You can look at why things happen and offset the misleading things. Its because Griffin and Jordan were on the bench next to him. He has no All-Defensive team accolades, because those werent introduced until the 1968-1969 season. Robertson's offensive ability transformed the point guard stereotype from a passer and floor general to a scorer and offensive weapon. Additionally, the 10-time All-Star and Hall of Famer was an impressive defensive player in his own right. It seems so much of Conley is either there or not there; you get it or you dont get it. Those are the questions I was looking to answer. That said, here are the five best defensive NBA point guards of all time, based on their DWS. Last season, when Rose was healthy early on, they gave up the thirdmost, 16.3 points. 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. With the increased emphasis on the deep three, point guards account for a large portion of the league's top scorers. He could be better than he is, but its hard to blame only him. The average score by point guards was 16.1. Gary Payton 9. Notably, several modern point guards have used a successful style of post play, a tactic usually practiced by much larger centers and forwards. At 61 and 171 pounds, Rondo is pretty small by NBA standards, but he plays much tougher than his size. Even when he gets switched up on opposing shooting guards trying to post him up, he does a solid job. He routinely gets blistered in isolation (.93 points per play), fails to close out well on shooters and lags when coming off of screens. He was the primary defender on 1,127 plays last year in all, surpassed only by Stephen Curry among point guards. His ability to score and create plays made him an NBA superstar. Sometimes hell even rush to defend the wrong guy while his man is draining a wide-open three. His wingspan isnt much better at just 64. With his record of successes and pioneering point guard talents, Magic is at the top of the list. Emailed daily. Jack has good but not great effort. Defensive Rating (DRtg) is the average number of points per 100 possessions a players team surrenders while he is on the court. Think: Dennis Rodman. A lot has been made of how an explosive offense is the way to captivate fans. Defensively, Stockton had 3,265 steals the most all time during his 19-year career, helping him get 64.9 DWS. 25. The number in the parentheses indicates where they ranked in that category. 8. DWS are how many wins a player produces based on his defensive ability. He may be the finest defensive guard ever because of his awareness and abilities on the defensive end. The five-time All-Star and four-time All-NBA selection has averaged more than 24 points per game since being drafted by the Portland Trail Blazers in 2012. Cousy, in many respects, was the Celtics spirit at the moment. 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. Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose are the two most physically gifted point guards of their generation, and, as a result, are constantly going to be compared to one another. After years of being sidelined by ailments, the grandeur that should have been his was snatched from him. 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. When he does do it, he does it half-heartedly. 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. When you combine that with his 40-inch vertical, you have a player that gets higher (139 inches) than any point guard in the leagueeven Russell Westbrook. He actually plays his best games against his best opponents. The best way to track how effective a player is on the defensive end is by looking at their cumulative defensive win shares. Lets see who has made it to the top 10 best point guards of all time. As a result, hes been a member of the All-Defensive First Team four times and a member of the All-Defensive Second Team five times. He also defends well against post-up plays, yielding just .54 points per play, although thats on an admittedly small 17-play sample size. You probably cant say right away, because you watched the storyline, not how Harvey dressed. Thanks for signing up. Johnson is widely recognized as one of the all-time great point guards, particularly for his defense. However, he doesnt appear to have the same strength they do. Exciting feature: Check out news exactly for YOU find "Recommended for you" block and enjoy! Coaches are responsible for developing young players, and it would have been fun to watch him grow under Doc Rivers. 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. Its amazing he doesnt get punched sometimes. Anyways, we hope you enjoyed going through the rankings with Magic Johnson securing first place in the Top 10 NBA point guards of all 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. 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. However, when he gets beaten,Serge Ibaka is a huge asset in help defense, altering the shots of many a shooter who has just blown past Westbrook. In fact, its probably the most important thing. You never have to question his effort or commitment. Knight gets almost no help whatsoever from help defense. Also with both, theyve shown more success utilizing their physical attributes on the offensive end than the defensive end. At the point guard position, point guard Damian Lillard is one of the games most talented shooters and scorers. With his limited speed, he is always in full throttle and getting himself around the court, pestering whoever has the ball. It doesnt help to be fast if you dont use it, so Bledsoes score here is lower than you might expect. On Wednesday, we will have the top 10 shooting guards of all time, followed by small forwards, power forwards and centers. He falls into his rotations smoothly. The only point guard to win Defensive Player of the Year, Payton was a defensive nightmare and he never had a DWS lower than 1.2 during his 17-year career. Thats when you see him start to do things like not close out on shooters, merely waving his hand in the air instead. 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. Some players with tremendous athleticism just dont apply it on both ends of the court. Bill Russell 3. On the other hand, you cant deny what happened, regardless of how much you watch. 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! Derrick Rose 15. James is well-known for his incredible skill and ability to score big points, which frequently help his team win crucial games. By combining them, we can get a better picture of the whole elephant of a players defense. Pass-first points of the past have given way to dynamic creators who can score as well as set up teammates. But what kind of suit was he wearing on the last episode? Hes 63 with a 68 wingspan and an 83 standing reach. 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. Many times, the point guard is referred to by announcers, as a "coach on the floor" or a "floor general". After the All-Star break, when Rose hardly played, that number fell to 17.8 and the Bulls dropped to ninth. Allen Iverson 11. The more often he is the primary defender, the more likely he is to be responsible for guarding the player who is getting the most plays offensively. After all, as his name implies, Billups was known for taking and making huge shots in order to help his team win. . He does so by using positioning, skillful footwork and what lateral quickness he does have (which is a liberal use of the word "quickness") to minimize the damage. 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. He has become one of the hardest working point guards in the league on both ends. 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. He applies his energy smartly. Offense is so much more than just scoring. Sometimes he wont give that much effort, and then the next moment hell be trying too hard. Penny Hardaway was well recognized for his relationship with Shaquille ONeal when he was only a kid. For that reason, subjective analysis was also included. For all the hammering Im doing on Chalmers, it remains true that the Heat are better with him on the court than off of it, but its questionable if thats because hes on it. Michael Jordan 10. Hes listed at 62 which seems about right, and hes broad-shouldered and strong for his height, but he also seems to have shorter limbs, although I cant find his wingspan listed on Draft Express. SHOCKING one of the best defensive point guards of all time played great defense on a 20 year project old player. He literally may be the least athletic guard in the Association. In the NBA, point guards generally range from 6ft 1in (1.85m) to 6ft 4in (1.93m) whereas in the WNBA, point guards are usually 5ft 9in (1.75m) or shorter. 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. If it gives up fewer points, thats good. Stats dont make a good argument, they make a good foundation for a good argument. He is tremendous at using that muscle to his advantage, too. Passing skills, ball handling, and court vision are crucial. Hes pouring out effort every minute hes on the court. By NBA standards, he jumps like an elephant and runs like a turtle (and not one of those fast turtles youve heard tell of eithera slow turtle). Hes not going to get beaten back, and he doesnt give up in transition. He has the speed to get there, but not the length to disrupt the shot once he does. Players Stats: 24.0 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.5 APG, 1.0 SPG, 0.3 BPG, Honors: 5x All-Stars, 4x All-NBA Selection, 2012-2013 Rookie of the Year. The players are ranked according to their WAMS. The reason teams run so much pick-and-roll is that it works. Get the latest news and rumors, customized to your favorite sports and teams. WAMS includes scouting. 19.5 PPG, 7.2 RPG, 11.2 APG, .520 FG%, The player Lowry just seems to be lost on defense much of the time. Its difficult to have a perfect rating system thats entirely objective, and even more difficult to have a realistic one that is purely subjective. The official cause of death of Flashdance singer Irene Cara has been determined. The following are the five categories and what was considered for each of them: How fast players are from end to end is only a part of speed. On and off the court, Dave Bing was an excellent high-scoring NBA point guard who achieved greatness. The foundation (the facts or stats) needs to be laid first, and then the house (opinions about how, or why, something is) is built on top of it. Gary Payton 12. He doesnt disrupt team defense with unnecessary gambles. 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. He still struggles against the spot-up, though, because of issues that will be addressed later. 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. All that was due to Bryant emulating Jordans relentless drive to win on both sides of the floor. 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. FOXSports.com - Best all-time point guards at the Wayback Machine (archived July 12, 2005), accessed 2008-02-09 This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 17:58 . Apart from that, he seems to do what hes supposed to be doing when hes away from the ball. Each touches a different part of the elephant, one an ear, another the torso and so on. 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. Even though injuries caught up with him toward the end of his illustrious career, Bryant still battled as a defender when needed. But hes just not very strong. Whatever it was, Holiday was just not bringing effort on the defensive end last year. Another major evaluation factor is the assist-to-turnover ratio, which reflects the decision-making skills of the player. Is that because Chalmers is a better team defender or is it because Cole isnt on the court with James as much? Some will just hang around waiting for the play to end, but Jack keeps track of his man and also helps if its needed. His lateral quickness is below-average, and his straightaway speed isnt much either. This proves problematic, especially in isolation, where Williams usually just backs up. Still, a first-rate point guard should also have a reasonably effective jump shot. Chauncey Billups, or Mr. Per Synergy, he forces turnovers 18.5 percent of the time, and he does so barely giving up any points. It will be interesting to see if his new coach, Jason Kidd, can help him to work on this, as Kidd was a terrific help defender. Does he know when to go over the pick, and when to go under it? Oscar Robertson was one of the NBA's greatest players in history. They were combined and adjusted to cover a range roughly between 18 and 22. In his 20 seasons, Bryant. Norris Coles individual numbers are all better than Chalmers, but he gets docked with lower team numbers. He also uses his quick hands to steal the dribble, and he does so without taking risks. Both figures can be obtained by going to any players team page and then clicking on the appropriate name. On those, there is no link available. The scouting score was then combined with the WAM score to produce WAMS, with the scouting counting as one-third of the final score. They average the number of points a player gives up when he is the initial defender, and this is represented by defensive points per play. Thats helped him amass 47.3 DWS, 56th overall. The defensive stats arent a good way to determine the totality of defense, but they are a factor and shouldnt be ignored. The next three slides will tell how this particular sausage was made. This is what I mean by ubiquity. First, a range of 18 to 22 makes it easier to arrive at the eventual score of 100the baseline everything was weighted to. This is one of those cases where scouting helps. He joined the NBA in 1960 and quickly established himself, averaging 30.5 points per game and winning Rookie of the Year. (I know, but it is a part of defense these days.) His Synergy numbers tell the story. Johnson had a knack for scoring against everyone and racked up impressive numbers throughout the course of his career. He has 12 All-Star selections, 10 All-NBA selections, nine All-Defensive Team selections, and a second-place MVP finish in his third season at 22. Since elite offensive players tend to have a higher usage rate, players that guard elite offensive players should also have more defensive plays. Jrue Holiday. Hell frequent the area at the top of the key, just above the free-throw line, and when a shooter starts to shoot, hell close out quickly to challenge the shot, regardless of where it is coming from. The Glove was a nine-time All-Defensive Team selection, making the First Team all nine times. If hes on the court, hes moving at full speed. In order to answer that, we introduce Weighted Averaged Metrics (WAM) and WAM with Scouting (WAMS), a pair of advanced defensive metrics which combine other stats and metrics, weight them so that each represents an equal relative value, and then use them all to derive a final score. He gets crossed over pretty easily, and not just by the Associations elite point guards. Among the greatest point guards of all time, Tiny is among the finest ever. He cant be faulted for not being taller or longer, but he could use the length he has better. By: HoopsHype. The game has been graced by several incredible players whose names live on even after they retire. It might not seem like much, but for most players, this covered around 30-40 games' worth of defense. Eight-time All-Star, seven-time All-NBA selection, seven-time All-D selection, Rookie of the Year (2005-06), Career stats
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best defensive point guards of all time