The NBA Is A Point Guard's League
A Crop Of Great Young NBA Signal Callers Has Emerged
There has been a changing of the guard in recent years when it comes to NBA point guards. Guys like Kidd, Nash, and Billups are aging while guys like Paul, D. Williams, Parker, Wade and others are emerging.
The Older Point Guards
Jason Kidd Resume
Jason Kidd was the best point guard in the NBA in his early days with the New Jersey Nets. He led them to back-to-back NBA Finals in his first two years. He led the league in assists many times and he leads all active players in triple-doubles by a wide margin. In recent years, though, he has lost a step and has seen his scoring, assists, and defense all decline.
Steve Nash Resume
Steve Nash took over for Jason Kidd a few years ago as the best point guard in the NBA. He led the league in assists several times, was a capable scorer, and led his Phoenix Suns to two Conference Finals. Like Kidd, in the last couple of years he has lost a step and is not the player he used to be. His Suns didn't even make the playoffs this year.
Chauncey Billups Resume
After bouncing around from team to team in his first few years,Chauncey Billups finally found a home in Detroit. He led the Detroit Pistons to the NBA Championship in 2004 and was named the NBA FInals MVP. He also led Detroit to six straight Eastern Conference Finals. Detroit, though, decided to move on this year and traded him to Denver. He showed that he still has plenty left and led the Denver Nuggets to the #2 seed in the Western Conference this year. He has lost a step defensively, though, and has trouble guarding the young, quick point guards.
The Emerging Young Point Guards
Chris Paul Resume
Chris Paul is widely considered the best point guard in the NBA today and with good reason. He has captained the revival of the New Orleans Hornets. He led them to the Conference Semifinals last year. For his career, he has averaged 19.4 points and 9.9 assists. His numbers this year were even higher at 22.8 points, seventh in the league, and 11 assists, first in the league. He is improving every year and is likely to win an MVP sooner or later.
Deron Williams Resume
Deron WIlliams is also one of the top young point guard's in the league. He has helped turn around a Utah Jazz franchise that was struggling to recover from the end of the Stockton/Malone era. He led the Jazz to the Conference Finals a couple of years ago. This year he had a career year, averaging 19.4 points per game along with 10.7 assists per game, second in the league to Chris Paul. He also led the Jazz to the playoffs once again despite being without Carlos Boozer for much of the season.
Tony Parker Resume
This Frenchman announced his arrival in 2003 when he outplayed Jason Kidd in the Finals and led the Spurs to an NBA Championship. He would go on to win two more including being named the MVP of the 2007 Finals. He had another great year this year finishing twelfth in the league in scoring at 22 points per game and twelfth in assists at 6.9 a game. He led the Spurs to the #3 seed in the West.
Dwyane Wade Resume
Technically Wade is a two guard but he does most of the ball-handling for his team so he can be considered the point guard. He announced his arrival in 2006, leading the Miami Heat to the NBA Championship and winning the Finals MVP. He has had his best year this year leading the league in scoring at 30.2 points per game and finishing eighth in assists at 7.5 a game. He is also one of the most clutch players in the league, playing his best when the game is on the line.
Rajon Rando Resume
In just his second year in the league, Rajon Rando led the Boston Celtics to the NBA Championship. He was inconsistent in the playoffs last year, though. This year, he had a very good regular season, finishing sixth in the league in assists at 8.2 a game and leading the Celtics to the second best record in the East. He appears to have learned from last year's post-season experience as he is off to a great start in this year's post-season, including a triple-double.
Derrick Rose Resume
Derrick Rose has had a strong rookie season and is a virtual shoo-in for the Rookie of the Year. He finished the season with a very respectable 16.8 points per game and 6.3 assists per game. More importantly, though, he led the Chicago Bulls back to the playoffs. He announced his arrival on the big stage tying Kareem Abdul Jabaar's record for points in your first playoff game with 36. WIth him at the point, the Bulls are likely to be contenders for years to come.
Mo WIlliams Resume
Mo Williams was a nice player in Milwaukee but he has taken his game to another level in Cleveland. He has had an excellent first year in Cleveland, averaging 17.8 points per game and making his first all-star team. Obviously, Lebron James in the leader of the Cleveland Cavaliers and the best player in the NBA, but Mo WIlliams is the man that has put Cleveland over the top. He has helped lead them to the best record in the NBA this year and has made them the favorite to win the NBA Championship.
Devin Harris Resume
Devin Harris is likely the fastest point guard in the NBA and is very difficult to stop going to the basket. He led the Dallas Mavericks to the NBA finals in 2006 but has taken his career to the next level in New Jersey. He finished fourteenth in the league this year in scoring at 21.3 points per game and eleventh in assists at 6.9 a game and made his first all-star team.
Looking ahead, the NBA is in good hands with a great crop of young point guards leading the way.
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