Some of the NBA’s greatest playmakers have suited up for the Los Angeles Lakers, including the undisputed G.O.A.T. among floor generals.
Depending on your view, the Los Angeles Lakers currently have the best point guard in the NBA … or their point guard is ranked in the league’s lower half of starters at the position.
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These Lakers also have one of the most creative playmaking maestros on the planet on their roster and he’s coming off the bench.
LeBron James is leading the league in assists (11.0 per game) and by most definitions, he is L.A.’s point guard. When LeBron is on the court, he’s the primary ball-handler, he’s initiating the offense, he’s facilitating the action — and he’s dropping 24.9 points per game on top of that.
A lot was written in the offseason about L.A. coach Frank Vogel moving LeBron to point guard this season — his second with the Lakers — after he’d been listed at small forward throughout his career. In a lot of box scores and All-Star ballots, however, LeBron remains listed at forward even though he’s doing everything that point guards typically do.
If LeBron isn’t the Lakers’ point guard, then that distinction belongs to Avery Bradley.
The former All-Defensive Team pick is a solid role player, but averaging 8.0 points and 1.2 assists per game, Bradley wouldn’t be put anywhere near the Kemba Walkers and Chris Pauls of the league when discussing elite point guards.
Then there’s Rajon Rondo, the future Hall of Famer (possibly) who led the league in assists four times and won a championship with the Boston Celtics as their point guard. Rondo is a backup for the Lakers, chipping in 6.9 points and 5.3 assists per game in 20.9 minutes.
Due to the ambiguity of LeBron’s position, along with the fact that he’s been in this new role for less than half a season — and because I already put him on the all-time top 10 list of Lakers’ small forwards — LeBron didn’t make this list of the 10 best point guards in franchise history.
The top spot here belongs to another legend in the NBA’s overall G.O.A.T. discussion. He is followed by someone who used to be a serious G.O.A.T. contender, and who still looms over the NBA as an iconic figure.
Here are the Lakers’ 10 best point guards in their history: