15 Best Point Guards In NBA History

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Today's NBA fans are lucky to see talented point guards like Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard or Chris Paul, who have had brilliant careers and fans and analysts consider them to already be among the best ever. Not to mention that emerging talents like Luka Dončić or Trae Young also have the potential to reach that level of greatness.

A point guard is a playmaker. His position is generally behind the free-throw circle, or behind the three-point line. The player who is placed in this position must have excellent ball handling, dribbling skills, speed, good shooting skills, intelligence, leadership, and vision. These players really have to be jacks of all trades.

Throughout NBA history there have been several amazing point guards, who scored tons of points, dished out a lot of assists, grabbed many rebounds, stole like true thieves, and won championships and accolades. So, without further ado, let's take a look at the 10 best point guards in NBA history.

UPDATE: 2023/09/04 20:35 EST BY ROBERTH PEREZ

Today's NBA fans are lucky to see talented point guards like Stephen Curry, Damian Lillard or Chris Paul, who have had brilliant careers and fans and analysts consider them to already be among the best ever. Not to mention that emerging talents like Luka Dončić or Trae Young also have the potential to reach that level of greatness.

But NBA fans of the 1980s and 1990s were also very lucky, because they saw players like Magic Johnson, John Stockton and Gary Payton. So, every generation has had phenomenal point guards, and it's really hard to decide who are the best 15 of all time, but anyway below we try to do it as objectively as possible.

15 Tony Parker

William Anthony Parker, born circumstantially in the city of Bruges, Belgium on May 17, 1982, and raised in France, was taken by the San Antonio Spurs as the 28th overall pick in the 2001 Draft, achieved good numbers in his 18 seasons in the NBA, 17 of them with the Spurs, in which he strongly contributed to the conquest of four championships, including an MVP award in the 2007 finals. His lifetime averages are 15.5 points, 2.7 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game, which earned him a Hall Of Fame induction.

14 Damian Lillard

Damian Lillard is still active in the league, with only 11 full seasons, but that have been enough to belong to this select group. He has always been considered a great player who perhaps failed to explode in a more forceful way but still, it has been enough to make him a well-respected name, and he continues to build his legacy. 19,376 career points (8th among active players), averages of 25.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 6.7 assists per game in 769 games, a five-time top ten NBA MVP, Rookie Of The Year in the 2012-2013 season, and seven All-Star game appearances support his spot in this list.

13 Walt Frazier

Walt-Frazier-Playing-Against-The-Bullets

Only 13 seasons of outstanding performances on a basketball court were enough for Walt Frazier to belong to this exclusive list. In 825 games, he delighted fans with his impressive skills and starred in several great moments in the NBA. Frazier earned two championship rings, with the New York Knicks, and he was a seven-time All-Star. He averaged 18.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 6.1 assists per game. Frazier is fifth was inducted into the NBA Hall Of Fame in 1987.

12 Steve Nash

Steve Nash, born in Johannesburg, South Africa but moved to Canada, where he spent his childhood and adolescence, is one of those guys that despite having all the conditions was not lucky enough to get an NBA ring. Selected with the 15th overall pick in the 1996 draft by the Phoenix Suns, and he formed one of the most lethal duos in the game along with Dirk Nowitzki during his time with the Dallas Mavericks.

In 1,217 games over 18 seasons he recorded excellent numbers (14.6 points, 3.0 rebounds and 8.5 assists per game, with a 20.0 Player Efficiency Rating). He won two MVP awards, he led the league in assists five times, and he is fifth in NBA history in total assists with 10,335.

11 Bob Cousy

This extraordinary player, born in 1928 in New York, was part of the super-successful Boston Celtics of the middle of the last century, winning six rings, five in a row. He led the league in assists eight years in a row (in a row), and also led the league in points in three consecutive seasons. In his career, Cousy averaged 18.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 8.6 assists per game.

10 Isiah Thomas

The leader of the "Bad Boys" is the ideal man to start this list. Certainly, Isiah Thomas could be a despicable player on the court, but no one can deny that he was extremely talented. Throughout his 13-year NBA career, Thomas averaged 19.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 9.3 assists, and 1.9 steals per game.

Among point guards, "Zeke" is eighth all-time in points scored (18,822), assists (9,061), and steals (1,861). To top it off, Thomas is a two-time NBA Champion and was named Finals MVP on one occasion.

9 Gary Payton

Gary Payton was a complete player, standing out both offensively and defensively. He played 1335 NBA games, averaging 16.3 points, 3.9 rebounds, 6.7 assists, and 1.8 steals per game, with an 18.9 Player Efficiency Rating. Among point guards, Payton is third in total points (21,813), fourth in steals (2,445), and sixth in rebounds (5,269).

"The Glove" had 62.5 Value Over Replacement Player and 145.5 Win Shares. Unfortunately, Payton was unable to lead the Seattle Supersonics to a championship, but he did win a ring with the Miami Heat.

8 Jason Kidd

Jason Kidd was Rookie of the Year, five-time assists champion, 10-time All-Star, nine-time All-Defensive, and NBA Champion.

The San Francisco native had a 19-year NBA career, so it's no wonder he is the point guard with the most rebounds in league history (8,402) and the second most assists (11,842) and steals (2,559). "The Engine" recorded 107 triple-doubles in his career and had a Value Over Replacement Player of 73.5.

7 Jerry West

Jerry West is an NBA icon, as not only is his silhouette featured on the logo, but he is remembered as an all-time great. West played 14 seasons in the NBA, all with the Los Angeles Lakers, recording 27 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 6.7 assists per game.

West was said to be a frequent ball stealer, who could have easily averaged three steals per game, but that statistic was not recorded when he played. West had a 22.9 Player Efficiency Rating and 162.6 Win Shares.

6 Chris Paul

Chris Paul made a big impact in the NBA since his first season, as he was named Rookie of the Year in 2005-06. Paul has had a consistent career and today, at 37 years of age, he is still an excellent player. In his career, He has averages of 18.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 9.5 assists, and 2.1 steals per game.

Paul is the point guard with the highest Player Efficiency Rating of all time, with 24.5, is third in assists, with 11,194 at the moment of writing this piece, third in steals 2,491, and fourth in points (21,276).

5 Russell Westbrook

Russell Westbrook is the player with the most triple-doubles in NBA history, with 198. This means that Westbrook was a versatile player, capable of scoring, assisting, and grabbing rebounds in an outstanding way.

In his career, he averaged 22.5 points, 7.4 rebounds (all-time leader among point guards), 7.7 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. "The Brodie” is second in total points among point guards (23,990 at the time of writing) and second in rebounds (7,822) as well.

4 John Stockton

When it comes to dimes, John Stockton is the king. This guy could dish out assists with his eyes closed, he would always get the best pass to produce points. Stockton led the NBA in assists per game in nine straight seasons, yes you read that right, so it's no wonder he is the all-time leader in assists (15,806).

If that wasn't enough, "Stock" is also the player with the most steals in NBA history (3,265). This legendary point guard had a Player Efficiency Rating of 21.8, 207.7 Win Shares, and a 106.5 Value Over Replacement Player.

3 Stephen Curry

The best three-point shooter of all time plays the point guard position. That's right, we're talking about Stephen Curry, who is the player with the most three-pointers in NBA history (3,270 and counting) and is 13th in percentage (.427).

Curry's game is not just about three-pointers, though, as he has career averages of 24.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 23.9. The "Baby-Faced Assassin" has four championship rings and has been named MVP twice. Curry is one of the most dominant players of the current generation.

2 Oscar Robertson

Oscar Robertson is the point guard with the most points in NBA history, with 26,710, third in rebounds (7,804), and seventh in assists (9,887). Robertson dominated the league in the 1960s, was scoring champion, six-time assists champion, and was named 1963-64 MVP.

"Big O" was way ahead of his time, as he recorded 181 triple-doubles in his career, Robertson averaged 25.7 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 9.5 assists per game, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 23.2.

1 Magic Johnson

The best point guard in NBA history is arguably Magic Johnson. This guy was one of the most talented players to ever play in the NBA, but unfortunately, his career was cut short by HIV. Johnson was one of the most brilliant playmakers in history, his game was spectacular.

He averaged 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, 11.2 assists (all-time high), and 1.9 steals per game, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 24.2 (second highest among point guards). Magic was a three-time MVP, three-time Finals MVP, and five-time NBA Champion.