Sharing the Rock: The Top 5 Passing PGs in NBA HIstory

Before I became interested in basketball, the five positions used to confuse me.

Shooting guard, small forward, power forward, center...all of them seemed to serve the same purpose: score.

The only position that I had any clue about was point guard.

I knew that they brought the ball up the court and were usually small, but now, I know better.

I have realized that a good point guard is the leader on the team.

They are the distributors, who always seem to find an open man. They are the playmakers and the court generals, who run the offense and control the flow of the game.

The point guard truly is the most important position in the game of basketball.

The following are the top five greatest passing point guards of all time.

Maybe One Day: Chris Paul

CP3 has only been around for five years, but has already made his mark on the league and on history.

The young court general has already made the All-Star team four times and the All-NBA First Team once.

Paul should have been the MVP in 2007, but lost in a close battle with Kobe Bryant.

He led the NBA in assists two years running during the 2006-07 and 2007-08 campaigns, with 11.6 apg and 11.0 apg, respectively.

He caught attention during his rookie season by showing off some of his amazing ball-handling and passing and will no doubt go down as one of the best PG's of all time by the end of his career.

Maybe One Day: Rajon Rondo

Rajon Rondo has been around for about four years, but only started making his mark on the league two years ago.

Rondo made the All-Star team last year as a reserve and would have started for the East this year if it weren't for the sudden stellar play of Derrick Rose.

Rajon Rondo is the reason that the Boston Celtics are so good.

The Big Three aren't as dominant as they once were, but Rondo manages to keep their numbers up by distributing the ball incredibly well.

He is currently leading the league in assists, with 11.3 per game.

If Rondo hadn't missed 11 games due to injury, the Celtics would be in first place in the East right now.

5. Steve Nash

The Canadian out of Santa Clara University doesn't have eyes.

Instead, he has a GPS.

Steve Nash can find an open man anywhere on the court. The Phoenix Sun is 37 years old, but is still delivering at an extremely efficient rate.

His ability to find open players in the most creative ways has paid off, with two MVP awards, seven All-Star selections and 7 All-NBA team selections to his name.

Nash is currently sixth in career assists, but will most likely pass Oscar Robertson if he can keep producing for the next couple of years.

4. Mark Jackson

Mark Jackson is currently third all-time in assists. Though he only averaged 8.0 apg for his career, but the way that he passed made his game much more special.

Jackson was probably the second most creative passer of his time, next to Magic Johnson.

He only made the All-Star team once throughout his long career, but that does not mean that he wasn't a great player.

Sometimes, the skill of great point guards is overlooked because their ppg may not be high...but that is not to say that they don't contribute to their team.

Mark Jackson was one of the greatest passing point guards ever and should be in the Hall of Fame.

3. Magic Johnson

Earvin "Magic" Johnson could easily make a case for the greatest point guard of all time.

The 6-foot-9 court general always looked to pass first, but he could do just about everything else as well. He was one of the most versatile players ever and he played every position on the court at least once in his long (should have been longer) career.

Magic currently has the highest assist per game average out of any player in NBA history. He is only 4th on the all-time assist list, but would no doubt be higher if his career hadn't been cut short.

Magic's career achievements include 5 NBA championships, 3 MVPs, and 12 All-Star selections. Just about everybody knows his story and what an amazing man and player he was.

2. Jason Kidd

Believe it or not, the Nets used to be a great team.

Led by the second greatest point guard of all time in Jason Kidd, the Nets made the NBA Finals in 2002 and 2003.

Kidd, along with Kenyon Martin and later, Vince Carter, made one of the most exciting trios in the game.

Kidd not only had the ability to find an open man, but also could get the ball to them, even if it meant going through an entire defense.

He had the ability to pick apart the holes in an opponent's defense, an attribute which allowed him to record 11,533 assists at this point in his illustrious career. Kidd is still one of the most efficient passers in the league today and is currently leading the third place Dallas Mavericks towards the playoffs.

1. John Stockton

Who else?

John Stockton is the great point guard of all time. Period.

He isn't the flashiest passer on this list, but he always got the job done.

Stockton is No. 1 all-time in assists, with 15,806 dimes. He has an astounding 4,000 more assists than the second all-time passer, Jason Kidd.

He is also one of the most underrated players of all time.

Karl Malone won the MVP award twice, but he wouldn't have done it without the help of the greatest court general in the history of basketball.

There's no explanation for Stockton's passing ability.

For some reason, the point guard enjoyed making his teammates look good.