NBA: Top Five Point Guards (Right Now)
1. Stephen Curry (Warriors, 287.5): Stephen Curry has been the best point guard in the NBA for the better part of the last five years, and that includes Russell Westbrook's MVP season in 2017. What Curry lacks in athleticism and size, he makes up with incredible efficiency as he continues to help lead one of the top dynasties in league history to title after title. Curry's 52-43-91 splits are beyond remarkable and averaging 27.3 points while doing so is very rare.
2. Damian Lillard (Trail Blazers, 271.1): Damian Lillard's 50-point performance in Game 5, which included a 37-foot game-winner is what got everyone talking about where he ranks among the league's best points. And after diving into the numbers, he deserves the second spot. When you add up points, assists, rebounds, blocks, steals, turnovers, wins, and shooting percentages, Lillard is only behind Curry. Dame averaged 25.8 points and 6.9 assists per game.
3. Kyrie Irving (Celtics, 269.8): Kyrie Irving played the least among of games of anyone in our top five rankings, so it's understandable if his impact wasn't as obvious as players like D'Angelo Russell or Westbrook, but when Kyrie was on the floor and healthy, he was the third best one. In fact, he wasn't too far behind Lillard. Kyrie has the edge over Dame in blocks, steals, turnovers, and three-point percentage. Uncle Drew averaged 23.8 points on 48.7% shooting.
4. Kemba Walker (Hornets, 243.3): Kemba Walker is the first spot where most people would start to argue. If I were to start an NBA franchise, I'd take Westbrook over Kemba. But that's not what the discussion is. For the 2018-19 year, it's hard to say that Russ was better than Kemba. The latter put up 25.6 points, 5.9 assists, and 4.4 rebounds on 49-35-84 splits while playing all 82 games during the regular season. Kemba also earned his All-Star starting spot.
5. Russell Westbrook (Thunder, 235.3): Russell Westbrook averaged a triple-double for the third consecutive season, which puts him alone in NBA history. He put up an astonishing 22.9 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 10.7 assists per game. Westbrook's downfall is his lack of efficiency. He shot just 65.6% from the free throw line, while knocking down 29.0% of threes. Westbrook has the athleticism and effort, but he needs to clean up his efficiency to climb back up.
Next Up:
6. Ben Simmons (76ers)
7. D'Angelo Russell (Nets)
8. Chris Paul (Rockets)
9. Eric Bledsoe (Bucks)
10. Jamal Murray (Nuggets)
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.
