Rajon Rondo was one of the best point guards of his generation, and his former teammate Kevin Garnett asked him for his list of the five greatest players at the position, in no particular order, on the Ticket & The Truth podcast. Rondo couldn’t come up with five, however, and named just three instead.
“Magic [Johnson], Isiah [Thomas], okay,” Rondo said. “… I’m struggling… Kyrie Irving.”
Magic Johnson and Isiah Thomas would be in the top three or five for most people. They aren’t controversial picks, but Dallas Mavericks star Kyrie Irving sure is. Before we get to Irving, let’s have a look at Johnson and Thomas’ careers.
Johnson won five titles, three Finals MVPs, three MVPs, and four assists titles. He made 12 All-Star and 10 All-NBA teams.
Johnson is still widely regarded as the greatest point guard of all time, and Thomas spent much of his career in his shadow. He still managed to win two championships, one Finals MVP, and one assists title. Thomas also made 12 All-Star and five All-NBA teams.
As for Irving, he is one of the most talented guards we have ever seen, but his resume isn’t quite as impressive as that of other all-time greats at the position. He has won a championship and has made nine All-Star and three All-NBA teams.
Irving has never even gotten an MVP vote in his career, while Thomas, for example, finished top five in voting in 1984. There really wasn’t any season, in particular, where you could argue he should have gotten any consideration for the award.
Someone who has gotten plenty of consideration over the years is Golden State Warriors superstar Stephen Curry. It was quite a surprise that Rondo didn’t go for Curry here, as he is generally viewed as the closest competitor to Johnson for the title of greatest point guard.
Curry has won four titles, one Finals MVP, two MVPs, and two scoring titles in his career. He has made 11 All-Star and 11 All-NBA teams.
Another name that tends to be brought up in such lists is Utah Jazz legend John Stockton. Stockton never won a championship, but he did win a record nine assists titles. He is the NBA’s all-time leader for assists, and made 10 All-Star, 11 All-NBA, and five All-Defensive teams.
While Rondo didn’t show any love to Stockton here, he did when it came to Curry. Garnett asked if we are in the Stephen Curry era now, and he surprisingly said yes. It is quite interesting that someone playing in Curry’s era is in Rondo’s top three, but the man himself isn’t. He also chose Curry when asked to name three point guards he likes to watch in today’s NBA.
“Obviously, Luka [Doncic] is a magician,” Rondo stated. “Oh, and I appreciated Steph the other night. He put on a show, the way he was able to manipulate the game, still at this level. I didn’t get to tell him. I saw him, but like I said, we didn’t pass each other… It was impressive to see what he was doing. Just everything we did, he had accounted for, and it was easy. It seemed easy. So, I really enjoyed watching him.”
Rondo is a coach for the Milwaukee Bucks and was referring to Curry recording 31 points, six rebounds, and seven assists against them to lead the Warriors to a 120-113 win on Jan. 7. He is still capable of dominating games in a way that only a few others can.
Garnett wanted to get a third name from Rondo, and he went with a No. 77 on the Washington Wizards. No one on the Wizards wears that number, though. Rondo could have been referring to Tre Johnson, who is having an impressive rookie season, or Bub Carrington, who wears No. 7.
