• Kendrick Perkins has shared his top-five point guards list
• It features Stephen Curry at the top but also mentions Russell Westbrook at No. 5
• Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, and John Stockton round out the rest of the list
Kendrick Perkins has shared his honest take on the greatest point guards in NBA history, ranking them from one to five on ESPN. He named Stephen Curry as the greatest point guard, ahead of Magic Johnson at two, Isiah Thomas at three, and John Stockton at four. Shockingly, Perkins had former MVP Russell Westbrook at No. 5.
.@KendrickPerkins thinks @StephenCurry30 is top 2 and not ✌️ pic.twitter.com/flEGvJQmvD
— NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) September 13, 2023
All five of these players are among the greatest, but I wouldn’t necessarily have the same list Perkins put together. I think it’s premature to put Curry on the top until his career is over, as Johnson still outranks Curry for multiple accomplishments over a much shorter career.
Including Westbrook would make sense, given the historic nature of his statistics. However, I personally would prefer point guards who had a winning impact on his team like Oscar Robertson.
Arguing with the inclusion of Stockton or Thomas is pointless, as both players have solidified their careers in the conversation for the greatest.
Who All Did Kendrick Perkins Snub?
The inclusion of Westbrook came at the cost of some players. We can name multiple options, such as Chris Paul, Jason Kidd, Gary Payton, and Steve Nash, among others, to fill the fifth spot.
Fadeaway World came up with a formula to decide who the best point guard in NBA history is, which takes into account all the accolades each player won while also evaluating advanced stats to see how they impacted their teams.
According to our results, Westbrook wouldn’t be on the list. Oscar Robertson would be the guard to fill into the top five, having the same statistical impact as Westbrook but also having won a championship. Our analysis deems Robertson the second-best point guard of all time, behind Magic Johnson and ahead of Stephen Curry.
Curry’s career is not over yet, so we cannot conclusively say that he will end his career as the second or third-best point guard in history. There is a very strong argument to be made for Curry having surpassed Robertson due to his phenomenal impact on the modern game, but he cannot be considered clear of Johnson just yet.
Stephen Curry And Magic Johnson In The Conversation For The Greatest
These debates often include mostly contemporary examples that people can relate to. Robertson played in an era in which not many fans were arguing his case on Twitter. Curry being an active player has amassed a fan army that will be willing to defend him to death. Johnson has passionate Laker fans and older fans in his corner, but his numbers do look better so far.
Magic Johnson has career averages of 19.5 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 11.2 assists reflect that. These numbers improved in the playoffs to 19.5 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 12.3 assists.
Stephen Curry was never tasked to be the primary playmaker on his squad but is a ruthless scoring machine, averaging 24.6 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 6.5 assists over his career with an increase in the playoffs, where he’s averaged 27.0 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 6.1 assists.
Comparing the two is very challenging. Even though they play the same position, they are incredibly different players. Johnson was a traditional playmaker but at 6’9″, something that we hadn’t seen in the league. Curry had the size of a point guard, but he didn’t damage opponents by being a masterful playmaker but by being one of the greatest shooters in league history.
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