The Whiteboard: Situational NBA point guard rankings

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We’ve officially hit the doldrums of the NBA offseason — 25 days since NBA free agency opened, 31 days from the opening of training camps. This means it’s ranking season — filling the void in the absence of any real news with arbitrary, qualitative lists. Our big collaborative ranking project, the 25-under-25, will be coming in a few weeks but I thought I’d warm up my mental heuristics with a few positional rankings.

I find a generalized ranking of players based on fluid and largely obtuse positional rankings to be pretty pointless, so I’ve gone more granular. Instead of just ranking points guard by how “good” I think they are, I tried to focus in on specific scenarios and just rank the top five for each. I stuck with a fairly traditional definition of point guard and left off primary ball-handlers who could also be classified as wings, players like James Harden and Luka Doncic. Below you’ll find my lists, along with a brief explanation of my thinking. Feel free to let me know what I got wrong (probably everything).

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want running your offense for 82 games?

When you look at the macro, trying to maximize offensive value across an entire season, you want a point guard who is malleable enough to produce in a variety of ways — creating for others, scoring off the dribble, organizing his teammates to attack certain matchups and holding the defense’s attention even when he doesn’t have the ball in his hands.

1. Steph Curry
2. Chris Paul
3. Damian Lillard
4. Kyrie Irving
5. Trae Young

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want isolating on a final possession?

This context is almost the exact opposite, the micro over the macro. But mastery of the same basic variables are important. Here a player needs to be able to shake a defender, shoot over the top of the defense, score in the paint, recognize an open teammate, draw a foul and, most importantly, decide in a fraction of a second which of those strategies is most likely to work.

1. Steph Curry
2. Kyrie Irving
3. Damian Lillard
4. Trae Young
5. Chris Paul

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want defending at the point of attack?

Point guards are just offensive orchestrators, they also need to provide some resistance at the other end. The ideal point of attack defender has some combination of size, quickness, technique and tenacious intensity.

1. Jrue Holiday
2. Marcus Smart
3. Lonzo Ball
4. Dejounte Murray
5. T.J. McConnell

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want pulling up off the dribble?

The pull-up jumper is a very specific shot and it has become arguably the most important in the arsenal of elite creators. It is ideally used sparingly but the ability to make it reliably is what separates the best from merely the very good. It’s not just about the skill to make the shot, it’s also about the awareness of when to use it and the ability to create enough space to get it off.

1. Steph Curry
2. Damian Lillard
3. Kyrie Irving
4. Chris Paul
5. Kemba Walker

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want leading a fast break?

On a fast break, with the ball in their hands, you want a guy who can do a little bit of everything — explode to the basket with speed, power or craft, pull-up for a quick 3, manipulate the defense to create an easy look for a teammate and, most importantly, not turn the ball over.

1. LaMelo Ball
2. Ja Morant
3. De’Aaron Fox
4. Steph Curry
5. Tyrese Haliburton

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want taking a crucial 3-pointer?

Here, I’m not delineating between pull-ups and catch-and-shoot attempts. I just want a guy who can do a little of each and get one to go down in a key situation, regardless of what the defense makes available. And if you’re confused looking at the two formers teammates at the bottom of this list, I’ll just point out that they’ve made 29-of-62 (45.3 percent) and 27-of-65 (41.5 percent), respectively, of their clutch 3-point attempts over the past two seasons.

1. Steph Curry
2. Damian Lillard
3. Kyrie Irving
4. Terry Rozier
5. Devonte Graham

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want turning lemons into lemonade?

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. Plays break down. The shot clock gets short. Loose balls turn into half-transition possessions without the benefit of any offensive structure. These are the guys I’d pick to ride that wave of randomness and conjure something positive out of the chaos.

1. LaMelo Ball
2. Ja Morant
3. Kyrie Irving
4. De’Aaron Fox
5. Terry Rozier

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want when you need a mistake-free game?

Sometimes you don’t need 20-10 from your point guard, you just need them to keep your team from beating themselves. These are the guys I’d want steering the ship with a steady hand, protecting the ball and making sure everyone is where they’re supposed to be.

1. Chris Paul
2. Damian Lillard
3. Mike Conley
4. Malcolm Brogdon
5. Tyrese Haliburton

NBA point guard rankings: Who do you want coming off the bench as a third guard?

Sometimes the role of a point guard is to blend into the background, to fill multiple roles depending on what the matchup demands and making sure their backcourt partners are in the best position to succeed. They could start and be successful but their biggest asset is the ability to do a little bit of everything.

1. Marcus Smart
2. Monte Morris
3. George Hill
4. Cam Payne
5. T.J. McConnell

BONUS ROUND:

Who do you want managing your investment portfolio? Spencer Dinwiddie.

Who do you want ordering for the table at Boqueria tapas? Ricky Rubio.

Who do you want helping you pick out a prom tux? Russell Westbrook.

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