The point guard position in the game of basketball is one of the most important positions on the court. Think about most point guards as quarterbacks in football. They are the ones who make the offense run like a well-oiled machine while also serving on the front lines of the defensive effort.
- Best – Magic Johnson
- Scoring – Stephen Curry
- Playmaking – Magic Johnson
- Rebounding – Russell Westbrook
- 3-Point Shooting – Stephen Curry
- Mid-Range Shooting – Steve Nash
- Passing – Magic Johnson
- Defense – Gary Payton
- Finishing – Kyrie Irving
- Athleticism – Russell Westbrook
- Clutch – Stephen Curry
- Efficiency – Magic Johnson
- Leadership – Magic Johnson
- Versatility – Magic Johnson
- Ball Handling – Kyrie Irving
Throughout NBA history, there have been plenty of elite players who represented the point guard position to perfection. Today, the goal of this article will be to take 15 different categories and assign one point guard who was the GOAT in each of them. Some of these categories are essential to being a great point guard while others are not, but there have been players that excelled in those areas as well.
The history of the point guard position is rich and deeply ingrained in NBA lore. These 15 categories and the point guards who represent them are a great way to kick off this series as we go position by position to find the greatest players per category. We have approached this already from a modern-day standpoint, but now it is time to broaden our horizons and allow the history of the game in for a turn.
These are the greatest NBA point guards of all time by category.
Best – Magic Johnson
As far as who you want to argue as the greatest point guard in NBA history, the conversation begins and ends with Magic Johnson. Magic was the picture-perfect point guard in his career who led the Lakers to five NBA championships from 1980 through 1988, won three Finals MVP awards and three MVP awards, and is one of the pioneers of the position in the modern-day game.
Johnson excelled at every facet of what it means to be a true and all-time great point guard. He ran the Showtime Lakers’ offense to perfection with his ability to see the court from all angles and lead their fast-paced and potent offense. Johnson was as dangerous as they come on fastbreaks and set offenses but was just as calculated and precise when he backed down the smaller guards who attempted to slow him in the post.
If I had to pick one point guard to run my team out of any point guard in NBA history, it would be Magic Johnson without any hesitation.
Scoring – Stephen Curry
When it comes to scoring, the only point guard that belongs at the top of the list is Stephen Curry. With Curry as their leader, the Warriors have won four NBA championships since 2015 and became a dynasty that basically ran the late 2010s. Along with being the greatest three-point shooter ever, Curry has also become a talented scorer from the mid-range and with his ability to get to the rim, even if he is what some would call “undersized”.
Curry’s best weapon is, of course, his shooting from beyond the arc, where he has been more efficient and more voluminous than any other player in NBA history, let alone among point guards. Curry has averaged 24.6 PPG over the course of his career. He has won two scoring titles in 2016 and 2021 averaging 30.1 PPG and 32.0 PPG respectively. In his career, Curry has had two seasons with over 30.0 PPG and seven seasons of at least 35.0 PPG inclyding each of the last three seasons since 2020-21.
Playmaking – Magic Johnson
Playmaking is separate from simply passing the ball. Playmaking is the ability to create for yourself and others on the court. It is the ability to maximize the effectiveness of each possession, giving your team the best chance to win by the end of the game. When talking about point guards who have done this the best over the course of NBA history, it has to be the GOAT point guard himself, Magic Johnson.
Magic’s playmaking was as elite as it gets. When it came to creating for others, Johnson was so good at manipulating defenses that it almost seemed unfair at times. What made Magic such a great playmaker was his ability to score if the defense tried to crowd his passing lanes. With his height being 6’9’’, he was even more dangerous, being able to see things that other point guards just could not. I wouldn’t say Magic is only the greatest playmaking point guard, but I would say he is the greatest playmaker ever, period.
Rebounding – Russell Westbrook
When it comes to point guards in the NBA, I would say that rebounding is probably the least important skill one can have. Sure, grabbing a lot of rebounds as a point guard allows the offense to get moving and running quicker than big men making an outlet pass, but isn’t it pretty much the same thing?
If I had to choose the best rebounding point guard I have ever seen, it would be Russell Westbrook. When you combine his raw athleticism with his insanely high basketball IQ, Westbrook has been the best rebounding point guard for the last decade. For his career, Westbrook has grabbed 7.3 RPG over the course of 15 seasons. Since the 2014-15 season, he has grabbed 8.9 RPG over the course of 654 games with four seasons of at least 10.0 RPG or more.
If I needed one rebound and all I could choose from were point guards, I would put all of my money on Russell Westbrook to be the point guard to grab that rebound.
3-Point Shooting – Stephen Curry
The greatest point guard shooter ever. The greatest three-point shooter ever. The existence of Stephen Curry in the NBA makes this the easiest selection of our entire thread here today. Curry revolutionized the entire game of basketball by showing that world championships could be won by shooting and making threes at a historically high rate.
It isn’t just about the amount of threes he has made in his career or the efficiency of that shot for him. The way he can create the shot in any way he needs to is what makes it even more special. Curry is absolutely fantastic off the ball and moving off screens to get to his spots. He also is a wizard with the ball in his hands and shooting off the dribble. Curry has had just two seasons out of 14 in the NBA in which he shot less than 40.0% from three, with most seasons attempting 10.0 or more threes per game.
In his career, Curry has knocked down 3,390 three-pointers buidling on his all-time record for threes made. He has led the NBA seven times in three pointers made while shooting 42.8% from beyond the arc. He has recorded nine seasons with at least 250 threes made as well as four seasons with at least 300 three-pointers made and has only ever finished a season shooting less than 40.0% from three twice.
Mid-Range Shooting – Steve Nash
Steve Nash is remembered as one of the best playmakers in NBA history. As a two-time MVP, Nash led one of the most potent offenses of the 2000s. It just so happens that they aren two of the lowest-scroing MVPs of all-time with 15.5 PPG in 2005 and 18.8 PPG in 2006. What made their offense so potent wasn’t only his skills as a passer and true point guard. It was his ability to pick his spots and knock down his shots as an efficient shooter as well, especially from the mid-range.
During the height of his career, and for most of it, Steve Nash was a 50/40/90 shooter from the floor. For his career, Nash shot 50.0% from 10-15 feet and 53.8% from 16-23 feet. In order to hit over half your shots from this range, it takes a special player from any position on the court but especially the point guard spot. Many claim Nash would have been on another level as a player if he shot the ball more and average more than his career 14.3 PPG. Judging by his percentages from mid-range and other spots, they would be correct.
Passing – Magic Johnson
If you’re tired of seeing Magic Johnson on this list, well, I have some bad news for you. You can’t be the GOAT point guard without dominating a few categories along the way and that is exactly what Magic did for most of his career. As a passer, there was simply nobody better, maybe in NBA history, from any position on the court.
Magic was especially dangerous in the open court, where he could fit any pass he wanted into any tight window from any spot he chose on the court. From the post, he was just as systematic, picking apart offenses one pass or basket at a time. If the defense cheated, they paid the price, and if Magic looked one way, you better be paying attention the other way. Johnson has four assists titles in his career, and his 11.2 career APG ranks first in NBA history. He recorded nine consecutive seasons from 1983 through 1991 with at least 10.0 APG. You cannot give this category to anyone else.
Defense – Gary Payton
In NBA history, there have only been two players at the point guard position to ever take home Defensive Player of the Year honors. Marcus Smart did it in 2022 with the Celtics and Gary Payton did it in 1996 with the Seattle SuperSonics. Outside the numbers, what made Payton’s defense special was his relentless pursuit of the toughest perimeter matchups. Whether it was Michael Jordan or John Stockton, Payton wanted and accepted the challenge every single night.
As far as numbers go, Payton’s defense was elite as well. He averaged 2.0 or more steals per game in eight of his 17 seasons and over 1.5 SPG 14 times. He led the NBA once in steals in 1996, the year he won Defensive Player of the Year. When you add in the deflected passes and turnovers caused by his on-ball masterpieces, no defensive point guard in history was more impactful than The Glove himself.
Finishing – Kyrie Irving
The art of finishing at the rim as a point guard is a difficult task to master. Point guards have to be as fluid and precise as possible in their movements at the rim as well as creative in the ways that they get there. Regarding efficiency, creativity, and all-around finishing ability at the basket, no point guard has done it better in their careers than Kyrie Irving.
Irving is not going to go out of his way to throw down a massive dunk, but finishing is about the ability to make shots at the rim, not solely dunks. For his career, Kyrie finishes 62.0% of his shots from 0-3 feet away from the basket, meaning dunks, floaters, and layups. Irving’s soft touch on the ball and the spin he can put on it to manipulate his shot are added bonuses to the best finishing point guard in NBA history.
Athleticism – Russell Westbrook
Speed, stamina, strength, and leaping ability are all considered when it comes to athleticism as well as a host of other attributes that are important to becoming a superior athlete. Taking all of these things into consideration, there have been no point guards in NBA history more athletic than Russell Westbrook.
During the peak of his career, there were no point guards in the game who could keep up with Westbrook’s pace on the court. If he got a head of steam or any momentum behind his attack to the basket, the best decision for many would be to just get out of the way. The only conclusion to that story is Westbrook finishing through you or over the top of you in an emphatic fashion. As many superior athletes as there have been at point guard over time, none were ever on the level of a prime Russell Westbrook.
Clutch – Stephen Curry
I could have gone in any direction I wanted to with this category. For me, from a point guard standpoint anyway, I want the player who is the biggest threat to break the backs of an opponent in clutch situations. With his ridiculous range, consistency, efficiency, and being prone to clutch performances on the biggest stage in the NBA, Stephen Curry has been that player.
Curry’s most famous clutch performances came in the 2015 and 2017 NBA Finals. When his team needed him most, Curry clutched up and made play after play and shot after shot to lead his team to victory. He averaged 26.0 PPG on 44.3% shooting in the 2015 Finals and 26.8 PPG on 44.0% shooting in the 2017 NBA Finals. Although he didn;t win Finals MVP in those two instances, it was his big-time shot making that helped lead the Warriors to vitory.
We can even add his Game 6 performance on the road in the 2022 NBA Finals to the list as well. In a career with eight game-winning shots, Curry is undoubtedly one of the most clutch players ever and stands alone in regard to NBA point guards.
Efficiency – Magic Johnson
Nowadays, the idea of efficiency has been limited to the idea that it only pertains to shooting or scoring. That couldn’t be further from the truth. Efficiency also measures the ability of one to make the most out of each possession, such as not committing turnovers and being a creative yet accurate playmaker or passer.
Keeping that in mind, this category has to go to Magic Johnson. With the second-highest PER by a point guard ever at 24.1, Johnson is the only choice here. Magic’s efficient basketball led to five world championships for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 1980s and birthed one of the greatest and most well-run offenses of all time. Magic’s efficiency as a passer made him the greatest fast-break threat ever and a superior being when it comes to managing the game’s possessions to favor the best outcome for his team.
Leadership – Magic Johnson
Now, how do you measure leadership from an NBA point guard? I would reply that winning championships and being the glue that holds everything together are two pretty big indicators of a player’s leadership by a wide margin.
With that in mind, no point guard in NBA history has had more of an on-court impact with their leadership than Magic Johnson. We are talking about a player who came in his rookie season, stepped in for one of the greatest players ever in the NBA Finals, and took home the glory as Finals MVP. We are talking about Magic Johnson, the player who ran one of the most potent and efficient offenses to ever grace the court, which was built around his ability to lead them. Five NBA championships, three MVPS, and three Finals MVPs, along with a myriad of other personal and team successes. As a leader, I wouldn’t want any other point guard than Magic Johnson.
Versatility – Magic Johnson
I promise this is the last time we will mention Magic Johnson. Versatility is the ability of a player to adapt, adjust, and succeed in multiple positions on the basketball court. As an offensive player, you have to be able to be a threat to score or make plays from any spot on the court. As a defender, being able to defend and slow down multiple positions is about as important as anything that an individual player can bring defensively.
Magic Johnson transcended what it meant to be a versatile player. Reading above, of all the skills we selected for Magic Johnson, versatility is covered in all of them. If he needed to score, he could. If he needed to control a game from the perimeter or the post as a playmaker, he could. If he needed to defend forwards instead of guards for multiple possessions in a row, he could. Magic brought everything there was for a point guard to bring to the court every night. He could also do it outside of the normal realms that a point guard operated from, making him easily the most versatile point guard ever.
Ball Handling – Kyrie Irving
The importance of handling the ball as a point guard cannot be understated. They need to be able to get through the first lines of defense that stand in their way of winning each possession. Being shifty and creative as a ball-handler is as vital to point guard’s success in the NBA as any other skill, and only a few have mastered the art of it all.
Kyrie Irving operates with the basketball as if it were a yo-yo- on a string. He almost toys with his defenders with the ability to move both laterally and vertically on the drop of a dime. Irving’s handles have wowed audiences for years, with many claiming he has the best handles of any player in NBA history. I am not here to debate that, though. I just know that when it comes to point guards, no player has mastered the art of handling the ball or the results that come from getting by defenders like Irving has.
For most, you would almost think that handling the ball is for show but not for Kyrie. There is always a purpose with every motion he makes, whether that is to open himself or his teammates up for the easiest scoring opportunity. Irving’s handles are certainly highlight worthy, but they also are effective and the hardest ones to stop in NBA history.
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