Ranking NBA's Point Guards

By Michael Schneid

The NBA is all about PG play. Looking at the final four, three of the teams have PGs who were first round draft picks and all star players - Rajon Rondo, Russell Westbrook, and Tony Parker. Given the importance of the point guard position, we decided to dig deep into the issue of the top PGs in the league. Everyone loves to debate this question. One day it's Derrick Rose, the next it's Chris Paul, the next it's Deron Williams, and it just keeps changing every every day.

So we analyzed stats from the 2012 season and using a sophisticated formula, ranked the NBA's PGs from 1-55. The stats included points, assists, rebounds, steals per game, FG percentage, FT percentage, turnovers.

If you disagree or want to argue about our list you can tweet at us.

NBA POINTS GUARD RANKINGS

1. Chris Paul
2. Rajon Rondo
3. Russell Westbrook
4. John Wall
5. Deron Williams
6. Ricky Rubio
7. Kyle Lowry
8. Ty Lawson
9. Brandon Jennings
10. Derrick Rose
11. Tyreke Evans
12. Mike Conley
13. Stephen Curry
14. Jeremy Lin
15. Kyrie Irving
16. Tony Parker
17. Jrue Holiday
18. Steve Nash
19. Jarrett Jack
20. Jose Calderon
21. Jeff Teague
22. Raymond Felton
23. Goran Dragic
24. Andre Miller 
25. Jason Kidd
26. Luke Ridnour
27. Kemba Walker
28. Mario Chalmers
29. Ramon Sessions
30. Jameer Nelson
31. Iman Shumpert
32. Darren Collison
33. Rodney Stucky
34. Greivis Vasquez
35. Nate Robinson
36. Brandon Knight
37. Devin Harris
38. D.J. Augustin
39. Isaiah Thomas
40. Lou Williams
41. Jose Barrea
42. Mo Williams
43. George Hill
44. CJ Watson
45. Baron Davis
46. Jordan Farmar
47. Kirk Hinrich
48. Earl Watson
49. Beno Udrih
50. Derek Fisher

The system showed Chris Paul in first place in there is a major gap between he and Rondo. According to our formula, CP3 is the best PG in the league. He did, afterall, help carry the Clippers to the second round of the playoffs. Our system did show a large gap between Paul and Rondo for the title of "best PG in the NBA" but so far Rondo, in these playoffs, has been absolutely dominant and a big reason why the Celtics made it to the brink of the NBA Finals. Looking at the top ten, two names stick out - Kyle Lowry and Ty Lawson. Lawson and Lowry are normally not amongst the conversation of best point guard but statistically, they are. Both had career years in 2012. John Wall, who finished just his second season, came out 4th. Wall is not usually in the market of top PG but he did averaged 16 ppg and 8 apg for the Wizards in 2012. Deron Williams is #5 and is a free agent this summer. So is Steve Nash (18), Jason Kidd (25), and some second-tier guys like Raymond Felton and Andre Miller. Ricky Rubio played just 41 games due to a torn ACL. He was drafted three years ago and was having a tremendous season until he went down. Look for him to climb up this list as he gains more experience and gets back on the court. Kyle Lowry had a breakout year in 2012, exceeding his career averages (10.4 ppg, 4.8 apg). The Rockets PG had 14.3 ppg, 6.6 apg. Goran Dragic averaged 11.7 ppg and 5.3 apg. Houston got great production this season have both guards in the top 23. Derrick Rose was interestingly 10th on the list. Rose is expected to miss most of 2012-13, if not all due to a torn ACL. Jeremy Lin, due to our statistical system, is ranked higher than Tony Parker and Steve Nash. Lin truly broke out for the Knicks, signed as a veterans minimum roster filler, Lin averaged 14.6 ppg and 6.2 apg. The Jazz are the last team to have their PG come up. Devin Harris is ranked 37th, the worst among full-time starting PGs. Interestingly, the Jazz made the playoffs, despite their struggling PG play. Isaiah Thomas (39) is a name to watch in the future. Thomas took over the Kings starting point guard role later in the season and playing alongside Tyreke Evans and Jimmer and Demarcus Cousins, should continue to see his assist numbers increase (4.1 apg) Thomas is one of five rookies on the list, including Kyrie Irving (15), Kemba Walker (27), Iman Shumpert (31) and Brandon Knight (36).