It is no secret that the NBA is currently witnessing a renaissance at the point guard position. From the young kids like John Wall and Derrick Rose, to the grizzled old veterans like Jason Kidd and Chauncey Billups, the setup man is perhaps the strongest position in the NBA right now. And to think, it seems like just yesterday that the Association was in dire need of talented point guards (I know I am not the only person who remembers the ball-hogging ways of Stephon Marbury and Steve Francis.)
There are currently 14 point guards (15 if you count LeBron James, whose skill set is most like that of a talented point guard) averaging over 7.0 assists per game, with five of those guards averaging more than nine assists per game. To put that in to perspective, during the 2005-2006 season, only nine point guards averaged more than 7.0 assists per game, and only one of those point guards (eventual MVP, Steve Nash) would go on to average more than nine assists per game. When you delve deeper in to the players currently manning the point position, as compared to those five years ago, the talent disparity is daunting. Of those point guards who ranked in the top-10 in assists per game during the 2005-2006 season, we find such transcendent talents as Brevin Knight, Luke Ridnour and Rafer Alston. Not exactly the murderer's row of setup men.
Listing the top-10 point guards (as measured by assists per game) in the NBA right now is not enough, as it does not account for players like Tony Parker, Raymond Felton, Jrue Holiday, Mike Conley, Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Stephen Curry, Brandon Jennings, all players under the age of 30, all players who are capable of putting up a gaudy stat line n a nightly basis. However, the number of assists a point guard records in a given night is not always telling of a player's true value, or just how important that player is to his team. For instance, Chauncey Billups (the artists formerly known as "Mr. Big Shot") is currently averaging merely 4.7 assists per game, a dip from previous seasons. However, Chauncey Billups, even at the age of 34, is still one of the best leaders in the game and a player that any coach would want to lead their team. In short, being a good point guard is about being a good leader. And that is why I am so thankful for the crop of point guards that exists in the NBA right now.
I have always been one for making lists (just ask my closest friends with whom I regularly make lists on virtually every topic) and right now I would like to share with all of you my point guard list, and where I feel the current crop of starting lead guards fall into.
Category One: The Youth Movement: Rajon Rondo, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, John Wall, Derrick Rose, Russell Westbrook, Jrue Holiday, D.J. Augustin, Raymond Felton, Aaron Brooks, Mike Conley, Stephen Curry, Darren Collison, Brandon Jennings and Tyreke Evans. These point guards - some of them, such as Tyreke Evans and Stephen Curry, might even be considered combo-guards - are all under the age of 26 and all bring a different type of game to the court. Some are pure distributors (Rondo and Paul certainly come to mind), while others are best known for their lock down defense (Westbrook), or ability to stretch the defense out to the 3-point line (Stephen Curry is already one of the better marksmen in the league.) While Jrue Holiday, D.J. Augustin and Mike Conley might look out of place on this list of veritable top-40 talents, they too bring a mixture of athleticism, court-vision, defensive posturing, and an ability to break down opposing defenses off the dribble that makes them part of this category of point guards.
Category Two: Wise Old Veterans: This tier of point guards is best personified by two-time MVP Steve Nash, who is still leading the Suns as one of the top offensive machines in the NBA. Additionally, players like Jason Kidd (8ppg, 9.3apg, 3.8rpg, 1.8spg) and the aforementioned Chauncey Billups belong on this list. So too does Andre Miller (perhaps the most overlooked point guard of the past decade) and Tony Parker (the guy ONLY helped guide the Spurs to three NBA Championships in the past eight years.) Additionally, a player like Derek Fisher, whose numbers have never spoken to the strength of his game, belongs in this category of point guards. What these men all share in common is a knowledge of the game, an ability to take what an opposing player is giving them, and a knack for timely buckets. While these men (with the exception of Parker, who is only 28 years old) are undoubtedly on the downhill of their careers, they continue to put up impressive statistics - Derek Fisher not withstanding - but more importantly they continue to lead their teams to victory. Over the past three seasons, Nash (Phoenix), Kidd (Dallas), Billups (Detroit/Denver), Parker (San Antonio), Miller (Philadelphia/Portland) and Fisher (Los Angeles Lakers) have all continued to lead their teams deep in to the playoffs.
Category Three: Point Guard Grab Bag: Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson, Kirk Hinrich, Jose Calderon, Ty Lawson and Goran Dragich. This category of point guards accounts for those players who either fly under the radar (Nelson and Harris) or are currently backing up older, more established set up men and therefore have yet to get enough minutes to showcase their talents (Lawson and Dragich). Additionally, players like Kirk Hinrich and Jose Calderon, have shown in past years that they are capable of leading a team, and are currently hidden on franchises going nowhere (NB: Hinrich is helping along the current generation of point guards in that he is somewhat of a tutor to John Wall on the Washington Wizards).
All in all, these three categories of point guards account for 27 players in total. The franchises most in need of leadership and talent from the point guard position are Detroit, Cleveland, Atlanta, Miami, Minnesota, and the Los Angeles Clippers. However, with Jeff Teague in Atlanta, the Timberwolves currently owning Ricky Rubio's NBA rights, and Kentucky-rookie Eric Bledson shining in limited minutes for the Clippers, this too might change. Additionally, with the infusion of talent this past summer in South Beach, the Heat are not really in need of a point guard so much as they are in need of additional shooters to space the floor for court-visionaries like LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
Not too long I remember ESPN columnist, and the self-proclaimed "Sports Guy," Bill Simmons writing about how Jason Kidd should be automatically assigned to play in the NBA All-Star Game on an annual basis because he is one of the few true point guards that makes his teammates better and knows how to distribute properly. Given all the point guards, young and old, who currently fit that bill, I think it is fair to say that even if Jason Kidd is winding down his career in the NBA, that the point guard position is resting in some pretty steady hands.
