Who Are The Top 5 Point Guards in NBA History?

The NBA has been blessed with a lot of talented point guards over the years, and the conveyor belt continues to generate amazing basketballers.

Traditionally, the primary objective of a point guard is to run the team’s offense, but that role has evolved over the years, with several NBA point guards emerging as defensive stalwarts and scoring geniuses.

Of course, most of them still retain that innate ability to find an open teammate, displaying tremendous speed of thought and vision. A typical point guard does not only dish out the assists, but he also contributes with good scoring numbers, steals and rebounds.

If you are a betting man, these are the guys you want on your player prop bets, given how good they have become at different aspects of the game. Many US sportsbooks now offer prop bets on basketball players, along with other numerous NBA betting offers.

Given the sheer number of high-quality PGs that have graced the league, compiling a list of the greatest NBA point guards has not been easy, but these are the five that eventually made the cut! 

5. Jerry West

Jerry West made the NBA All-Star in every single season he played— an exclusive club he shares with just four other players (who have played at least 10 seasons in the league).

If that doesn’t tell you how great he was, maybe the fact that his silhouette is the NBA’s logo would.

Averaging 27 points through his career, West was a prolific shooter, and with 6.7 assists per game, he was pretty adept at picking a pass as well.

Given his scoring numbers and shooting abilities, some may consider West as a shooting guard, but he was listed as a point guard for most of his career.

West was the second overall pick in the 1960 NBA Draft, selected by the Lakers, who he would represent for the entirety of his career.

Beyond his stellar regular-season numbers, West was a playoff beast, averaging over 30 postseason points between 1965 and 1969. He only managed one NBA Championship, in 1972 (and eight other Finals defeats) but that statistic rather skews his talents and contributions. 

He was unfortunate to come up against an incredible Boston Celtics team, against whom he lost six finals. 

Despite suffering numerous Finals defeats, West constantly threw up unbelievable numbers in the postseason, and remains the only player to be named Finals MVP on a losing team. 

4. John Stockton

John Stockton might not have been the flashiest point guard the NBA has ever seen, but he was mighty effective at running the play. 

With 15,806 assists, Stockton is the NBA’s all-time assists leader. 

He is one of only two players to average more than 10 assists all through their careers (Magic Johnson).

While his passing and vision were his biggest qualities, he was also a decent scorer, averaging 13.1 points per game through a 19-year career.

His excellent passing and assists records somewhat overshadowed his defensive brilliance, but it is also worth noting that he is also the NBA’s all-time steals leader.

Being the league’s assists leader for nine consecutive seasons between 1987 and 1996 speaks volumes of not just Stockton’s talent, but also his longevity and durability. In his 19 NBA seasons, Stockton played all 82 regular-season games in 16 campaigns.

Drafted by the Utah Jazz in 1984, Stockton played for Utah all through his career. With Stockton and Karl Malone, the Jazz reached the NBA Finals in 1997 and 1998 — their only Finals to date — but ran into Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls, ultimately losing both.

Stockton remains one of the greatest players never to win an NBA ring.

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3. Oscar Robertson

Before the days of Russell Westbrook and Luka Doncic, there was the Big O.

Oscar Robertson was the NBA’s first triple-double machine, famously averaging a triple-double (30.8 points, 12.5 rebounds, 11.4 assists per game) with the Cincinnati Royals in the 1961-62 season— just his second year in the NBA and the first player to average a triple-double through an entire season in NBA history.

His season total of 41 triple-doubles was a record at the time.

The only other player with a triple-double average in an NBA season is Russell Westbrook (2016-2017).

Cumulatively, Robertson averaged 30.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 10.6 assists in his first five seasons. He would end his career with 25.7 PPG, 7.5 RPG and 9.5 APG.

Mr. Triple Double was an All-Star in 12 of his 14 NBA seasons, bagging his sole MVP award in 1964.

After spending 10 years with the Royals, Robertson joined forces with the Milwaukee Bucks in 1970, and fittingly claimed his sole NBA title with the Bucks in 1971.

2. Stephen Curry

Has there been a better shooter in the long history of the NBA? Well, no. Steph Curry is simply the greatest shooter the game has ever seen. 

He is remarkably adept at finding space, and has formed the habit of pulling off the most ridiculous shots from virtually anywhere on the basketball court.

Curry isn’t just all about his perimeter shooting; he is a superb passer, and can also drive to the basket and finish.

Given his amazing range and accuracy, opponents are forced to put defenders on him in seemingly harmless locations in the court, opening up space for his teammates to thrive. He is not just a great individual player; he has also made others around him better.

Curry has been the fulcrum of the Golden State Warriors dynasty that has won four NBA titles, and despite claiming just the one Finals MVP, every basketball watcher knows Steph has been the main man in those title runs.

Drafted by the Warriors as the seventh overall pick in 2009, Curry has gone on to produce one of the most revolutionary and sport-changing NBA careers.

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1. Magic Johnson

If you are going to beat Steph Curry to the point guard GOAT award, then you have to be really special.

Earvin “Magic” Johnson was more than special. He was magic. 

Johnson was arguably the most complete point guard in the history of the game, combining his scoring prowess with an unbelievable passing range.

Drafted by the Lakers as the first overall pick in 1979, Magic went into a team that already had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and was a pivotal part of the Showtime Lakers of the 80s.

He was a truly generational talent who not only brought his basketball talents to the league, but also flamboyance and charisma that further increased and diversified the viewership of the NBA.

At 6-foot-9, he was a physical specimen, and with his combination of size, speed and natural basketball talent, he was untouchable at his peak. Magic produced nine consecutive double-double seasons starting with the 1982-1983 campaign.

Curry has outscored Johnson in career averages, but Johnson is a long ways ahead in the assists metric.

He averaged 19.5 points and an insane 11.2 assists through his career. Finding an open teammate was almost instinctive to Johnson. It was like he knew who was open and where the pass would go long before he received the ball.

Johnson wasn’t a bad rebounder either, with 7.2 boards per game.

Not only was Magic a regular-season monster, he was also clutch during the postseason, standing up for his team when it really mattered.

The 12-time All-Star inspired the Los Angeles Lakers to five NBA titles in the 1980s, while he was Finals MVPs in three of those years.