Top 10 Greatest Point Guards of Last Decade

Originally I was planning on doing top 10 greatest players of all time for each position but decided against it. I didn't watch  most of those guys play so I'm not about to regurgetate analysis I read from another source to you about older players I didn't see. You wanna read about Magic and Bird all you gotta do is google. Instead I'm bringing you something we can really debate and have a strong opinion on. I'm going to do a top 10 of the 2000s for each position. Also keep in mind the title of the post top 10 "greatest" which focuses more on accomplishment than ability. To make these list I also factored in longevity and overall career achievements and success. For this blog only what happened between the 99-2000 season to the 08-09 season will be counted.

10. Deron Williams

Obviously right now D-Will is far more talented than most of the other players your going to see on this list and at towards the end of last decade he was too. But D-Will only played in 4 season during last decade so he just doesn't have enough of a resume to be any higher than this. He also never made an all star game during last decade either. But D-Will did show that he was on his way to becoming an elite PG during his short time playing in last decade. He proved to be a matchup nightmare unlike we've seen at the PG position in years with his combination of quickness, size, and incredible ball handling skills. Along with Carlos Boozer under Jerry Sloan he thrived in the pick and roll and shredded defenses to pieces with it most nights. His run last decade might have been short but I think we all remember D-Will's early days in Utah and how impactfull a player he was. 

9. Steve Francis

Athletically Steve Francis was a freak that's really the best way to describe he. He had freakish athletic ability as he often amazed with his dunks. He was 6'3 but one of the games great high flyers. Dunking wasn't all Francis could to though as he was a scorer in his prime as well. Francis had some nasty handles and often left defenders lost and off balance with his tremendous cross overs. Francis made 3 all star games in his career. 

8. Stephon Marbury

There was a time when Marbury was a unstoppable basketball player and not the goof that he's known as today. In his prime he was the full package. He was quick and athletic, amazing ball handling skills, great scoring ability, and was a good passer. Despite how his career ending your talking about a guy who's career averages ended up being 18 and 7. He was one of the more controversial athletes and often criticized for his attitude. Despite his talent it's quite possible Marbury was the worst teammate in NBA history. He wore out his welcome with every single team he played for and to most was almost more trouble than he was worth.

7. Baron Davis

Baron Davis was one of the most exciting players in the league last decade, well when he wasn't in street clothes that is. Despite Baron's incredible talent and athleticism in his prime his career was injury plauged for the most part and it really hindered how great he could have been and hurt his legacy. Out of 10 seasons last decade Baron Davis played less than 70 games 6 times. But when healthy Baron was a hell of a player. He had quickness and special athletic ability as you can see in the photo above. His most memorable season had to be that 06-07 season where the Warriors got into the playoffs as the 8 seed and stunned the Mavericks. They went on to lose to the Utah Jazz in the next round but now without making some noise as Baron Davis had one of the best plays of the decade when he dunked on AK47. 

6. Chris Paul

Chris Paul pretty much falls under the same circumstances as Deron Williams. Although he did have slightly more impact in the 4 years he played last decade. For starters he made 2 all star teams and had 2 of the best seasons for any PG in last decade averaging 21 points, over 11 assist, and 2.7 steals per game in 2008 and then 22 points, 10.7 assist, and 2.8 steals in 2009. Paul led a Hornets team that had a washed up Peja and Rasul Butler on the wings and not a lot of depth on the bench to the 2nd round of the playoffs and took the powerhouse Spurs to 7 games in the playoffs. It was one of the most memorable moments of last decade for me as a Spurs fan watching CP3 completely dominate our elite defense the way he did. By the last season of the decade it was pretty clear CP3 was the best PG in the NBA. 

5. Gilbert Arenas

There was a time when Gilbert Arenas was arguably the best scoring PG in the NBA. He had a deadly combo of quickness and crossovers and often used it to perfection to create space for his shots. He also was quite known for his killer step back jumper that he often went to when he needed buckets. It wasn't always a smooth path for Agent 0 though. His career started on the bench and even when he initially got PT it was a struggle for him. But eventually he found his way and become one of the most dangerous scorers in the NBA having averaged over 25 a game in back to back seasons in 06 and 07. After 2007 Arenas hurt his knee and his career has been downhill from there but when he was at his best he was armed and dangerous (no pun intended). 

4. Tony Parker

Tony Parker had a great run last decade as he was apart of 3 Championship teams, the most notable for him coming in 2007 when he won finals MVP. Parker was easily the best penetrating PG of last decade and maybe the fastest too. He didn't have exceptional ball handling skills or freakish athleticism he was just pure speed and you couldn't keep him out of the lane. He was so good at getting into the paint he led the league in points in the paint 1 season playing PG. He was as dangerous as they come coming off a pick and if your bigs were late to hedge he made you pay. In the beginning he was a terrible jump shooter and then he developed a solid pull up mid range jumper and became a major threat on offense. 

3. Chauncey Billups

Chauncey Billups was the ultimate floor general and a true PG. There was nothing flashy about Billups game at all but he was effective as anybody and led the Detriot Pistons to a championship in one of the biggest finals upsets in league history. For years the Pistons dominated the Eastern Conference and was in the Eastern Conference finals year after year and Billups was a key reason why. He got the name Mr. Big Shot and it was well deserved as he hit many clutch key baskets down the stretch of big games in his career.

2. Steve Nash

Steve Nash was the best offensive PG of last decade and a future hall of famer. Offensively he had no flaws. He was a lights out shooter from everywhere on the court and it showed in his percentages as he has had 4 seasons where he shot over 50% from the field, 40% from 3, and 90% from the line. He's the best pick and roll PG since John Stockton. He made everyone around him better and just by having him as your PG if you have a decent level of talent around him your gonna have a top 5 offense. He won MVP 2 times and has countless other honors. If only he was a little better defensively he would have been number 1 on this list.

1. Jason Kidd

If you ask me the best PG of last decade and one of the top 5 players of last decade all together was Jason Kidd. All you gotta do to understand how good of a player Kidd was is go look up the rosters for the 2002 and 2003 New Jersey Nets. Those had to be 2 of the worse teams to ever make it to the NBA finals. However they got there and they did it because of Jason Kidd. Nobody last decade outside of maybe Duncan and Shaq made the players around them better like Kidd. Kidd as a scorer wasn't anything special although because of his quickness and ball handling ability could get you some points. But Kidd's biggest assets were his incredible vision and passing ability and his elite perimeter defense. Nash had the best pure passing skills to me but I think Kidd had the best vision in terms of being able to see the entire floor and anticipate things before they happened. He was an incredibly smart player maybe highest basketball IQ of the decade. He also got in there and got rebounds as he often would get triple doubles or close to them on many occasions. He was truly special and if I had to rank him all time as a PG I'd say he was top 5 ever.