The point guard is the engine of a basketball team. They control the offense, pass the ball, and lead the team. Some elite guards are famous for their incredible passing vision. Others changed the game with their explosive scoring and shooting. Ranking the best playmakers of all time brings fierce debate. This list celebrates the ultimate masters of the hardwood. Here are the top 10 greatest NBA point guards to ever play the game.
Top 10 Greatest NBA Point Guards of All Time
1. Magic Johnson
Magic Johnson redefined what a point guard could be. At 6 feet 9 inches, he ran the Lakers’ Showtime offence with a mix of vision, creativity and joy that no one has matched. He won five championships, three regular-season MVP awards and three Finals MVPs, and he retired with more than 10,000 career assists at a rate above 11 per game.
His rookie Finals performance is one of the most famous in NBA history. In Game 6 in 1980, he started at centre in place of the injured Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and scored 42 points. His rivalry with Larry Bird helped lift the league into the mainstream, which adds to his case.
2. Stephen Curry
Curry is the greatest shooter in history and the player who changed the way basketball is played. He has won four championships and two MVP awards, including the first unanimous MVP in 2016. He holds the career record for three-pointers made, with more than 4,000, and the single-season record for threes. His range stretched defences to the half-court line, and an entire generation of players now shoots in the way he made popular. He is also a top-tier off-ball mover, which makes him one of the most difficult players in the game to guard.
3. Oscar Robertson
The Big O was a triple-double machine decades before the term became common. In 1961-62, he averaged 30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds and 11.4 assists for the entire season, a feat that stood for 55 years until Russell Westbrook matched it. He won an MVP in 1964 and a championship with Milwaukee in 1971 alongside Kareem. He was also a leader off the court, serving as president of the players’ association.
4. John Stockton
Stockton is the all-time leader in assists with 15,806 and in steals with 3,265. Both records are far ahead of second place, and neither is likely to be broken. He played 19 seasons for the Utah Jazz, partnered with Karl Malone, and ran the pick-and-roll as well as anyone ever.
His durability was extraordinary, as he missed only 22 games in his first 17 seasons. He never won a title, losing to Michael Jordan’s Bulls in the 1997 and 1998 Finals, but his consistency and efficiency remain unmatched.
5. Isiah Thomas
Isiah was the leader of the Detroit Pistons’ Bad Boys teams that won back-to-back championships in 1989 and 1990, and he was named Finals MVP in 1990. A 12-time All-Star, he combined quickness, scoring and fierce competitiveness. His 25-point quarter on a badly sprained ankle in the 1988 Finals is one of the great performances in the history of the event.
6. Chris Paul
Paul is a master of control. He is among the all-time leaders in assists and steals, has been named an All-Star 12 times and has made All-NBA 11 times. For over a decade, he was the most efficient decision-maker in the league, rarely turning the ball over and consistently making teammates better. The absence of a championship is the one missing piece on his résumé.
7. Bob Cousy
Cousy was the first great ball-handling guard, a showman whose behind-the-back passes and no-look assists brought flair to the early NBA. He won six titles with the Boston Celtics alongside Bill Russell, and he was named MVP in 1957. He led the league in assists for eight straight seasons.
8. Jason Kidd
Kidd finished his career second in assists, with more than 12,000 in some tallies and over 10,000 by most accounts, and he recorded 107 triple-doubles. He made the league’s All-Defensive teams repeatedly and finally won a championship with the Dallas Mavericks in 2011. He was also a gold medallist for the United States.
9. Steve Nash
Nash won back-to-back MVP awards in 2005 and 2006, running the Phoenix Suns’ fast-paced offence. He is one of a handful of players to shoot 50 per cent from the field, 40 percent from three-point range and 90 percent from the free-throw line in the same season, and he did it four times. His influence on modern pace-and-space basketball was significant.
10. Gary Payton
Payton, known as the Glove, was the best defensive point guard in history. He won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996, a rare feat for a guard, and made the All-Defensive First Team nine times. He was also a skilled scorer and passer, and he won a title with the Miami Heat in 2006.
FAQs
Q. Who is considered the greatest NBA point guard of all time?
A. Magic Johnson ranks first among the greatest NBA point guards of all time.
Q. How many NBA championships did Magic Johnson win?
A. Magic Johnson won five NBA championships with the Los Angeles Lakers.
Q. Which point guard holds the NBA career record for assists?
A. John Stockton holds the record with 15,806 career assists.
Q. How many MVP awards did Stephen Curry win?
A. Stephen Curry won two regular-season MVP awards.
Q. Who won the Defensive Player of the Year award in 1996?
A. Gary Payton won the award in 1996.
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