RANKING ALL 30 NBA POINT GUARDS

RANKING ALL 30 NBA POINT GUARDS








Kyrie Irving, Chris Paul and Stephen Curry -- especially Curry -- have established themselves as the best point guards in the NBA. (Getty Images)
As the NBA glides into an era defined by position-less basketball, where those who are solid at everything are more valuable than those great in some areas and miserable in others, the point guard holds strong as the league's deepest scene. It's a timeless role, remaining arguably the sport's most important position.


In ranking every starting point guard in the league, several contextual factors were, to the best of my ability, ignored -- including contract value and team fit. It's extremely difficult, if not impossible, to remove a player from his surroundings, insert him into a vacuum, then start making comparisons.

Basketball is a team sport. Variables like teammates, coaches and systems really matter. But including them would muck things up, so treat this instead as a hypothetical draft that took place after everyone gets released from their current team. It's a theoretical exercise, but does a decent job figuring out who's better than whom as we head into the 2015-16 season.

To get there, I watched film; dug through statistics found on sites like Basketball Reference, NBA.com (which includes SportVU and Synergy) and Nylon Calculus; re-read my stack of notebooks that are filled with observations from the past few seasons; and hashed out a few ideas with fellow writers.

It's not perfect. No list can be. But enjoy, and let the arguments begin!

Tier 8: The ugly ducklings

30. Trey Burke, Utah Jazz
29. Isaiah Canaan, Philadelphia 76ers
28. Jose Calderon, New York Knicks
27. Jarrett Jack, Brooklyn Nets

How deep is the point guard position? Only four teams badly need one. If Dante Exum didn't tear his ACL over the summer, the list would be three.

If you have any NBA awareness whatsoever, you already know the 76ers are in desperate need at that (and almost every other) position. Nobody knows how their rotation will shake out, but Canaan seems to be the guy until Kendall Marshall and Tony Wroten recover from their ACL injuries. Canaan attempted one three every 3.5 minutes with the Sixers last season. Steph Curry, who led the league in 3-point attempts, hoisted one up about every four minutes. Threes are rightfully en vogue, but Canaan's rate is still hilarious -- even if he made a decent amount of them, particularly in spot-up situations.

Canaan doesn't bring much else to the table, though. And he's a Sixer, which by law would normally rank him dead last in every NBA-related list that gets published online. But Utah's Burke is a special kind of bad. It took Utah a season and a half to go from "we just traded two first-round picks for Trey Burke!" to "Exum is everything!" Understandable. Burke's shot chart should be titled "stop what you're doing and go take a shower." He launches it from all over the place -- the mid-range, in the paint, from the corner, etc. -- and from nowhere is he respected. In addition to bad offense, last year the Jazz had a bottom-10 defense with Burke on the court, and they paced the entire league in defensive rating when he sat.

Speaking of terrible defense, let's talk about Knicks! Calderon is probably/definitely the least athletic starting point guard in basketball. He can't stay between his man and the basket. The outside shot is still well-reputed, and the guy plays within himself and intelligently, but that's about where his list of positive qualities end. Calderon posted the same True Shooting percentage as Michael Kidd-Gilchrist last season. Not great. But at least he doesn't detonate possessions with nonsensical decisions that would be jeered in a pickup game.



Across the East River, the soon-to-be 32-year-old Jack will drown as an iffy thinker who loses focus away from the ball on defense. He can't space the floor and is badly miscast as the lead guard on the Nets, basketball's blandest roster.

Tier 7: Young, awesome and very, very frustrating

26. D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
25. Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver Nuggets
24. Elfrid Payton, Orlando Magic
23. Marcus Smart, Boston Celtics

Four lottery picks. Two have yet to play a single NBA minute. Fun! Russell and Mudiay flashed varying degrees of potential in Las Vegas Summer League action, but neither should have a smooth rookie season. Mistakes and turnovers (lots and lots of turnovers) will splice between the occasional jolt of hopeful excitement. Both guys enter the league with at least one translatable offensive skill they can lean on immediately. That's good.

Elsewhere, despite air-balling several free-throw attempts and turning Orlando's offense into a 4-on-5 situation whenever he didn't have the ball, Payton managed to pinch a few triple-doubles out of thin air last season. He sprinkles helpful contribution on both ends of the court and his teammates respect him, but there's only so far he can go with that non-existent jump shot.

The Celtics' Smart enters next year with a heftier dose of optimism. He can conceivably leapfrog the next tier of point guards by season's end. Boston's most precious trade chip (that isn't a draft pick), Smart can defend three positions with rabid intensity, and his shot wasn't as bad as advertised coming out of college. He doesn't create off the dribble or make defenses that sag off him in the pick-and-roll pay for it, but if Smart can consistently get to the rim/free-throw line and improve his vision, he'll be a valid two-way star before his rookie-scale contract expires. (Those are big "ifs.")

Tier 6: A shooter's touch would be nice

22. Rajon Rondo, Sacramento Kings
21. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
20. Michael Carter-Williams, Milwaukee Bucks

Three-pointers are important, and none of these guys can make them. But of the lot, Carter-Williams and his two seasons of experience make him the odds-on favorite to actually improve next season. He all but abandoned his jumper after getting traded to Milwaukee, but replaced those looks with free throws and shots in the paint. He can impact the game in so many different ways, with ideal size that's utilized on the glass and in passing lanes.

Down in Charlotte it's a different story. Four years into a ho-hum career and we know who Walker is: an undersized, inefficient scorer who isn't improving. His turnover rate was fantastic last year, but that might be an aberration. And of the 50 players who averaged at least 16.0 points per game, Walker and Kobe Bryant were the only two who made fewer than 40 percent of their field-goal attempts.

But at least Walker can put the ball in the basket. For those who once enjoyed watching Rondo operate five steps ahead of his competition, with a raging fire in his belly only matched by an unparalleled range of physical and mental brilliance, all that's left is self-combustive pathos. Rondo's career either requires zero exposition or a never-ending supply, depending on who you're talking to. It belongs in a museum, and in 30 years that beautifully tragic body of work will be the subject of an intense, never-ending debate (mostly between me and everyone I talk to).

Rondo's ceiling and floor have never met. There were patches between the 2009 postseason and 2012 when he was one of the 10 best players in the world, second only to Chris Paul among floor generals. He now starts for the most dysfunctional franchise in the league, coming off the season from hell. But Rondo's supporters refuse to rule out the ever-slight possibility of him rising like a phoenix one last time. Maybe Vivek Ranadivé's three-ring circus is the perfect tent for him to stage a comeback, sort of like how Deadpool will let Ryan Reynolds be Ryan Reynolds.

Tier 5: The upper-middle class

19. Deron Williams, Dallas Mavericks
18. Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons
17. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
16. Ty Lawson, Houston Rockets
15. George Hill, Indiana Pacers
14. Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans
13. Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks

You can rank these seven point guards in just about any order -- save a few ridiculous opinions -- and nobody will get too upset about it. More or less, they're all known commodities with pronounced limitations that put a hard cap on their respective ceilings. A few are young enough to make you think they're still developing and will fix those kinks, but it's more than likely that will never happen.

Take Williams as an example. I'm sure there are people who think he can finally resurrect his glory years, with pristine health and the good fortune of having Dirk Nowitzki as a teammate. But nah. That ship has sailed. On the flip side of that coin is Jackson, who enters training camp as a nightly starter for the first time in his NBA career.

Detroit's new franchise point guard assisted more than half his team's baskets -- and didn't let his True Shooting percentage drop despite a humongous surge in responsibility -- after burning every bridge on his way out of Oklahoma City. That's cool. And in Detroit, Jackson's player efficiency rating was higher than Eric Bledsoe, Kyle Lowry and Holiday's. But PER isn't everything. The guy can't really shoot and loves attacking (inefficiently) off the dribble. That's not a great combination.

Rubio and Teague have the same issue. A shaky jump shot is their crutch, but they make up for it with a combination of defense, vision, creative flair and speed. Lawson is a roadrunner in the open floor who posted a better fourth-quarter assist-to-turnover ratio than Chris Paul last season, but he's not shutting anybody down on the other end. Holiday could be a perennial All-Star and the top defender at his position, but his legs keep falling off.

Then there's Hill. It's no coincidence the Pacers point guard lands at 15 on a list of 30 players. Before last season he was the steadiest of hands. Some think he's not very good, and getting traded for dream-gobbler Kawhi Leonard skews perception. But Hill's 2014-15 production was top notch. In 43 games, he averaged 20 points, six assists and five boards per 36 minutes. ESPN ranked him sixth among point guards in Real Plus-Minus, and only Curry, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook were higher in Offensive RPM.

It's a small sample size, but Hill responded nicely to the challenges of an expanded role, which really makes you think some areas of his potential remain untapped. Probably not, but it's an itchy thought. He moves great without the ball, has a quick enough release and can defend two or three positions. That said, it's unclear how Hill directly makes teammates better. A majority of his assists are simple, smart passes that lead to open mid-range jump shots. An elite playmaker can probe and do more with less. Hill can't.

Tier 4: A tad too inconsistent for greatness

12. Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls
11. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
10. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
9. Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns
8. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers



This tier is like the infamous cashmere sweater George deviously bought on sale as a gift for Elaine, knowing it had an unseemly red dot stitched into the fabric. These are all very good, legitimate All-Star-caliber players. They can either score at will, make impossible passes look easy, bottle up their defensive assignment or do all the above. But there's something wrong. An itch in the small of their game's back.

Lillard can't defend and had a sneaky-disappointing outside shot last year. Parker is perpetually injured. Lowry just cracked under the weight of his all-time highest usage percentage. Bledsoe would be in a higher group if not for his faulty jumper. Rose would be one of the very best players in the world if, well, everyone already knows why he isn't. Let's talk about him some more.

The 2011 MVP barely posted a better assist-to-turnover ratio than Shabazz Napier last season (no guards who appeared in at least 40 games had a higher turnover rate than the second-year guard).

What follows may not sound like the most important stat in the world -- it's not -- but in 2011 Rose dunked the ball 32 times. Since then? 18 dunks in three seasons. As an eternal optimist when it comes to injured players, I feel like Rose can still be an above-average starter in the back half of his career. It's not something I'd bet my life on, but his first step can still eviscerate just about every human being alive, and for whatever reason I value that over a field-goal percentage that would've dropped below 40 percent had Rose not made an unsustainable number of tough attempts in the paint last season.

Would you be really sad if a healthy Rose was the starting point guard on your favorite team? Probably not! That overview applies to all these guys, because everybody likes cashmere.

Tier 3: Deadly and appreciated

7. Goran Dragic, Miami Heat
6. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies

The "underrated" label has finally unglued itself from Mike Conley's forehead. Everyone knew Conley was really good before he shredded the Golden State Warriors with a broken face and busted foot in the playoffs. He's one of the toughest players in the league, a pass-first contortionist with a neat bag of floaters that allow survival once he ventures into NBA forestry.

Conley's per-game numbers don't leap off the page -- they were arguably worse than Teague's a year ago -- but he can shoot threes, run an offense and defend like a mad man. He doesn't take anything off the table, which is a skill in and of itself.

Dragic belongs here because he's really freaking good. At the end of the day, players who can carve a path to the basket and consistently make positive things happen once they get there are special. Dragic finishes with the best of them. Last season, he was about 10 percent more accurate than James Harden in the restricted area, and after going to Miami he was a more lethal weapon driving to the basket than LeBron James.

The Heat will reshuffle its ecosystem to suit Dragic's game. That's the sign of a special player.

Tier 2: The forces of nature

5. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
4. John Wall, Washington Wizards
3. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder

I recently read a book called "All Involved" by Ryan Gattis, set in the heart of Los Angeles amidst the aftermath of the Rodney King verdict. A single story is thread through several vantage points, one seen through the eyes of a gang member who believes "swift is mercy."

This mantra reminds me of Irving, Wall and Westbrook, but especially the reigning scoring champion. Instead of delaying the inevitable, Westbrook attacks as soon as he can. There's no dilly-dally in his game. It's all thunder (no pun intended) all the time. He's so fast and deliberate and unstoppable. It's a chilling combination.

The coaching blueprint for stopping this tier runs parallel beside directions people follow when the sky turns green.

Tier 1: The Point Gods

2. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

It's not easy separating Paul and Curry. Both are a fingernail below perfect. Paul is the best -- albeit aging -- pure point guard of his generation and Curry is the reigning MVP and NBA champion. As great as Paul is and will be for another year, at least, he's not as fatal as Curry, who deserves nothing less than the top spot.

Curry is an Empire State Building-sized monkey wrench. Many a San Francisco hotel pillow has been drenched in sweat from defensive coordinators who fever dream the night before a game at Oracle Arena. He's the greatest shooter who ever lived, and last season that meant it usually only took three quarters for him to take care of business.

Both are uber-special, all-time talents who are headed to the Hall of Fame. But there can only be one No. 1, and right now Curry owns the league.



bob
MY NOTE:  Tony Parker is "too inconsistent for greatness"?  Hmmf.  I guess leading 4 championship teams in 12 years and having 6 all-star appearances in 10 years doesn't count towards consistency or greatness.

Smart is 23rd?  Pretty high for a marginal point guard.  As a 3-and-D SG he corners the market on the "D".

Rondo is 22nd.  How far the mighty have fallen.  He used to be considered top 5, maybe top 3.



.

aGREE THAT tONY p IS WAY UNDERRATED HERE. rONDO TOO. I BET HE HAS A SMASHING SEASON IN sACTO.

OK since its a typical slow friday in my office, i'll do MY rankings based on how I feel each player will do THIS year.

ELITE POINT GUARDS
1. C. Paul (LAC)
2. S. Curry (GS)
3. J. Wall (Wash)- learned about being a leader from Pierce last year

ALL-Star Types
4. K. Irving (Clev)
5. R. Westbrook (Okl)- he and Irving are a toss up here
6. D. Lilliard (Port) one of the best young ones
7. E. Bledsoe (Phoe)- I'd love him here

Non All-stars, but can win with them
8. M. Conley (Mem)
9. K. Lowry (Tor)
10. D. Rose (Chic)- may have his best year since the injuries hit
11. T. Parker (SA)

Solid Starters
12. T. Lawson (Hou)- needs to stop drinking
13. J. Teague (Atl) good young PG
14. G. Dragic (Mia)- I'm not as impressed as many it seems
15. K. Walker (Char)- Takes a step up this year, IMO
16. J. Holiday (NO)- has the skills, needs to get healthy
17. I. Thomas (Bos)- I mean come on, he's not on that list at all!
18. R. Jackson (Det)- shold be solid running HIS team

Starters, but could be upgraded
19. D. Williams (Dal)- he may belong in the group above if he deciides to lose some weight and get serious again.
20. R. Rondo (Sac)- his play has been exposed without stars around him.
21. E. Payton (Orl)- may move up to the next group by the end of the season.
22. R. Rubio (Minn)- whats he done since being the 5th pick?
23. J. Jack (Bkn)- Solid veteran better served as being a back up however.

Players who should be backs ups:
24. G. Hill (Ind)- was never really anymore than average in his prime.
25. D. Russell (LAL)- I have him a bit higher, but he IS a rookie
26. M. Carter-Williams (Mil)- Win rookie of the year then get traded, says a lot.
27. T. Burke (Utah)- better as a back up.
28. J. Calderon (NY)- better as a spot up SG
29. E. Mudiay (Den)- Rookie.
30. I. Canaan (Phil)- Back up.

others who should be on this list:

B. Knight (Phoe)- rank 12-16.
M. Smart (Bos)- rank 16-20.
D. Exum (Utah)- rank 16-20 ( Injured)
R. Stuckey (ind)-rank 20-24
B. Jennings (Det)- rank 20-24
P .Beverly (Hou)- rank 22-26
M. Williams (Clev)-rank 24-28
D. Collison (Sac)-rank 24-28.
Z. Lavine (Minn)- rank 24-28.
J. Nelson (Den)- rank 26-30
G. Vasquez (Mil)- rank 26-30

Ok, I'm done now

kdp59 wrote:OK since its a typical slow friday in my office, i'll do MY rankings based on how I feel each player will do THIS year.

ELITE POINT GUARDS
1. C. Paul (LAC)
2. S. Curry (GS)
3. J. Wall (Wash)- learned  about being a leader from Pierce last year

ALL-Star Types
4. K. Irving (Clev)
5. R. Westbrook (Okl)- he and Irving are a toss up here
6. D. Lilliard (Port) one of the best young ones
7. E. Bledsoe (Phoe)- I'd love him here

Non All-stars, but can win with them
8. M. Conley (Mem)
9. K. Lowry (Tor)
10. D. Rose (Chic)- may have his best year since the injuries hit
11. T. Parker (SA)

Solid Starters
12. T. Lawson (Hou)- needs to stop drinking
13. J. Teague (Atl) good young PG
14. G. Dragic (Mia)- I'm not as impressed as many it seems
15. K. Walker (Char)- Takes a step up this year, IMO
16. J. Holiday (NO)- has the skills, needs to get healthy
17. I. Thomas (Bos)- I mean come on, he's not on that list at all!
18. R. Jackson (Det)- shold be solid running HIS team

Starters, but could be upgraded
19. D. Williams (Dal)- he may belong in the group above if he deciides to lose some weight and get serious again.
20. R. Rondo (Sac)- his play has been exposed without stars around him.
21. E. Payton (Orl)- may move up to the next group by the end of the season.
22. R. Rubio (Minn)- whats he done since being the 5th pick?
23. J. Jack (Bkn)- Solid veteran better served as being a back up however.

Players who should be backs ups:
24. G. Hill (Ind)- was never really anymore than average in his prime.
25. D. Russell (LAL)- I have him a bit higher, but he IS a rookie
26. M. Carter-Williams (Mil)- Win rookie of the year then get traded, says a lot.
27. T. Burke (Utah)- better as a back up.
28. J. Calderon (NY)- better as a spot up SG
29. E. Mudiay (Den)- Rookie.
30. I. Canaan (Phil)- Back up.

others who should be on this list:

B. Knight (Phoe)- rank 12-16.
M. Smart (Bos)- rank 16-20.
D. Exum (Utah)- rank  16-20 ( Injured)
R. Stuckey (ind)-rank 20-24
B. Jennings (Det)- rank 20-24
P .Beverly (Hou)- rank 22-26
M. Williams (Clev)-rank 24-28
D. Collison (Sac)-rank 24-28.
Z. Lavine (Minn)- rank 24-28.
J. Nelson (Den)- rank 26-30
G. Vasquez (Mil)- rank 26-30

Ok, I'm done now

kdp,

Marcus Smart is listed as #23, so he is on the initial list.


bob


.

yeah I added Thomas and forgot they had Smart listed

for clarity maybe I should list all the top 41 in MY order that I had in that post:

1. C. Paul
2. S. Curry
3. J. Wall
4. K. Irving
5. R. Westbrook
6. D. Lilliard
7. E. Bledsoe
8. M. conley
9. K. Lowry
10. D .Rose
11. T. Parker
12. T. Lawson
13. J. Teague
14. B. KNIGHT
15. G. Dragic
16. K. Walker
17. J. Holiday
18. I. thomas
19. R. Jackson
20. D. Williams
21. E. Payton
22. R. Rondo
23. D. EXUM
24. M. SMART
25. R. Rubio
26. B. JENNINGS
27. P. BEVERLY
28. R. STUCKEY
29. J. Jack
30. G. HIll
31. M. WILLIAMS
32. D. Russell
33. D. COLLISON
34. M. Carter- Williams
35. T. Burke
36. J. Calderon
37. J. NELSON
38. G. VASQUEZ
39. Z. LAVINE
40. J. CLARKSON (LAL)_ I forgot him above
41. E. Mudiay
42. I. Canaan