Top 15 NBA point guards for 2017-18: Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry battle for top spot

Sean Deveney

Top 15 NBA point guards for 2017-18: Russell Westbrook, Stephen Curry battle for top spot image

It was not long ago that, as we considered whether Suns guard Steve Nash was worthy of an MVP award, it was frequently pointed out that a point guard had not won the award in a generation. My, how that has changed.

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Since Nash first won in 2004, there have been 13 MVPs, and six of them have been point guards. That includes three in a row, with Stephen Curry ringing up back-to-back choices before Russell Westbrook had his historic triple-double season last year. If John Wall or Kyrie Irving wins it this season — not out of the realm of possibility — you’ll know something’s up with point guards.

Here’s how the position stacks up heading into the season...

15. Eric Bledsoe, Suns

Key number:  28. Bledsoe will turn 28 in December, and while that’s still young, he is no longer the talent just waiting to burst he appeared to be early in his career.

Outlook:  Health has been a big issue for Bledsoe, but he stayed on the floor for 66 games last year, and averaged a career-high 21.1 points — his third straight season with a career-high in scoring. The Suns have considered making a deal involving Bledsoe, but if he shows he can stay healthy, they’ll be glad he’s on the roster.

14. Lonzo Ball, Lakers

Key number:  9.3. In six Summer League games in July, Ball racked up a league-high 9.3 assists. He also scored 16.3 points with 7.7 rebounds.

Outlook:  There may be some stars at point guard in the most recent draft, including No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz, but nobody is creating the kind of buzz that Ball is. He will need to straighten out his shooting, but his instincts and passing skills were impeccable at Summer League.

There are some very good veterans who are not in the top 15 at this position, but the bet here is that, by year’s end, the chance the Lakers took on Ball will prove to be worth it and he will be among the best 15 point guards in the league.

#Lonzo

13. Jrue Holiday, Pelicans

Key number:  126. New Orleans, desperate to build something in this upcoming critical season, gave Holiday a whopping five-year, $126 million contract.

Outlook:  Holiday will have a lot to do to justify that money, but the main thing will be simply organizing an offense now built with Anthony Davis and DeMarcus Cousins inside. Should the Pelicans win, say, 45 games and earn a playoff spot with a healthy Holiday, he will have done his job.

Holiday has been in the league for eight years, and he has not shown significant improvement in that time. Pushing a team that needs a shove into the playoffs would change that.

12. Goran Dragic, Heat

Key number:  55.7. That was Dragic’s shooting percentage during the Heat’s season-turning 13-game winning streak just before the All-Star game last year. He also shot 53.8 percent on 3s, and when he shot at least 54 percent from the field during the season, the Heat went 16-4.

Outlook:  Dragic is 31, so age will take its toll soon enough. But in the meantime, he remains a very streaky scorer and shooter, capable of carrying a team himself for a while. The Heat, generally, are streaky, though, and don’t figure to improve much with the same cast back in place this year.

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11. Jeff Teague, Timberwolves

Key number:  35.7. That was Teague’s 3-point shooting percentage in Indiana last year, which was 0.1 percent below the league average.

Outlook:  Let’s not make too big of a deal about Teague as a 3-point shooter, because he’s just not a good enough shooter to be a game-changer from the arc. But consider that the Wolves’ two point guards combined to shoot 30.1 percent on 3s last year, and that the team finished 30th in attempts and makes from 3-point range.

This group needs someone to stretch the floor, and if Teague can stay around the league average, it will boost this offense. 

10. Kemba Walker, Hornets

Key number:  12.0. No, it’s not James Harden or Chris Paul. Walker is the guard who led the NBA last year in pick-and-roll scoring, averaging 12.0 points per game.

Outlook:  The Hornets are not exactly loaded with offensive options, so they wind up hammering opponents with Walker in pick-and-rolls. His shooting percentage on those plays is not great (42.9 percent), but he turns the ball over only 9.9 percent of the time on those plays, second-best among regular point guards.

The big question is whether Walker can find better complementary players. Dwight Howard will be in the middle for Charlotte, they’ve added rookie Malik Monk and they’re still hoping that either Cody Zeller or Frank Kaminsky emerges as a consistent pick-and-pop option.

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9. Damian Lillard, Trail Blazers

Key number:  45.1. That was Lillard’s shooting percentage on midrange shots from 16 feet out to the 3-point line, a strong part of Lillard’s scoring repertoire.

Outlook:  Lillard averaged a career-high 27.0 points last year, and his 44.4 percent shooting and 37.0 percent from the 3-point line were both solid. But he always seems to be the first one skipped over for All-Star and Team USA consideration.

He is not a great defender or playmaker, but in today’s NBA, that applies to many a star point guard. He’s 27, so he should continue to build on his ever-improving numbers.

8. Isaiah Thomas, Cavaliers

Key number:  5.6. That was the number of points Thomas picked up from 2015-16 to 16-17 simply by getting more free throws and making more 3-pointers.

Outlook:  The fourth-quarter numbers that Thomas became known for last year were impressive, but he improved his scoring from 22.2 points to 28.9 points mostly with 3s and free throws. Thomas improved his 3-point output from 2.0 per game to 3.2, a boost of 3.6 points. He increased his free-throws made from 5.8 to 7.8 per game, and combined, the two numbers pretty much explain Thomas’ rise last season.

He is in Cleveland now, and where he was asked to run the Celtics as the lead scorer last year, he will have to return to being second fiddle with the Cavs.

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7. Kyrie Irving, Celtics

Key number:  .339. That’s the winning percentage put up by the Cavaliers in Kyrie Irving’s three seasons before LeBron James returned to Cleveland.

Outlook:  Irving orchestrated his own escape out of Cleveland before what he surmised was a coming collapse when James hits free agency next summer. That could be good for him — he’s going to a team that has two exciting young players (Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown) as well as two established stars (Al Horford and Gordon Hayward). But there is still a big question for Irving to answer: Can he be the lead guy on a very good team?

We saw him lead a bad team early in his career, and we saw him play second fiddle to James for three years. Irving averaged 25.2 points last year, but his defense was still poor, and he was not much of a playmaker for teammates. The Celtics will expect that to change in his new role.  

6. Mike Conley, Grizzlies

Key number:  39. Over the last two seasons, that’s the number of games Conley has missed because of injury.

Outlook:  It was a bizarre season in Memphis, but the Grizzlies were somehow able to stay afloat thanks in part to the best numbers of Conley’s career — 20.5 points, 46.0 percent shooting, 40.8 percent on 3s and continued top-tier defense.

You can’t doubt Conley’s toughness, especially after he returned about a month early from a back injury last year, but the health problems have piled up, and that does ding his value.

5. Kyle Lowry, Raptors

Key number:  1.05. That was the points per possession logged by Lowry on pick-and-rolls last year, tops among point guards.

Outlook:  There was some speculation that Lowry would cast his gaze elsewhere when he hit free agency this past summer, but he quickly got a deal done with the Raptors, which was best for everyone.

Dwane Casey probably would like to run a more varied offense, but give him credit for knowing what works — the Raptors alternate pick-and-rolls between Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, because it’s the best way they have to pile up points. Lowry is 31 and missed 22 games last year, but he has been durable. Toronto will need that to continue.  

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4. John Wall, Wizards

Key number:  3.7. Of the 10.7 assists per game for Wall, 3.7 of them went to 3-point shots, which led the NBA among point guards.

Outlook:  That was one of the impressive things about the season Wall put together last year. He gave back the incremental progress he made on his own 3-point shot (he hit 32.7 percent), but rather than force those shots, he emphasized what he does best while boosting the perimeter shooting of his teammates.

The Wizards made 756 3-pointers last year, a franchise record. But Wall’s attempts from the arc dropped from 4.3 per game to 3.5 per game. Instead, Wall attacked the rim more — he attempted 38.0 percent of his shots from within three feet of the rim, the most since his second season in the league. As a result, he set three career-highs in three significant categories: 23.1 points per game, 6.8 free throws per game and 45.1 percent shooting from the field.

3. Chris Paul, Rockets

Key number:  26.2. That was Paul’s PER last year, and though he played fewer minutes (he is 32 now), that’s right on par for his Clippers career, during which his PER has ranged from 25.9-27.0.

Outlook:  Like a handful of star players, Paul will have to show he can handle a new system quickly, as he gets accustomed to Mike D’Antoni’s high-paced offense. The quick-shot credo isn’t necessarily Paul’s style, but D’Antoni likes to run a lot of pick-and rolls when his offense stalls, and that is where Paul will be particularly useful.

2. Stephen Curry, Warriors

Key number:  17.2. That was Curry’s net rating, the difference between the points allowed while he was on the court (100.9) per 100 possessions and those the Warriors scored (118.1).

Outlook:  In the end, we’re ranking these players by their individual talents, and if Curry had to carry a team in OKC, he might be ahead of Westbrook here. But Curry must stifle his individual game, and the reward last year was a championship.

Curry is a great shooter, of course, but last year was not quite up to his standards — he made 41.1 percent of his 3s, which had him tied with mortals like Joe Johnson and Arron Afflalo. Incredibly, it was the worst 3-point percentage of his career for an individual season.

1. Russell Westbrook, Thunder

Key number:  40.8. That was Westbrook’s usage rate last year, tops in the league by a longshot — No. 2 was DeMarcus Cousins at 36.4.

Outlook:  New OKC teammates Paul George and Carmelo Anthony both ranked in the top 20 in usage rate last season, and the storyline for the Thunder this year will be how George, Anthony and Westbrook interact. Westbrook was dominant as a guy who had the ball in his hands nonstop last year, but can he do the same now that he will have to go back to sharing?

Sean Deveney

Sean Deveney is the national NBA writer for Sporting News and author of four books, including Facing Michael Jordan. He has been with Sporting News since his internship in 1997.