Los Angeles Clippers: Is Chris Paul the NBA’s Best Point Guard?

It seems as if just yesterday we were living in the era of Steve Nash and Jason Kidd, who were on top of the point guard discussion from 2000-08. Given one opportunity to win and create the best atmosphere within the team, those two were absolute locks if you could choose any floor general in the league. The NBA has transformed since that period, the most obvious aspect being the athleticism of today’s point guards. Evaluating everything Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul brings to the court night in and night out, many have labeled him as the top player at his position.

(NBA.com photo)

Aside from the ridiculousness that superstars Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Kevin Durant possess, most of the league’s greatest performers and athletes are point guards. From Chris Paul to Russell Westbrook, Tony Parker, a healthy Derrick Rose, Deron Williams and Rajon Rondo, we are truly blessed to have such a vast variety of skill at this very important position. Each of these six have their own strengths that allow them to win at a high level and entertain fans.

However, no other point guard puts his skills together and affects a basketball game in quite the same manner as Paul.

One of the most important qualities a point guard must display is passing.  Of my top qualifiers, only two players stand above all in this category. Chris Paul and Rajon Rondo, for those who have experienced their careers thus far, have demonstrated the best play-making ability.  Averaging 9.5 assists per game in his last three seasons, Paul has done a fantastic job of helping his teammates in Los Angeles.  Rondo, averaging 11.3 assists since 2010-11, has also emerged as a guy who always has the “pass-first mentality.”  With Paul’s assist numbers being lower than Rondo’s, many have to understand that Paul hasn’t had many scoring options to go alongside him.

If Derrick Rose’s outside scoring ability is as improved as many think, he will be Chris Paul’s closest rival. Photo Credit: Keith Allison, Flickr.com

To me, the main reason his unselfishness as a teammate is more impressive is due to the production we have seen from Blake Griffin.  Entering the league with raw post talent, no All-Star point guard and no top rated coach, Griffin didn’t even dream of having the gift he now has in the backcourt.  Paul succeeded in being the on-court mentor that Griffin has needed, which will continue beyond next season.  Without the precision play-making that Paul has brought to the Clippers, Griffin’s career scoring numbers probably aren’t as high as his 20.4 per game.  Paul changes the entire dimension of the offense, one that wouldn’t be relevant at all with just Griffin and DeAndre Jordan creating every opportunity for themselves.

Arguably the most accurate passer in the league, the Chris Paul pick-and-roll experiment has worked wonders for the high-flying Blake Griffin:

Possibly the most important quality that today’s point guards are evaluated on is their ability to create their own shots and scoring opportunities.  When looking at these specific skills, Paul, Westbrook, Rose and Parker are the easy answers.

While Russell Westbrook has become a crucial piece to the Oklahoma City Thunder’s winning recipe, he hasn’t fully mastered a terrific shot selection.  Shooting only 43.2 percent since entering the league, he isn’t as efficient with the shots he is encouraged to take.  Derrick Rose, who will finally be returning next season, is the only point guard that can come close to matching Paul’s ability to get the look he wants, rather it be at the rim or with an outside jump shot.  With that being said, Paul still shoots a higher percentage from the field, 3-point line and free-throw line.  Add that to the equation, as well as the fact that we don’t know the future health of Rose’s repaired knee, and Chris Paul still remains the point guard that you would trust the most with the ball as the clock is ticking down.

Even against other elite superstars in the league, Paul’s craftiness allows him to get the shot he wants when the game is on the line:

Defensively, Paul is the clear-cut favorite when choosing between the top five or six point guards.  During his eight-year career, Paul has averaged at least 2.1 steals per game in seven of those seasons.  Keep in mind, this is something that no member of the elite point guards has matched.  The dedication on the defensive end in the process of leading a team’s offense into the top 10 in team scoring is what keeps the Clippers in the Western Conference hunt each season.  A historically embarrassing franchise doesn’t achieve their first 56-win season by playing one-sided basketball.

No question; the point guard debate is much harder than one of any other position.  Fans have their favorites and the league has changed into a game that favors quicker, faster players.  However, when determining who performs the best at the position, one must look at the effects each have on the games and teams they are apart of.

If an overall skill set and complete winning formula is something that defines the best point guard in the NBA, then Chris Paul’s name is shining in the spotlight.