For Starters: 5 Greatest Point Guards

Did you forget about Oscar Robinson??

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Stockton was an amazing player, no doubt about it. But you always hear this "true point guard" which means what?? His skill set peaked at passing the ball, and after that, it was such a big drop to his penetrating/rebounding/defending/ that he was "pure" at the position? That's probably why Oscar Robertson was left out of this list, even though he was the 'Sugar Ray Robinson' of basketball, the man who had EVERY skill in such stunning abundance that no one part of his game dominated the other. Let us cut to the chase on this one: there is not a single coach, player, or true fan of the game who would not pick Magic Johnson first at point guard. Magic did, in high gear, at 6' 9", what Stockton did AND DID IT BETTER. The greatest offensive weapon in the game was the fast break: getting out in transition, attacking, getting quick, easy baskets. Magic annihilated the defense: no one, anywhere, any time, ever stopped the Laker's fast break. There is no defense for it. Stockton had a vastly inferior supporting cast, and he ran one play -- the pick and roll in the half court offense -- as well or better than any man who ever played the game. Having the biggest, baddes power forward ever in Karl Malone sure helped. But could he fake and feint and rattle the defense like Magic, finding open men everywhere on the court? No one could. Magic's size, ball handling skills and uncanny court vision are incomparable. The second best?? As much as I hated the Pistons, Isaiah Thomas was amazing. Fast, deadly, smart, with uncanny court vision. I love John Stockton, but when they are picking up sides from the great players in history, Magic goes first, as his skills were so far beyond anyone else at his position -- and the most vaulable skills to the overall team success. Then you can start arguing about Jordan, Lebron and even Kobe. Stockton doesn't make anyone's team: Oscar Robertson should. Congrats on the Hall of Fame, Mr. Stockton: you are a class act and did more with what you were given than almost anyone in the game. But Magic had all the gifts, and a will to win that equaled those skills.

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I am pretty sure Steve Nash should have never won a MVP award if he can't crack this list.

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props to some of your ideas...tiny archibald is an excellent choice...remember, the 34ppg./11apg. season followed a 28 ppg. season. sorry, though, you blew it all in leaving out the big 'o'. oscar robertson was the best point guard to step on the court and is in the conversation with jordan and chamberlain for best ever.

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None on this list is close to Cousey or Johnson. COME ON!? Cous was the heart of the team that won 11 NBA titles! Jordan can't even say that!

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I don't even care about the other four choices, but I think magic was flat out the greatest point ever. He totally redefined the position. Had he not been hit with HIV, the record book would have bneen demolished. No problem with any of the other choices pretty much in any order, except I would replace Cousy with Steve Nash. I know Cousy was a legend, but basketball was stil developing as a sport and a good player, on a great team, could dominate. Nash, was the real deal in present day.

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Mark Price....

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A point guard is typically one whose job it is to get the ball to the open man; he rarely shoots himself. They do not win scoring titles or compete for them because they look to pass first. Players like Oscar Robertson and Nate Archibald were not, in the truest sense, pure point guards; they were more of a "combo-type" guard. Robertson and Archibald looked to score, but would give up the ball to a player in a better position to score. Cousy was magic with the ball, but rarely looked to shoot. Unless younger fans want to spend the time looking at old clips of Cousy, players like him will not receive the credit he deserves.

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My all-time team would be Oscar Robertson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson (at power forward, as he is the only guy to play the game who could play all five positions) and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.

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I can sympathize with considering Johnson a point forward, Havlicek and point guard/forward, West a point wing guard. But if you go by defensive position to leave one of them out, as not a pure point, you need to leave the others out as well. Robertson played even less pure point defense, but was clearly a great point wing guard on offense. If you go for just the little guys, Gale Goodrich was the highest scoring small guard until Allen Iverson. The may have played more like small wing guards, shoot first, pass second, but they did a lot of passing, too. The year after Nate led the nba in assists and scoring, he sat out injured. They only won 3 fewer games. So him being the only one ever to lead the association in scoring and assists didn`t make his team much better at all. A Clavin Murphy was another small wing guard, maybe as tall as 5`9, but he was a phenomenon. Sadly, like Martin, I would probably leave the true point guards out of my top dozen of so, pick the greatest of all time, Wilt Chamberlain to start ahead of Bird, on a two post team, but include Bird, maybe, in the reserves with Shaq, Karl, Hondo, Jerry, Kobe, Russ, though that would leave out Baylor, Barry, and other greats it is hard to imagine not including. Thomas? He may have giving good pick up truck to Magic, but Iverson, though I despise much of what he seems to stand for, is a scoring point like Thomas, and a vastly more productive scorer (I know, low % shooter, but his coaches green lighted him, they are to blame for his shot selection, they let him do it, he though he lost, he was the superstar who took them to the championship). And Goorcih`s assists weren`t bad when he was paired with someone other than West.

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My top 5 would be
Magic
Isiah
Tiny
Stockton
Nash

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Don't forget: Stockton played defense, too.

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Mark Price edged Rick Barry out as best free throw percentage shooter all time. There is doubt he was as good a point guard as Kevin Johnson, who backed him briefly, whom the Cavs let go to Phoenix. Certainly, KJ was quicker and a good scorer and assistant. But I think Mark Jackson would come in ahead of Mark Price in the estimation of most, and I`m sure others would too. And it isn`t Cousy`s fault he played before modern folks could see him. The can still read he was association mvp, second all time in cfhampionship assists, Magic 1st, Russ 35d, West, Dennis Johnson 5th.

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Hard to argue against the stats that I've heard that the "Big O" put up (avg triple double for a season), but I can tell you that if you were a Laker fan, you'd go with Magic. 9 finals apps. in 12 seasons...and the losses were to the Celtics (3x champs), Pistons (2x champs), 76ers (only 1, but in finals several times, and that team with Moses was a beast), and Chicago (3-6 x champs...depending on if you count only the first 3-pete).

Stockton is great, same with the others on the list, but I truly believe that Magic could have done anything on the basketball court that he wanted (see 79-80 finals). I also concede that Magic played with an all-star cast....However, one of the roles of the point is to get everyone their shots without causing dissention. Magic kept the following great scorers happy; Kareem, Worthy, Wilkes, Byron Scott, and he got his own....No one ever pouted about not getting their touches either. No one in the modern era can even be in the same arena as Magic at the point. Maybe Baylor and Cousey...but only because I have no clue about their greatness. If your point is leading your team in scoring...it probably means your team sucks, period.

Of the modern points, Stockton is obviously the best. Mark Jackson was very good, Payton was a great defender and effective scorer...but from my perspective, he'll always be a pouty little bitch. Parker in SA is special...if he can stay healthy. Anyone thinking AI is a great point should consider the following; he's the only guy that could play 21 and complain that he wasn't getting the ball enough.

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The Big "O" was a 2-guard gentlemen. Or should I say more of a 2/point... He was used like a Scottie Pippen or Grant Hill (leave grant alone, he cant control his orthopedics), a big man with point guard ability used to start/run an offense. He was never a point guard though.

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Matt, you finally got something right! As a fan who actually saw all of the players on your list play (which I doubt is the case for most of these bloggers)I think you've got a good list here. Maybe a flip/flop of Magic & Cousy would be appropriate, although I am not entirely sure as I only saw Cousy at the end of his career. Cousy did turn out to be a better coach than Magic did though. Tiny was the best in my book, but then I am biased because I played against him in NYC street-ball tourneys, and in high school.

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Come on! What about Walt "Clyde" Frazier and Earl "The Pearl" Monroe? And there were many, many more. There was just too many great point guards to pick the four best.

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I don't get how Nash can make anyone's top 5 list. Not only are his elite years less than any of the others suggested, but he's never played a single second in the Finals despite winning two MVPs and having a stable full of talent. And while a decent enough team defender, he can't guard anyone straight up. His team has had to adjust defensively to cover his deficiencies.

As for the SSOL Suns, Shawn Marion had just as much to do with the team's successes and failures (see his disappearing acts in the playoffs) as Nash.

I'd say G.P. should make the top 5. Only other guard outside of Michael Jordan to win DPY. Has 9 all NBA defensive first team selections. Led the Sonics against the greatest team ever, Jordan's Bulls, and won two games (almost three) while checking Jordan for most of it. Averaged 24 points, 9 assists, 6.5 rebounds and 2 steals on 45 percent shooting in the 99-00 season. My pick for the best two-way point guard of all time.

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I misspoke. Only point guard to ever win the DPY. Sidney Moncrief and Jordan have both won the award as guards (Moncrief twice).

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Oscar Robertson had more than 150 assists than Cousey over his career. He averaged 9.5 per game, Cousey averaged 7.5. If you consider who Robertson was feeding the ball to, compared to Cousey, it's nuts to say that Robertson wasn't the distributor Cousey was.

I'd take Magic, Kareem, and Bill Russell before Robertson, but no one else, not Chamberlain, and not Jordan. And if I had both Magic and Robertson on the same team, there'd be two point guards.

These guys are all so good, they made the position fit their talents, not the other way around. Remember that Wilt said that he could lead the league in assists, and then did, in 1968.

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