Crowning Deron Williams Over Chris Paul: Do NBA GMs Know Best?

Every year before the actual season begins, GMs from around the league tally their votes by answering an NBA survey for best player at each position.  While GM’s most definitely have expertise at their disposal that we “the fans” simply do not, some of their survey picks beg to be questioned.

One such case involves their pick for best point guard in the league.  Deron Williams for the first time has won over Chris Paul in this categorical vote.  Williams received 50 percent of the votes to Paul’s 36 percent.  Granted, Paul played in just 45 games last year due to injury. 

This, however, should not have been a deterrent for the GMs picking Paul, who has fully recovered going into the 2010-11 season.  It’s not like he pulled a "Chris Bosh" by not playing games even after receiving the doctor’s OK, because he WAS genuinely injured. 

Furthermore, an analysis of Paul’s stats reveal that he was on top of his game when he did play, and beat Williams out in almost every statistical category.  Paul’s dominance over Williams is nothing new, as Williams' stats have been behind the Hornet since they both entered the league in 2005.

I believe Williams to be a fantastic point guard and second best in the league.  After all, he has always been one step behind Paul in league play, year after year. 

Last season, Paul wins over Williams on PPG with 18.69 to 18.67; APG with 10.7 to 10.5; RPG with 4.2 to 4.0; three-point percentage with 0.409 to 0.371; FT percentage with 0.847 to 0.801, and ST/G with 2.1 to 1.3.  While Paul wins marginally on some of these stats, he still wins in every single statistical category.

If you analyze their career stats, Paul wins over Williams on PPG with 19.3 to 16.7; APG with 10.0 to 9.0; RPG with 4.1 to 3.7; three-point percentage with 0.353 to 0.361; FT percentage with 0.848 to 0.799, and ST/G with 2.13 to 1.03.  From a career perspective, Paul again wins in every single statistical category, with the exception of three-point percentage.

The case for Chris Paul as the top dog at the point guard spot in the NBA is clearly backed up by the stats.  Williams comes in a close second, but still second nonetheless.  Rating Williams the best point guard is inconceivable, so why did the GMs vote Paul second? 

The answer may be as simple as a bitter backlash towards the ever present behavior of the many NBA primadonnas.  The summer of LeBron seems to have been the last straw that broke the camel's back.  As we all know, Paul almost walked in LeBron’s yucky footsteps. 

To substantiate this argument, LeBron has lost favor among GMs (while still placing first in his position) and he has fallen dramatically in the percentage of favorable votes received.  It was a landslide in favor of LeBron last season.  While I cannot defend LeBron’s idiosyncrocies, there is no denying that he is the league's best, and most dominant player. 

Likewise, Dwyane Wade finds himself placing second behind Kobe Bryant at the shooting guard position.  You can get the full raging argument on that topic here:  Crowning Kobe Bryant Over Dwyane Wade: Do NBA GMs Know Best?  Even a non-Kobe fan like myself, and a fan of Wade, found this categorical result difficult to comprehend.   

The fact however, is that Paul not only didn’t walk in LeBron’s yucky footsteps, but he has embraced his team, and is now looking forward to the prospects of a successful season.  This Hornet is the first point guard to accomplish the 20-point and 10-assist season since Tim Hardaway did it in 1992.  Chris Paul has accomplished this twice, and is almost a career 20-10. 

Chirs Paul is clearly the second best player in the NBA behind LeBron James, and being the NBA’s best point guard should go without saying.