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The point guard position has evolved drastically in the NBA, but its essence remains the same - controlling the offence and the pace of the team. Several point guards can dictate what their team's attacking game is, and in this article, we will give you our NBA Power Rankings for the top 5 point guards in the league right now.
There are de facto point guards in the NBA like LeBron James, who was listed as a PG this year for the first time in his career. But 'The King' will be considered as a small forward in future articles, as that is the position he's usually played at in his career (though he is pretty much a 1-5 freak).
NBA Power Rankings: Top 5 point guards in the league right now
The current talent pool for the point guard position is extraordinary. Though most superstars at the position are scoring-driven, there are still old-school point guards like Chris Paul, Rajon Rondo or Goran Dragic that can positively impact their teams.
Without further ado, let us take a look at the top 5 point guards in the league right now.
#5 Damian Lillard
He was the biggest story of the NBA's seeding-games in the Orlando bubble. Damian Lillard has been playing at an extraordinary level for five years now and his last two seasons, especially his 2019 NBA Playoffs run, have been fantastic.
He led the Portland Trail Blazers to the Western Conference Finals last year and willed them to the 2020 NBA Playoffs. Even though Lillard is praised for his scoring, he is also a good passer.
Dame averaged 30 points in 66 regular-season games in the 2019-20 season, along with eight assists per game. He also improved his shooting from the field (first time over 45 percent) and shot the ball well from the three-point line (40 percent on 10 attempts per game).
#4 Luka Doncic
Luka Doncic can be described as a LeBron-esque player in the sense that he seems to be a position-less player. Still, he was listed as a shooting guard last year and as a point guard this year, with the second description the one that fits his game accurately.
Doncic was unbelievable last year, but it was definitely expected from a young man who has been a pro since he was a 16-year-old. 'El Matador' already had Rookie of the Year honours under his belt when the 2019-20 season started, but the 21-year-old took his game to a whole new level, especially during the playoffs.
Doncic averaged 29 points, 9 rebounds, and 9 assists in 61 regular-season games in the 2019-20 shortened NBA season. He shot 46 percent from three and 75 percent from the FT line, but struggled a bit from three, with just 31 percent. The Slovenian superstar achieved 17 triple-doubles in the year, becoming the youngest player ever to lead the league in that stat.
In a hard-fought six-game series against the favoured LA Clippers, Doncic averaged 31 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists. This included two unbelievable 40-point games, and his unique 43-point, 17-rebound, 13-assist triple-double performance in which he hit the game-winning three in Game 4.
#3 Chris Paul
This is a no-brainer. Chris Paul, even at age 35, remains as a top point guard in the NBA and probably the one that fits the point guard criteria to perfection.
The way Paul led the Oklahoma City Thunder to the 2020 NBA Playoffs (which they had a 99.8 percent chance of missing, according to ESPN), was nothing short of extraordinary.
Paul averaged 17.6 points, 7 assists, and 5 rebounds on 49 percent shooting (mighty for a 6'1" guard). He was efficient in almost every aspect of the game, averaging less than two and a half turnovers per game and shooting 90 percent from the FT line. He remains a top NBA point guard and will probably stay at this level for another couple of years.
#2 Russell Westbrook
With Russell Westbrook, we enter MVP-level point guards (at least former NBA MVP-level). Though his 2019-20 season wasn't his greatest as he was adapting to playing with another ball-dominant guard in James Harden, he still averaged 27 points per game.
Even with his bad 25 percent shooting from three, Westbrook shot 47 percent from the field (career-high), due to a whopping 51 percent on two-point shots (also a career-high).
The former MVP also averaged 8 rebounds and 7 assists per game, and returned to form from the FT line with 76 percent, his highest since the 2016-17 year.
#1 Stephen Curry
Well, there are no doubts about who is the boss at the point guard position in the current NBA. Even though he only played five games in the 2019-20 NBA season, Stephen Curry's spot as the best point guard in the league remains untouched.
Curry averages 25.6 points per game in his last eight NBA seasons, including his 5-game 2019-20 year. Also, averages of seven assists, five rebounds, and two steals are pretty great for the greatest shooter ever. In that span, Curry shot 47 percent from the field, 43 percent from three, and 90 percent from the FT line.
Even after an injury-hit season, there are many tipping Curry to return with his usual impact and possibly compete for NBA regular-season MVP. He is also expected to lead the Golden State Warriors to a deep run in the NBA Playoffs. That kind of respect is only a small sample of what Curry represents in today's game.
Also read: 5 crucial decisions the LA Lakers have to make this off-season
Guess the Lakers players!
