The point guard position has seen significant changes over the decades. Once seen solely as the facilitator, the point guard has become the main offensive threat for many teams. We’ve seen point guard specialists and Jacks-of-all-trades. Point guards have existed amongst the Land of the Giants, as well as, surveying the perimeter in smaller ball formations.
Whatever, role or circumstance, the point is still an invaluable piece of the puzzle. Over the course of the history of the NBA, we’ve seen some incredible exemplars of this position, players who’ve not only revolutionised their position, but the game as a whole.
In this piece, we look at just some of the points who’ve graced the NBA over the last forty years. We’ve run their statistical output through the Value Per Minute algorithm. This isn’t a ranking of the top point guards but a mere sample of different guards from different eras in different systems and how their game translated into “value”.
Honourable mentions for Rajon Rondo, Stephon Marbury, Dennis Johnson, Rod Strickland, Baron Davis, Norm Nixon, Bob Cousy, Nate Archibald, Oscar Robertson and any others left off this list.
The above chart shows the different types of point guards that have graced the league. We can see their overall value, offensive value, and their defensive value. It’s important to remember that this is a statistical value measure. A player could play lockdown defense, like Gary Payton, without getting steals or blocks.
If we take a closer look at the numbers we can see who brings what to the table for their team as far as accumulating stats and value. Keep in mind, that even though volume is good, success rate of actions, as well as, negative actions like turnovers and fouls also play a role in a player’s value score.
Offensively, Magic Johnson (119.6), Steph Curry (116.6) and Chris Paul (108.8) had the highest value for their respective sides. Magic’s size, skills and creativity meant he had an all-round game that was hard to stop. Curry’s shooting across the board is elite and he can also facilitate for teammates. Chris Paul is like a mini-Magic with a better range of shooting.
Defensively, Fat Lever (52.7), Magic (49.9), and Jason Kidd (49.6) were the top three defensively. The big surprise is that Gary Payton aka The Glove didn’t make the top 3 statistically. It is important to address this variant. Gary is known as one of the best man marking defenders from anywhere on the court. Where he missed out was statistically he gave away a lot of fouls because of his hard defense. The aforementioned three were able to accumulate their defensive stats much more cleanly.
Overall, Magic (170), Curry (153), and Paul (151) had the highest statistical value. Elite and efficient attacking play and clean defensive stats elevated these three to the top positions. This doesn’t necessarily make them the best point guards because eras, roles, teammates and opponents are different. However, players such as Magic and Curry have widely been credited as having changed the way the point guard position is played and viewed. Their influence has and will live on for many generations. Paul has been a model of consistency and longevity who elevates his team and teammates wherever he goes.
*Some players were omitted due to data missing from seasons where certain stats were not recorded. Only from the late 1970s have all the basic stats we know today, been recorded.
**Some players are still in their prime and yet to go through their decline. It’s important to keep in mind the context of these numbers.
***The stats have been weighted to 2019/20.
