Heats success would not have been possible without his defensive presence and leadership. He has above-average size and strength, but he doesnt play like it. His net defensive rating of 4.2 is an indication of both a lack of his helping and asking for help. Do players go under picks when they should go over them? Mr. -- Micah Adams, No one was more dynamic, or magical, with the ball in the open court than Earvin Johnson. The effect was that the Bulls' starters all looked inferior to their backups. He presses hard as long as the opponent is in front of him, but will frequently give up on the play once the defender is past him. Not everything about a players value can be seen even through advanced stats, or even while hes on the court. His offensive style has been revamped to incorporate a powerful mid-range jumper along with some range as well. DJ, standing 6'4, started playing point for Boston in the second half of his basketball career and was often tasked with shutting down . He plays longer than he actually is. Johnsons style of play made him especially successful since he was noted for tip-ins and post play around the rim. They have value when there arent such extremes like the difference between Boozer and Gibson. Having above-average size (height, muscle) is considered advantageous, although size is secondary to situational awareness, speed, quickness, and ball handling skills. Steph's ball-handling abilities make him a lethal ball-handler, as he can shake a defender at any time. Because Derrick Rose was the NBAs youngest MVP in 2009, its unfortunate that the guy isnt higher on this list. If he's not on the slide and he played 1,200 minutes, he should be on this list somewhere. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. Were shooters able to shoot over them? On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. 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. Holiday wouldnt just go under the pick; he would go too far under the pick. If you want to get involved in the discussion or just follow along, #NBArank is the Twitter hashtag to use. 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. Injuries robbed Rose of the opportunity to become one of the games top five point guards. Smart people recognize their limitations. WAMS includes scouting. Holiday has ample size for a point guard, standing a shade over 64 in shoes, and weighing in at 205 pounds. Even though he normally does, he shouldnt have to and wouldnt if he were playing smarter. That can create an illusion of great defense where there is none. James Harden's age: stats, contract, family, dating, net worth in 2022. He stands third among the top 10 point guards of all time. Players Stats: 23.2 PPG, 7.1 RPG, 8.3 APG, 1.8 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 2016-2017 MVP, 9x All-Star, 8x All-NBA Selection, 2x Scoring Champion. -- Tom Haberstroh, NBA writer, No guard in NBA history pulled down more rebounds than Kidd, who finished with more career rebounds than Willis Reed and Alonzo Mourning, among others. 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. He bulls through picks well and is not afraid to go over them. His 47.4 DWS is 54th overall, good for an average of 2.963 DWS per season, slightly edging Wade.

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best defensive point guards of all time

best defensive point guards of all time