Ranking players by position (point guards etc.) in the NBA will always been a topic of debate.
As NBA fans, we constantly debate who the top 10 players for each position are, without ever coming to a shared list. One NBA fan has a player at the #1 spot of point guards while another NBA fan has that player as #2 etc etc. Then those fans keep on trying to convince each other that their respective choice is right. Eventually, both of the fans come to no conclusion and insist that they’re right.
What if however, we came up with a way to rank NBA players without having to argue who is better than the other. It is a fairly simple solution, instead of ranking them individually, we can rank them by tiers. Tier 1, 2, 3, 4, and tier 5.
For this edition, we rank the starting point guards of the NBA into 5 tiers.
Tier 1 is basically the elites. Point Guards that can do almost everything on the floor at a high level and can be a championship piece.
Tier 2 is almost similar to tier 1, the only difference being that tier 2 is a point guard that doesn’t really give a team a legit chance to win a championship.
The 3rd tier are the point guards that excel in some areas of the game but but lack that it factor put them at the tier 1 or 2 spot.
The fourth tier are the jack of all trades master of none. Point Guards that don’t do one thing spectacularly but are good enough to do most of the things.
Fifth tier are the specialists. Point Guards that start for one or two areas of the game.
Without further ado, here are the tiers of starting point guards (from tier 5 to tier 1)
Notes: For this article, we assume the Giannis Antetokounmpo plays SG (as listed in Basketball Reference) and Patrick Beverly plays SG as well.
Tier 5 – The specialists
Matthew Dellavedova, Milwaukee Bucks
Sergio Rodriguez, Philadelphia 76ers
Ricky Rubio, Minnesota Timberwolves
DJ Augustin, Orlando Magic
Deron Williams, Dallas Mavericks
Ty Lawson, Sacramento Kings
Tier 4 – Jack of all trades
Tony Parker, San Antonio Spurs
Jeff Teague, Indiana Pacers
Jeremy Lin, Brooklyn Nets
Emmanuel Mudiay, Denver Nuggets
Derrick Rose, New York Knicks
Rajon Rondo, Chicago Bulls
Tier 3 – Almost All-Star, not quite
Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns
D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
George Hill, Utah Jazz
Reggie Jackson, Detroit Pistons
Jrue Holiday, New Orleans Pelicans
Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks
Goran Dragic, Miami Heat
Tier 2 – Almost tier 1, but missing that championship factor
Kyle Lowry, Toronto Raptors
Isaiah Thomas, Boston Celtics
Kemba Walker, Charlotte Hornets
Mike Conley, Memphis Grizzlies
Damian Lillard, Portland Trailblazers
John Wall, Washington Wizards
Tier 1 – The best of the best
James Harden, Houston Rockets
Chris Paul, Los Angeles Clippers
Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma City Thunder
Kyrie Irving, Cleveland Cavaliers
Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
Debatable tier placements:
Some of these players had a case for moving up a tier or even moving down a tier. For example, Kyrie Irving could have been placed at the tier 2 position but his play in the NBA Finals and his season so far gave him tier 1 rankings. John Wall also could’ve moved to tier 1 but needs to prove that he is capable of leading the Wizards to a great playoff run. Eric Bledsoe also had potential to be tier 2, but was put at tier 3 simply because his team is at the near bottom of the conference.
Stay tuned as we rank each position by tiers as well.
Featured Photo credits go to: ESPN, Getty Images