The Top 7 Point Guards in NBA History

This list does not include active players, but when they retire expect Curry, Westbrook, and Paul will fill out this top 10 when they retire.

7) Steve Nash

From 1998-99 to 2003-04, he was the starting point guard for the Dallas Mavericks. His team’s offensive rating (points per 100 possessions) of 109.0 was a comfortable first leaguewide. Over his next eight seasons leading the Phoenix Suns, his team was first again. And in that stretch, the gap was even bigger. Basically if Nash was your point guard you were going to have a top-tier offense and throw in the fact that Nash was a great shooter and you can understand why Nash is on this list.

6) Jason Kidd

The guys ranked ahead of Kidd on this list were better shooters but Kidd’s ability to control a game is up there with anybody on this list. Also in the last 6 years of his career, he turned himself into a very good spot-up shooter and he played a key part in helping Dallas win the 2011 World Championship.

5) Isaiah Thomas

Isaiah was a leader whether it was college or the NBA. Thomas’s basic postseason numbers of 20.4 points, 8.9 assists, and 2.1 steals are damn near unheard of, he was a clutch performer and a great defender. Was denied his rightful place on the 1992 Dream Team because he rubbed opponents the wrong way but Thomas was a winner who could do it all from the point-guard position.

4) Jerry West

Most think shooting guard when they think of West but in 12 of his 14 seasons, he was listed as a point guard. The NBA logo is West likeness so that should tell you how iconic as a player West was. Beyond leading the NBA in assists in 1972, West also won a scoring title with 31.2 points in 1969-70.

He generally upped his performance in the playoffs as well. He averaged 40.6 points in the 1965 postseason. And in five postseasons from 1965 to 1969, he averaged 32.9.

By the time he retired in 1974, West was a 14-time All-Star (he played only 14 seasons), a 12-time All-NBA selection, and a five-time All-Defense selection. He won a title in 1972 and was the only Finals MVP to come from a losing team in 1969.

3) John Stockton

Stockton’s assist record of over 15,000 will never be touched, and his steals record is way up there also. He was also a clutch shooter and in general, a very underrated player as most think of Stockton as just an assist man.

2) Oscar Robertson

At 6’5″, Robertson had the great size for a point guard, especially when compared to others of his time. And like Magic, he collected triple-doubles at a rate we hadn’t seen until Russell Westbrook showed up. Robertson played a total of 1,126 games in the regular season and playoffs, and he notched triple-doubles in 16.8 percent of them.

1) Magic Johnson

Magic made everybody around him a better player. Nobody was ever more dynamic in the open court than Magic was. He controlled the game and defenders with unparalleled court vision, he saw things other couldn’t

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