![]() ![]() Using 1976 as the beginning of the modern era, we’re eliminating Cousy, Robertson, West, and Frazier. ![]() NBA Rumors: Westbrook may have played his final game for the Clippers.NBA Rumors: This playoff team is now the leader to land Westbrook.Can the Clippers realistically sign Chris Paul after shocking waive news?.Ranking the 10 championship-less NBA teams by closeness to title.NBA Trades: This wild Mavs, Clippers, and 76ers deal must happen ASAP.Wouldn’t they handle him or slow him down? He might average a 20–10 or even a 25–14 nowadays, but with superior talent, smarter defenses, complex coaching strategies and unfavorable-for-him rule changes, hell would freeze over before ’62 Wilt scored 100 in a single game.” “Say we brought ’61 Wilt to 2009 and matched him against a slew of modern athletes with strength and speed. For the reasoning behind the seemingly arbitrary cutoff: The year 1976 signifies the merger between the ABA and NBA and also roughly represents when the game started to resemble the game we see today. By most accounts, the best point guards of all-time are (in no order) Magic Johnson, Isiah Thomas, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, John Stockton, Gary Payton, Jason Kidd, Walt Frazier, Steve Nash, and Bob Cousy.įor the sake of fair comparison, I’m using Bill Simmons’ cutoff date from his Book of Basketball of 1976 for what is considered the modern era of basketball. In order to compare Paul to the greatest who have ever played point guard in the NBA, we must first establish who the best are. His eight All-Star nods, seven All-NBA teams, and two Olympic gold medals speak for themselves.Īt 30 years old with 10 NBA seasons under his belt, it’s fair to start comparing him to some of the greatest point guards who we’ve ever had the pleasure of watching.ĪLSO ON HOOPSHABIT: 30 Greatest Ball Handlers of All-Time He also knows how to work his way to the bonus with rip through free throws, and on the other hand, dislodge or disrupt the ball properly from his opponents with ease.Since being drafted fourth overall in the 2005 NBA Draft, Chris Paul has proven himself to be one of the best point guards in the league. Paul pulls strings on sets (sometimes spamming the same ones over), plays chess with opposing coaches, and forces their hands in pick-and-roll coverages. Shooting 52.7% (3rd best for players taking 3+ shots per 4th).When you take into context his role both as a primary facilitator and scorer in final periods, his effectiveness shines through. The Suns boast a +3.4 point differential and league best 16-3 record in games deemed “clutch.” Paul resembles the lifeblood for those numbers though, being a +2.9 in the fourth all by himself. That’s not to minimize what they do, because scoring the basketball remains a skill which they have all mastered, but Paul’s aforementioned all-around impact during close games separates him from the pack. However, their impacts solely depend upon scoring, which is just one entity of the game. The likes of Damian Lillard, Kevin Durant, and DeMar DeRozan especially this season come to mind as appropriate arguments against that claim. No player so heavily influences fourth quarters like Paul does. 10th 10+ point 3+ assist 4th as a Sun (5th this season).However, he kicked things up a notch right after, finishing the game with 27 points, 13 assists, and nine boards.Ĭhris Paul had 15 points & 3 assists in Mondays 4th quarter, a win vs Utah Although solid, those numbers did not exactly jump out at anyone. Paul sat with 12 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds as the Suns entered the final period. Monday’s contest most recently exemplified CP3’s greatness. In general, anyone who scores in a timely manner and also does everything else beyond must be considered better than just a pure scorer, correct? With that in mind, one needs to look beyond Chris Paul’s total points each night out, and appreciate his plethora of skills that allow him to close out games. However, what if there were a player who put on great displays of floor generalship, defensive guile, and unparalleled intelligence to help stack up wins-while also scoring in crunch time all the same? Throughout history, scoring is synonymous with the word “clutch,” and being deemed a clutch player automatically includes the ability to hit shots when the stakes grow highest. Players like Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, and if you look specifically at the 2016-17 season, old Phoenix Suns guard Isaiah Thomas immediately come to mind. 4th Quarter,” and only think of prolific scorers who turn it up with the game in the balance…I don’t blame you. ![]()
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