NBA Playoffs: Todays Point Guards Are Better Than Shooting Guards 10 Years Ago
One of the biggest headlines going in to the 2011 NBA Playoffs is the effect that this wave of point guard's has had on the league. A trend that has developed during the last few seasons. Scoring has dramatically increased in recent years, in no small part to restrictions of defensive rules that now favor the floor generals.
Basketball has long been a sport dominated by big men, but this year could be the first time the best player on a championship team has been a point guard since the Showtime Lakers.
Five point guards made the NBA All-Star game this year and the league's MVP award will most likely be given to a point guard.
Chris Paul. Derrick Rose. Russel Westbrook. Deron Williams. The best point guards in the game are quickly being recognized as superstars throughout the league. The list of great point guards is the largest it's been in years.
This far from the days when Jason Kidd was by far and away the best point guard in the NBA. Similar to how Shaquille O' Neal use to dominant the center position.
A similar phenomenon happened to the shooting guard position at the turn of the 20th century. In the late 1980's and early 1990's, that position was synonymous with Michael Jordan. Their were other great shooting guards in the league at the time such as: Reggie Miller, Mitch Richmond and Clyde Drexler, but this position was lacking in-depth. By the time the 21st century rolled around, this position featured some exciting young stars and productive veterans.
Despite the effect that Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and others had during the early days of the post-MJ era and during the third chapter of his playing career, today's point guards are better than the shooting guards of 10 years ago.
Todays Point Guards: The Young Superstars
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Russel Westbrook
Rajon Rondo
Deron Williams
All five of these players appeared in the 2011 NBA All-Star game and are considered the five best point guards in the league by most people.
Yesterdays Shooting Guards: Young Guns and All-Stars
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Tracy McGrady
Vince Carter
Paul Pierce (he was a shooting guard back in the day)
Ray Allen
Allan Houston
Michael Finley
Jerry Stackhouse
Eddie Jones
In the late 1990's young shortstops like Derek Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Nomar Garciaparra and Miguel Tejada arrived in Major League Baseball. The NBA was transformed by the arrival of these guys. Kobe Bryant quickly became a household name during the Lakers three-peat, Vince Carter was the new Human Highlight Film and Allen Iverson became arguably the most divisive athlete in North America.
Jerry Stackhouse, Michael Finley and Eddie Jones were never superstars in their careers, but all three of them appeared in multiple NBA All-Star games.
And of course, who can forget about the days when people actually compared Kobe Bryant to Tracy McGrady.
Todays Point Guards: Aging, but Still Great Players
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Jason Kidd
Steve Nash
Chauncey Billups
Tony Parker
Jay Williams*
The rise of the young point guards has taken the spotlight off of Jason Kidd and Steve Nash, but these first ballot Hall of Famers still play at an All-Star level. Chauncey Billups also doesn't seem to be declining at all either. Tony Parker is still in the prime of his career, but doesn't fit under the young gun label anymore.
*Jay Williams only played one NBA season after being drafted second overall in the 2002 NBA draft by the Chicago Bulls. Unfortunately, a motorcycle crash derailed his career. He would have been equally as good as Derrick Rose currently is in the Windy City.
Yesterdays Shooting Guards: Still Hanging in There
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Michael Jordan
Reggie Miller
Mitch Richmond
Steve Smith
John Starks
Penny Hardaway
Most of these guys were past their prime years by this time, but were still effective players for their teams. This list is headed by Michael Jordan and his surreal two-year stint with the Washington Wizards.
Todays Point Guards: The Veterans
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Devin Harris
Baron Davis
Kirk Hinrich
Mike Bibby
Raymond Felton
Gilbert Arenas
Andre Miller
T.J. Ford
Derek Fisher
Mo Williams
Jameer Nelson
This is a wide and diverse list. It wasn't too long that Baron Davis and Gilbert Arenas were considered amongst the NBA's best point guards. Kirk Hinrich, Raymond Felton and T.J. Ford may have never reached their potential, but are good representations of the current point guard depth in the NBA when they are considered middle of the pack starters.
Yesterdays Shooting Guards: The Other Guys
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David Wesley
Kerry Kittles
Doug Christie
Brent Barry
Bob Sura
Steve Kerr
Latrell Sprewell
Jalen Rose
These guys are the leftovers who don't exactly fit in to one of the previous or upcoming slides. David Wesley and Kerry Kittles were starting shooting guards for playoff teams years ago, but never near All-Star status. Doug Christie made the All-NBA Defensive Team four years in a row and was a nightmare for any shooting guard to face. Latrell Sprewell and Jalen Rose primarily played small forward in their primes, but played shooting guard every once in a while.
Todays Point Guards: The Up and Comers and Rising Stars
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Stephon Curry
Tyreke Evans
Brandon Jennings
Aaron Brooks
Jonny Flynn
Eric Bledsoe
Rodrigue Beabois
Darren Collision
Ty Lawson
Toney Douglas
Mike Conley
Rodney Stuckey
Jeff Teague
Eric Maynor
John Wall, Stephon Curry and Tyreke Evans have proven their worth in the NBA. All three have yet to reach superstar status, but seem to be well on their way. 10 point guards were selected in the first round of the 2009 NBA draft. That group of players is a big reason for the current depth and youth of the point guard position in the 2011 NBA Playoffs.
The resume for that draft class of point guards will only improve over time.
Yesterdays Shooting Guards: The Young Ones
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Richard Hamilton
Michael Redd
Mike Miller
Cuttino Mobley
Michael Dickerson
Jason Terry
Quentin Richardson
Larry Hughes
Bonzi Wells
Jamal Crawford
Richard Hamilton is the best guy on this list. He made three NBA All-Star games in his career and helped the Detroit Pistons win the 2004 NBA Title. Jason Terry was arguably the second best player on the Dallas Mavericks from 2005-2007 and one of the best players who never made the NBA All-Star game during the last decade.
The other guys on this list had or are having respectable careers.
Todays Point Guards: Coming Soon.
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Kyrie Irving
Brandon Knight
Jimmer Fredette
Kemba Walker
Austin Rivers
Ricky Rubio
It's hard to believe that the current crop of point guards in the NBA could get any more impressive, but that is far from the case. Kyrie Irving could be the No. 1 pick in the 2011 NBA draft. Brandon Knight, Kemba Walker and Jimmer Fredette could all be lottery picks in June.
At the moment, Austin Rivers is considered the top prospect in the 2012 NBA draft. Also, Ricky Rubio has yet to arrive from Spain. All these factors could make the point guard position even deeper in a few years.
Yesterdays Shooting Guards: Fountain of Youth
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Brandon Roy
While the point guard position has improved dramatically over the last half decade, the complete opposite has happened to the shooting guard position. Dwyane Wade entered the NBA in 2003 and Brandon Roy came in 2006. Those guys quickly became dominant forces in the league, while many other established shooting guards began to decline and only a small amount of young shooting guards excelled in the NBA.
Todays Point Guards vs. Yesterdays Shooting Guards
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The point guard position today is better than the shooting guard position of 10 years ago. It's deeper, has more dominant players in all parts of their careers and will continue to have a more impressive resume as the years progress.
Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson and others from that era have impacted the league, but their quantity of quality point guards currently in the NBA puts them ahead.
