NBA Draft 2012: Top 5 PGs Who Will Ignite a Team's Offense Instantly

Point guard is the richest position in the NBA.

Physically gifted floor generals with immeasurable skill sets flood the draft every single summer and this year is no different. As legends like Jason Kidd and Steve Nash inch closer to retirement, new talents will step up in their place. Here are the five top point guards in the 2012 draft class.

5. Tony Wroten

Wroten is one of the increasing-number of combo guards entering the league. But unlike most tweeners that are natural scorers and will be forced to learn how to run an offense, Wroten is already a phenomenal playmaker.

He isn’t a freak athlete. But at 6'5", what he lacks in elite athleticism, he makes up for in size and strength.

4. Marquis Teague

John Calipari knows point guards. Teague will join former Kentucky distributors Derrick Rose, John Wall, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight in the NBA. Not only is history on his side developmentally, but he has the genes to succeed as well—his brother Jeff Teague is the starting point on the Atlanta Hawks.

Teague is raw, but he possesses track-star speed and a don’t-blink first step.

3. Dion Waiters

Waiters will primarily play shooting guard at the next level. But like the player that scouts are comparing him to—Dwyane Wade—he’s versatile enough to run the point.

Also like Wade, he's an elite athlete that's capable of getting to the rim by going around or over a defender. He’s another raw prospect, but not many players have a higher upside than Waiters in this year’s class.

2. Damian Lillard

Lillard is the best player in the 2012 draft that the common NBA fan has never heard of. Playing at Weber State, he didn’t exactly play against top-notch competition. But he left no doubts about his skill level in scouts' minds, averaging 24.5 points per game last season.

He won’t dish out 10 assists a game, but he’s too explosive of a scorer to be stopped—an opponent’s only hope is to slow him down.

1. Kendall Marshall

Marshall is the top pure passer to enter the league since Rajon Rondo. He only averaged 7.8 points per game at North Carolina, but he doesn’t need to score to light the opposition up offensively. He delivered 9.7 dimes a contest displaying eyes-in-the-back-of-his-head-like floor vision.

His basketball IQ is off the charts. He’s clutch. But most of all, he makes the players around him better.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

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