Top 5 NBA Point Guards of All-Time
There have been so many great point guards in the history of the NBA. Having said that, it’s extremely hard to put together a top 5 list when evaluating all of the great floor generals to ever step on a hardwood, but certain accolades speak for themselves.
Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson has a stacked resume. He’s won five championships with three Finals MVPs, three MVPs and is a 10-time All-NBA selection.
He led the “Showtime” (Los Angeles) Lakers with a fast-paced style of play and reading defenses with a wide array of no-look passes and alley-oops from the half-court line.
He revolutionized the game of basketball with his playmaking skills as a 6-foot-9 point guard, as you see modern days NBA stars like LeBron James draw inspiration from Magic as bigger floor generals.
Out of his 13 seasons in the league, Johnson only has four seasons of less than double-digits in assists, but he brought the scoring as well, averaging into the 20 points per game range in multiple seasons.
Oscar Robertson
Oscar Robertson was known as “Mr. Triple-Double” before Russell Westbrook, as the Big O held the all-time triple-double record for over 40 years until Westbrook broke his record just recently.
Robertson also has a championship, MVP and 11-time All-NBA to his name, as he and Lew Alcindor (now known as Kareem-Abdul Jabbar) led the Milwaukee Bucks to a championship in 1971.
Isiah Thomas
Isiah Thomas was a 6-foot-1 guard, but he used that size to his advantage with his quickness and ability to hit the pull-up jumper at any given moment. He’s a two-time champion with Finals MVPs in both years, and a five-time All-NBA.
He and the Bad Boy (Detroit) Pistons were a thorn in the side for Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls early on, as they took them out in the Eastern Conference Finals en route to a championship in back-to-back years before the Bulls’ legendary run.
Stephen Curry
Stephen Curry revolutionized the game of basketball with his 3-point shooting. He first narrowly beat Ray Allen’s single season record in 3-pointers made in a season in the 2012-13 season, but then he eventually shattered his own record, as he drilled 402 of them in the 2015-16 season, the year the Golden State Warriors went an NBA-record 73-9.
He’s a two-time MVP, with one of those selections being unanimous, as he’s the only unanimous MVP in NBA history. He’s also a six-time All-NBA and a three-time champion, but never came away with a Finals MVP Award, as Kevin Durant instead claimed them in two of his championship runs.
Jason Kidd
A lot of people would probably go John Stockton, Chris Paul or Steve Nash in this spot, but let’s give Jason Kidd his due.
The man single-handedly turned a 26 win New Jersey Nets team from the season before to a 52 win team during the 2001-02 season, as the Nets ended up making their first Finals appearance that season.
Kidd came second to Tim Duncan in MVP voting that season, as many people felt he was snubbed.
Still, he’s been named to six All-NBA teams, nine All-NBA defensive teams and ended up finally getting a ring with the Dallas Mavericks during the 2010-11 season, as his Nets’ teams lost to the Los Angeles Lakers and San Antonio Spurs in the Finals in back-to-back years.
Kidd was one of those guys who could take over a basketball game with just his passing and defense alone, as he would find just the right angles at the right times to get his open teammates the ball in their spots, making all of his teammates better in the process.
There aren’t too many guys that can take over a game without scoring a single point, but if there was a guy who could do that, it was Jason Kidd.
