The Point Guard Power Rankings

This might be the golden age for point guards in the NBA. Chances are if you have an NBA team then you have a pretty good point guard. The position is just really deep. The deepest position in the league in fact. So there are a ton of conversations about, “who is the best point guard?“ There are also a lot of very different top five lists for point guards.

The fundamental differences for people who make these lists are simple. Some believe the best point guards are traditional; get their teammates involved type of point guards. Others believe that the best player playing the point guard position is the best.

I am of the belief that the best player is the best player. I know Chris Paul is the poster boy for point guard play but that doesn’t mean he impacts the game or his team winning the most. The best point guard to me is the one that knows exactly what his team needs to win.  I decided to do a list of the top 30 point guards in the league.

The NBA point guard power ranking:

1.     Russell Westbrook. OKC Thunder	I know that Westbrook has only played 11 games but have you seen his stats for those 11 games? Dude is playing like the best player in the league. Period. His PER is a whopping 31, which is one of the highest in the league. Dude is a walking triple double and plays defense at a high rate. Nobody in the league can guard him and he has become a smarter player this year. He took almost 4 threes a game last year and has dropped his average to around 2. He is just being relentless going to the basket as well as getting his teammates involved. Not sure how he doesn’t win the MVP if he keeps this up and the Thunder get like the 6th or 5th seed after their bad start.
2. Steph Curry, Golden State Warriors	Steph Curry was playing like the best point guard in the league during Westbrooks injury and has kept that up for the most part. Most people like to pigeon hole him as a 3 point shooter but he has probably the second best handle in the league and has an array of floaters and layups he uses when he gets into the paint. His one flaw is that he is not a great defender at all. For the most part golden state has had to hide him on defense. Which makes it crazier that Golden state had the 1st ranked defense for a while.
3. Chris Paul, LA Clippers	Okay I couldn’t drop Chris Paul to low. He still is guy you want your point guard to play like because of his basketball IQ and he still has a more than great 25 PER. We are actually probably sleeping on a great year from him. He is being more aggressive and let the ball out of his hands more to grow the offense. The Clippers have struggled at times but it's not really his fault. Their lack of great wing players are.
4. John Wall, Washington Wizards	This guy deserves way more respect than he gets. He is a freak athlete and still is a true point guard. He is leading the league in assist and still dropping 17 points a game. He was always dangerous driving to the basket but now he has developed a jumper that has made him a legitimate threat on offense.
5. Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors	I struggled to put Lowry this low because I love his game. What he is doing in Toronto is just amazing since Demar DeRozan went out. His splits this year is crazy. He is averaging the most points in his career (20.0 ppg) all while shooting the highest percentage he has ever shot on more shot attempts than ever. He is one of the main reason for Toronto’s emergence on top of The Eastern conference
6. Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs	Tony Parker is still the Tony Parker we all know and we will remember how good he is once the playoffs roll around. So far in the season he has either been hurt or rested because Popivich openly doesn’t care about the regular season.
7. Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers	Lillard is one of the most clutch players I have ever seen. He lives for those moments and almost always comes through. If you don’t believe me then look at his numbers. The guy shoots 70% from the field in overtime in his career. 70! He also leads the league in 4th quarter points. His problem is his defense which isn’t terrible it just isn’t good enough to cover the other great point guards in the league.
8. Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies	Conley needs more respect and that is why he made my top ten. He does all the little things for the Grizzlies. Like making sure the offense runs through Zebo and Marc Gasol. He has also been crazy clutch as well. Hitting dagger 3’s in multiple games this year. He isnt’ the best point guard for many reasons but he more than holds his own.
9. Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers	I love Kyrie. I really do. His handles are out of this world and he might have the best under the rim game and touch around the basket. My main problem with Kyrie has been his proneness to not make his teammates better. He has all the offensive skill in the world but that offense would hum a lot more if he was more of a willing passer. Score first point guard or not, you should not go a whole game without an assist. That goes for almost any position but the point guard specifically.
10. Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns	Bledsoe could definitely jump up this list in the next couple of years. He is physically imposing on defense. He is a freight train in transition and has really improved his shooting. Statistically he played better last year but he is picking up the pace in December. Averaging 17.7 points and around 6 assist and 6 rebounds.
11. Jeff Teague, Atlanta Hawks	Yeah we all need to start noticing what the Atlanta Hawks are doing. They basically are the Spurs east coast division. The Hawks are leading the league in assist and Jeff Teague is filling the Tony Parker roll perfectly as a penetrator. He is also assisting at a high clip with 7 a game. He should probably be higher on this list with the Hawks being first in the east now.
12.Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls	Derrick Rose is down here because we all high no clue what he really is until he gets pass his injury stigma. If he can get over that then he would be a top 5 point guard.
13. Goran Dragic, Phoenix Suns	Dragic is up here too although he primarily plays shooting guard with Phoenix. We all know he is a point guard and he should have been an all-star last year. He is lower on this list because Phoenix hasn’t quite found their groove like last year. But he still has the splits of 16.3 ppg 4.1 ast and 4.3 rbs. Not playing on the same level as last year but I expect it to pick up.
14. Ty Lawson, Denver Nuggets	He is averaging 15 and 10, which is pretty damn good, but this has translated into a ton of success for the Nuggets. Their offense usually looks discombobulated. I put some of that on the coach but the point guard is responsible too.
15. Deron Williams, Brooklyn Nets	Remember when this guy was in the best point guard discussion? Yeah, me too. Dude just can’t drive the lane anymore. He even got benched for Jarrett Jack! In fact, I have him ranked too high. Drop this guy down 5 spots.
16. Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelican	Jrue should be a way better point guard. He still is a good point guard but he was a lot better in Philly. I will say that he is starting to ragain some of that mojo he had in philly though.
17. Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets	The Hornets aren’t having a great season but Walker is still a top 20 point guard. Their bad play has a lot to do with Lance Stephenson and a little bit of a slump defensively.
18. Rajon Rondo, Dallas Mavericks	I know people see Rajon Rondo as a top 10 point guard but that is really unfounded. Rajon Rondo has never made an all-star team. He has never had a PER of more than 18 in his career. He gets a lot of assist but sometimes he can be a little too ball dominant. The Mavs offense should be good for him if he buys into giving up the ball early. That offense is very much dependant on ball movement.
19. Reggie Jackson, Oklahoma City Thunder	Reggie Jackson should that he is capable of being a starting NBA guard while Westbrook was out this season. That was mainly just offensively. He has shown an ability to score at the rim but has been really bad on defense at times. It would be interesting to see how he would fair guarding the best point guards on a daily basis.
20. Isaiah Thomas, Phoenix Suns	Thomas proved to be a spark for the Suns early in the season and has put up numbers better than Kyrie Irving in his career. Obviously his size is a factor when it comes to defense.
21. Brandon Knight, Milwaukee Bucks	Brandon Knight is having a great year for the surprise Bucks. People had basically given up on him as a point guard and Jason Kidd deserves some credit for his turn around. He did average similar numbers last year but the difference is that he is shooting a lot better. Shooting almost 45% from the field and improving his 3 point shooting from 32% last year to 40% this year.
22. Darren Collison, Sacramento Kings	Collison has been an ok addition for the Kings. He is a solid point guard that can play some defense and get’s a solid number of assist.
23. Mario Chalmers, Miami Heat	Without LeBron, Mario Chalmers is taking more shots a game and shooting a worse percentage.
24. Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves	Yeah he is hurt again. Oh and he still needs to develop a jump shot to reach his potential.
25. Patrick Beverly, Houston Rockets	We are at the abyss portion of this article and Patrick Beverly is only in the league because of sheer toughness and gritt.
26. Dennis Schroeder, Atlanta Hawks	He is an underrated part of that Atlanta Hawks team. Averaging 8 points and 3 assist in only 17 minutes a game.
27.Brandon Jennings, Detroit Pistons	Woah this is my bad. I started this blog a week and a half ago. Jennings has been torching since Josh Smith left. Put him up to the 22 spot.
28. Jose Calderon, New York Knicks	The Knicks are bad at basketball.
29.Devin Harris, Dallas Mavericks	A decent back up in the Mavs offense
30.Cory Joseph, San Antonio Spurs	Has filled in pretty will for Tony Parker to become a good two way player.