The NBA's Top 25 Point Guards

I decided to write this article partially in response to some of the other articles I've read ranking players in the NBA.  I choose to start out with the starting point of the offense and defense, and (usually) the most diminutive guy on the court as well as (sometimes) the most important one. 

Of course, none of these lists are definitive, they are all subject to change, and they do not represent the opinion of the NBA, it's teams, players, or affiliates. 

With that said, I have a simple basis for ranking these guys.  If I were starting up a franchise today and had no idea what other players would be on the team, the point guards I would choose would be as follows (assuming availability).  

I am excluding rookies because they are rather unpredictable, though I think Derrick Rose would probably be somewhere in the top ten or fifteen at this point.

1. Chris Paul - 6'0"  Age: 23

Paul is a unique player.  Aside from being able to move seemingly effortlessly pretty much wherever he wants on the floor, he is the definition of athleticism. At six feet, this fact is verified every time he rises over a bigger man to jam it in his face. 

There are also very few guys that are able to see the open man and create space for their teammates by causing havoc and drawing a second defender away from the man he is reading himself to pass to.  He also does not do overly complicated and fancy things on defense.  He does do them, but not to such an unnecessary degree as to disrupt the flow of the offense. 

If you were lucky enough to have drafted him in fantasy basketball last year, you know that he should have been strongly considered for MVP.  If you saw him play last year, you should know this, too.

2. Rajon Rondo 6’1” Age: 22

Rondo might not crack some people’s top five when considering the best point guards in the league, but this reflects my stated purpose of this article: to identify the best point guard to build around. 

Rondo has proven his many doubters wrong this past season with a championship ring.  Many basketball commentators assumed he would be unable to shoulder the load of playing with three all-time greats, but he pulled it off magnificently. 

This underscores one of the most important roles a point guard can fulfill: leading a team in harmonious coexistence. 

Rondo not only stayed cool under pressure and maintained a level of mental intensity usually attained only by veterans, he was also able to perform many of the physical point guard duties that were his biggest question mark going into last season. 

If he can maintain his cat-like reflexes on defense, nice finishing around the basket, smart decision-making on offense, Bob Cousy cradle fakes, three point consistency remains his main obstacle in becoming a truly elite nba player.

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