Point Guard Rankings

[BobbyJ_for3!]

And I think the whole idea of "best point guard" is quixotic at best because different teams require different skills from their point guards for optimum efficiency.

I completely agree. The problem with this discussion is that there is no way to define "best point guard". You can go by a John Stockton esque mold to find it, an scoring/passing combo PG, a defense/passing combo, passing only....the list could go on for a while. While this is true at all positions, I think PG is the most undefinable. There are so many things these players can and do do.

If anything, I would think the ratings should be based on how well the team did with such and such person at the 1.

My disagreement in this lies in the fact that different PGs had different talents and players around them. Each had a different mold and had to adapt to it. Sure, if every PG had the same players around him you could argue this, of course, but...obviously thats not possible. Also, by saying it should go by team sucess, you can make arguments for guys like Damon Jones and Jason Terry. Also, PGs such as Jason Kidd and Stephon Marbury completely fall out of the competition. Sure, you can make a case that Marbury shouldn't be talked about, but I don't think it's arguable that Kidd isn't one of the best in the league.

Steve Nash? Pretty blasted impressive. And it was clear without him just how much he meant to the Suns.

So, at the risk of being presumptuous, here's how I - VF21 the magnificent - would rank the top 10.

1. Steve Nash
2. Chauncey Billups
3. Mike Bibby
...
Everybody else.

Yes, Nash deserved the MVP he got. He was the single player who meant most to his team when on the court, and took away from their ability most when he was off of it. I can't think of another team who, when they lost a key player, lost as badly and as much as the Suns. I very well may be wrong, but I think the Suns MAYBE won ONE game out of 8-10 they played without Nash.

Your rankings don't look bad VF, although I do see some faults .

a)Bibby has as many faults in his game as guys like Iverson and Arenas.
b)I'm not sure if you mean everyone else is essentially on the same level, or if you are just ranking the top 3 and leaving the rest up for discussion
c)Where is Jason Kidd? It is very hard for me to believe he is not in the top 3, especialy if you left the rest as "eveyrone else" on the same level.

My rankings:

1. Jason Kidd - consistently averages 15-9-6-2. Stats mean a lot. Not exactly a dope when it comes to winning either.

2. Steve Nash - Has always been highly touted, didn't get quite this high until last season. He had a lot of talent built to his exact abilities, essentially. Give me a few more good years and we will see.

3. Chauncey Billups - Has lead a team to a championship ring (nevermind the MVP ring) and back again to defend the championship into the 7th game. Most impressive under pressure, this journeyman has obviously found his home and niche.

4. Allen Iverson - Scores, passes, steals. Negatives include shooting too much and being selfish, but when you average 25 and 8 with 2.5 steals, There isn't much use arguing against ability. I'd give EXTRA credit for his passing, especially because he draws defenders as well as Van Gogh draws paintings. (okay maybe that's a little exagerated. excuse the attempt at analogy).

5. Andre Miller - Passes like a butterfly, shoots like a bee. (another failed attempt?) Anyway, leads well, shoots decently, passes excellently. 'nough said.

(edit: *^tries to be unbiased with rankings...*anywhere else I probably would have put BIbby at 5. funny how my attempt to be unbiased made me biased against who I usually would be biased for. Oh the irony.)

 

[acisking]

hrdboild - Good point!

And I think the whole idea of "best point guard" is quixotic at best because different teams require different skills from their point guards for optimum efficiency.

If anything, I would think the ratings should be based on how well the team did with such and such person at the 1.

Steve Nash? Pretty blasted impressive. And it was clear without him just how much he meant to the Suns.

So, at the risk of being presumptuous, here's how I - VF21 the magnificent - would rank the top 10.

1. Steve Nash
2. Chauncey Billups
3. Mike Bibby
...

Everybody else.

solid ratings...but how can you forget jason kidd...the man is about as unselfish as it gets..a lot of people forgot about how talenterd he is after the injury and nash's stellar year but i'll be the first to remind everyone that jason kidd still led the league in total triple doubles last season (and he did it at the point guard position)...plus during the time that he returned, the nets put up a pretty solid record...not to mention if a player's importance to a team defines how they should be ranked then jason kidd would have to be considered number one as he was by far the most important piece on the nets for years (even leading them to back-to-back finals appearances - still a hell of feat regardless of the conference)...perhaps the one thing that definetly puts him over the top is his stellar defensive and rebounding abilities that most (if not all) other point gaurds lack

 

[VF21]

solid ratings...but how can you forget jason kidd...the man is about as unselfish as it gets..a lot of people forgot about how talenterd he is after the injury and nash's stellar year but i'll be the first to remind everyone that jason kidd still led the league in total triple doubles last season (and he did it at the point guard position)...plus during the time that he returned, the nets put up a pretty solid record...not to mention if a player's importance to a team defines how they should be ranked then jason kidd would have to be considered number one as he was by far the most important piece on the nets for years (even leading them to back-to-back finals appearances - still a hell of feat regardless of the conference)...perhaps the one thing that definetly puts him over the top is his stellar defensive and rebounding abilities that most (if not all) other point gaurds lack

My only reason for not mentioning Jason Kidd at this point is I'd prefer to see how he does this year. I'm not talking about his value before his injury and resulting surgery; just like Webber, he may never get back to fully being the player he once was.

As far as the "everybody else" goes, I didn't rank any of the others because I think they're at least one step behind the top three. And in thinking about those top three, those were the names that immediately came to mind when I thought about how well a point guard fit in with AND made his team better. (Again, not including Kidd in the CURRENT standings although there's absolutely no doubt in my mind that pre-injury he was clearly one of the best ever.)

Mike Bibby may have flaws and faults, but he has fit in with our team and risen above those flaws for the most part. He, Nash and Billups are - IMHO - the faces you should see if you look up NBA Point Guards in the dictionary. At this point in time, I simply believe they are the best at what they do, factoring in where they're doing it and what their team needs.

 

[tyrant]

billups shouldn't be that high. davis too. iverson is a shooting guard. steve nash is a wimp. classy guy, but mike bibby owns him everytime they meet in the playoffs

 

[SacTownKid]

Its hard to compare players when most of them are nothing alike. I mean, if we are talking POINT GAURDS, its almost comical that Nash isn't #1.