The Argument for Every Top-5 Point Guard as NBA's Point God
This just in: There are a lot of unfathomably talented point guards in the NBA.
Let's talk about them—five of them, to be exact.
What follows isn't your average attempt to assign status. There are rankings to debate, sure, but this will mostly be a celebration of one particular skill that really allows the most elite point guards to stand out.
Rest assured, there is no defining these floor generals by looking at just one tool in their workshop. They do a lot of different things, all of which play a role in the rankings themselves. That placement takes into account the big picture—season-long performance, stats, impact on the team, etc.
But we're also here to put a different spin on an oft-tired topic, focusing on one skill that helps make them unique enough to be in this discussion at all. So let's get to it.
5. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 21.2 points, 4.8 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.4 steals, 43.1 field-goal percentage, 21.0 player efficiency rating
The Skill: Subtle Power
Damian Lillard isn't Russell Westbrook, but he sticks it to the defense just like him. He's deceptively strong and overtly fearless.
Once Lillard gets into the lane, there's almost nothing defenders can do. They either get out of his way or suffer the consequences. Utah's Rudy Gobert knows what we're talking about:
Perimeter specialists typically aren't explosive. Westbrook's tendencies are one thing because he doesn't have much range, but Lillard is an unequivocal marksman. Though his three-point accuracy has bottomed out, he's still firing away from deep more than seven times per game.
Putting opponents on posters is basically an ancillary device for him. When the jumper isn't there and he's not working within drive-and-kicks or pick-and-rolls, he'll split defenders, finding seams few others can:
Slippery, yet eruptive. It's an uncommon combination, but it's one that's engineered Lillard's rise as a versatile stat-piling monster within a top-10 offense.
4. John Wall, Washington Wizards
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 17.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals, 45.0 field-goal percentage, 19.9 PER
The Skill: Speed
John Wall is so much more than the ground he covers, but man, does he cover a lot of ground.
The 143 miles he's traveled this season rank fourth in the NBA, an amazing feat considering the Wizards don't run with exceptional pace, and the point man himself isn't receiving an inordinate amount of playing time, a la Jimmy Butler with the Chicago Bulls.
Thanks to him, Washington's uninventive offense shows more signs of life than it should. While the Wizards rank in the bottom half of possessions used per 48 minutes, they're somehow 10th in fast-break points, according to TeamRankings.com.
Not that they're especially good at getting out in transition. They're not.
They're just schooled in the art of letting Wall loose:
Speed even fuels his progress elsewhere. It helps him remain a defensive pest on and off the ball, create shots for others and survive as a scorer, even though he still lacks a steady three-point stroke and reliable mid-range game.
More than 50 percent of Wall's makes have come within the paint and restricted area, and defenses still dare him to take jumpers—invitations he's able to elude by constantly moving.
A large portion of his converted buckets come while in motion. It's a driving floater, a layup, a dunk or some kind of runner—whatever prevents the defense from accentuating his shaky perimeter game even further.
However, Wall has never been a more complete player. His game no longer depends on speed and athleticism alone. Those raw physical attributes are now accompanied by plenty of wit. Methodically breaking down defenses, with or without the ball, and directing teammates to specific spots on the court are second nature.
Still, there's no point ignoring the obvious: Wall is fast.
Really fast.
3. Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 27.4 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.1 assists, 2.1 steals, 43.4 field-goal percentage, 30.0 PER
The Skill: Explosion
We could sit here and pretend like Westbrook is human. We won't, but we could.
Everything about Westbrook's game comes back to crazed diligence and reckless explosion. He soars through the air almost irresponsibly without fear of injury or any ill-fated consequence, kind of like a pre-enlightened Buzz Lightyear:
And his dauntless detonation is not without aim.
Much like Wall, Westbrook has his limitations on the offensive end. More than 62 percent of his makes have come inside the paint and restricted area, and he's never put in more than 33 percent of his long balls over the course of a season.
Westbrook soars through the air and explodes through defenses to get those close looks, keeping him effective on the offensive end. Really, it helps him everywhere.
Those hops allow him to battle for position with players bigger and burlier than himself. Not surprisingly, his rebounding percentage (11.2) would be one of the 20 highest single-season marks in NBA history among all guards.
Reflexively springing into passing lanes also helps him force turnovers in volume. Quite predictably, he's tied for the league lead in steals per game (2.1).
Haphazardly barreling into the lane draws the ire of defenses, compelling them to collapse on his penetration. It's only fitting that he owns the Association's highest assist percentage (47.9).
Because of his explosive capabilities, Westbrook is on pace to become the only player to ever average at least 27 points, six rebounds, eight assists and two steals for an entire season.
"My mindset has been the same since I got in the league," Westbrook said after propelling the Thunder to victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night, per ESPN.com's Royce Young. "It's to come out, play hard every night and give it everything I have, regardless of what's going on."
That's the beauty of Westbrook. He can be sloppy with the ball, and his shot selection is often infuriating. But he is an MVP candidate, a triple-double machine and one of the most explosive point guards ever.
You just don't see floor generals like him.
Mostly because you're not supposed to.
2. Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 18.5 points, 4.8 rebounds, 10.1 assists, 1.8 steals, 48.0 field-goal percentage, 25.2 PER
The Skill: Defense
Books could be written on everything Chris Paul does. He has controlled potency, allowing him to take over games with his scoring or playmaking—or both.
What makes him truly unique is his commitment to excellence on the less glamorous end.
"According to [Harvard PhD students] Franks and Miller, Chris Paul is the best perimeter defender in the NBA," wrote Grantland's Kirk Goldsberry while riffing on new ways to measure defensive impact. "They have empirical evidence that the Clippers point guard suppresses and disrupts shot activity as much or more than any other guard in the league."
Opposing players generally shoot noticeably worse when being guarded by Paul. Rival point guards are registering below-average PERs in those same situations, per 82games.com.
Nevertheless, it remains difficult to truly quantify Paul's defensive exploits. The Clippers even allow more points when he's on the floor.
But there's still something to be said for the way he suffocates opponents when they cross the timeline, battles over screens, pokes the ball away when defending dribble drives, closes out on jumpers and clogs passing lanes. He's led the league in steals per game six times and consistently locks down those who play the league's deepest position.
In a way, Paul is now the LeBron James of point guards. He does everything, and so his greatness on both ends of the floor is assumed.
He's on track to eclipse 18 points, 10 assists and 1.5 steals for the fifth time of his career. Only Magic Johnson has done that before. Just Paul being Paul. No big deal.
Except it is a big deal.
End to end, Paul is the NBA's most well-rounded floor general—an unofficial title made possible by years of defensive excellence.
1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
2014-15 Per-Game Stats: 23.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 7.8 assists, 2.1 steals, 48.4 field-goal percentage, 27.8 PER
The Skill: Shribbling
What kind of player is Stephen Curry?
The kind who demands we identify a made-up skill, "Shribbling"—a unique combination of shooting and dribbling.
Overlooking Curry's lethal shooting chops just because they're now a staple would be unfair. He's deadly from beyond the arc—so deadly, his 41.3 percent success rate this year is a career low.
Shooting is no longer Curry's primary weapon, though. He's now an under-control point guard with crafty handles who uses the threat of his perimeter stroke to score in a variety of other ways.
Bleacher Report's Grant Hughes went into further detail earlier this season:
"The leader in three-point makes and attempts in each of the last two seasons, Curry knew opponents were most worried about his perimeter game. He's kept that fear alive by taking more threes per minute than ever before, but his offseason preparation shaped him into a more versatile attacker—one designed to punish defenders selling out to contest his deep shots.
"
Defending Curry is like bringing an inflatable sword to a gun fight. When he combines off-the-dribble ploys with his notoriously sweet shooting, it's unbelievable:
There isn't another point guard who creates and makes shots like him.
Appreciate Curry's sorcery, because it's taking him places—like to the top of the NBA's point guard pyramid.
*Stats courtesy of Basketball-Reference and NBA.com and are accurate leading into games for March 6.
