The NBA is currently stocked with talent at the point guard position, which speaks to the health of the league and the parity between the teams. Point guard is the most important position, and not having 48 minutes of solid play at the position is the fastest way to lose games.
The Cleveland Cavaliers are blessed to have a young All-Star point guard in Darius Garland. How does he stack up to the rest of his peers around the league? It’s not just fun to rank players, but it’s a vital exercise every NBA team is doing to see where they are strong, where they are weak, and how to build trades to improve their rosters.
To that end, let’s rank the point guard position around the league. We’ll look at all of the “starting” point guards by casting a wide net; some teams have multiple starter-worthy point guards, while other teams are unsure who they will be starting, so we’ll look at 41 players.
We are ranking them according to their ability right now for this upcoming season and playoffs; long-term upside and contract value are not factored in, although the potential for young players to take a step forward and older players to take a step back is weighed in. In a few cases, players who are currently injured are evaluated as if they are healthy. Finally, the playoffs matter even more than the regular season, so we are boosting point guards who have proven they can excel in the playoffs.
Let’s start with some of the faces of tomorrow, and end with the best point guard in the league. Players are grouped into tiers and loosely ranked inside of those tiers; pay more attention to what tier a player is in than the order within. Where does Darius Garland rank? Who is the best in the league? Let’s take a look!
Tier 10 – Future starters
- 41. Dyson Daniels
- 40. Amen Thopmson
- 39. Jaden Ivey
All three of these players have exciting upside, but none of them are likely to boost winning this next season. These three would rank much higher on an “asset” ranking because of their future level of play, but a team trying to win couldn’t give them major minutes as the starting point guard. Of the three, Amen Thompson looks like the most special, but Ivey still has plenty of fans and Dyson Daniels is already a positive defender.
Tier 9 – Can start if you need them
- 38. Gabe Vincent, Los Angeles Lakers
- 37. Monte Morris, Detroit Pistons
- 36. Dennis Schroder, Toronto Raptors
It’s unlikely that any of these three players start at point guard this upcoming season, and that’s generally a good thing for their respective teams. All three are capable of starting and have started recently, with Schroder having the easiest path to starting in Toronto if the Scottie Barnes experiment doesn’t go well. Monte Morris will be a steady backup in Detroit and Gabe Vincent will try to beat out D’Angelo Russell in Los Angeles. If one of these players had to start for an extended period a winning team could sustain for a while, but ultimately you would be looking for an upgrade.
NBA Point Guard Tiers: Tier 8 – Up-and-comers
- 35. Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards
- 34. Scoot Henderson, Portland Trail Blazers
- 33. Tre Jones, San Antonio Spurs
- 32. Immanuel Quickley, New York Knicks
- 31. Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
The most difficult type of player to rank on this list was the young point guard. Where each of these players left off last season was probably just below the level of a solid starting point guard, but they have the potential to come in this season having taken the next step, in which case they could move up this list quickly.
Tre Jones will get the chance to start again in San Antonio and has a chance to grow into a long-term starter if his shot comes around. Scoot Henderson is a special point guard prospect and will probably take a year to get his footing but should feature near the top of this list in a few years. Josh Giddey is currently breaking out at the FIBA World Cup and could be poised for another step forward this year.
Tier 7 – Proven vets and aging former stars
- 30. D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers
- 29. Russell Westbrook, LA Clippers
- 28. Kyle Lowry, Miami Heat
- 27. Markelle Fultz, Orlando Magic
- 26. Malcolm Brogdon, Boston Celtics
- 25. Tyus Jones, Washington Wizards
- 24. Spencer Dinwiddie, Brooklyn Nets
- 23. Mike Conley, Minnesota Timberwolves
If one of these players is starting for your team you don’t need to immediately be seeking an upgrade, but this group of point guards are lineup finishers, not the players you can rely on to win at a high level. Russell Westbrook, Kyle Lowry and Mike Conley once did drive winning, but they are aging into a different season of their careers; Lowry is already there, while Westbrook is slowly being convinced that he is not the player he once was.
Players like Markelle Fultz and Tyus Jones raise your team’s floor while limiting the ceiling. Both could be elite as backup point guards, but for now both project as starters for their respective teams. Spencer Dinwiddie is the perfect test case for this “replacement line” as the Nets would love to upgrade at point guard, but they can still push for the playoffs with Dinwiddie as the starter.
NBA Point Guard Tiers: Tier 6 – Great players but….
- 22. Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
- 21. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
- 20. Marcus Smart, Memphis Grizzlies
- 19. Dejounte Murray, Atlanta Hawks
- 18. Chris Paul, Golden State Warriors
There are reasons to absolutely love each of the players in this tier, but at the same time there is that one thing holding each of them back. Reports out of Team USA’s training camp were that Cade Cunningham looked awesome, and his combination of size and passing ability are special; at the same time, he has only played 76 career games and shot just 30.9 percent from 3-point range for his career. Can he get through this season healthy and find a way to translate his shot into actual makes?
That same process can be applied to the rest of this group. Tyrese Maxey has plenty of offensive pop but needs to improve as a passer and prove he’s not a sieve on defense. Marcus Smart has the defense down but has to find his offensive role as he ages and on a new team. Dejounte Murray is a good defender, good passer, good scorer, but he doesn’t do any of it at an elite level and he failed to find a way to thrive alongside Trae Young last season.
Finally, Chris Paul has to face the music and fit in on a team that doesn’t need him to win; he’s always come in as the “savior” and now he is just a supplementary piece. Will he accept coming off of the bench? How much pop do his legs have left?
Tier 5 – Two-way fringe All-Stars
- 17. Fred VanVleet, Houston Rockets
- 16. Derrick White, Boston Celtics
Tier 5 is our smallest tier, trying to capture the unique lane these two players find themselves in. Both of these players have proven that they can play at a high level in the NBA Finals, the most difficult of proving grounds. Each also has struggled to be the primary offensive engine for their teams without the help of other on-ball creators.
Fred VanVleet landed a lucrative contract this summer with the Houston Rockets and leaves the infrastructure of playing alongside guys like Kyle Lowry, Kawhi Leonard and Pascal Siakam. When his shot is on he’s a dangerous weapon, but when he goes cold he struggles. Derrick White is one of the best defensive guards in the league and plays well as a tertiary offensive option, but if asked to run the show he would have a difficult time; he’s in a perfect spot with the Boston Celtics.
NBA Point Guard Tiers: Tier 4B – Problematic Stars
- 15. James Harden, Philadelphia 76ers
- 14. Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks
By pure talent alone, these two players would be at the very top of the next tier. Kyrie Irving has hit huge shots in the NBA Finals, while James Harden is a former MVP who is still scoring and passing at an elite level. The problem is that both players are wholly unreliable to go to war with. Harden can win a playoff game or fail to show up, and he is currently trying to force his way off of his team for the third time.
Irving is even harder to rely on because if he is playing he is still an absolutely elite scorer at all three levels. Yet at any time, he could step away from the game, or make an error in wisdom that no other player would make and be suspended. His presence in a locker room seems like a negative, not a positive, and that pushes him down a half-tier.
Tier 4A – The young All-Stars, including Darius Garland
- 13. LaMelo Ball, Charlotte Hornets
- 12. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks
- 11. Trae Young, Atlanta Hawks
- 10. Darius Garland, Cleveland Cavaliers
- 9. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers
- 8. De’Aaron Fox, Sacramento Kings
- 7. Jamal Murray, Denver Nuggets
This is where Darius Garland lands, and ranking the players throughout this tier is incredibly difficult. Each of these players is still ascending, has proven they can play at an All-Star level and has the starting job on their teams locked up for the foreseeable future.
Last year Tyrese Haliburton, De’Aaron Fox and Jalen Brunson took “the leap” and became clear All-Star players. Could that leap be coming for Darius Garland and LaMelo Ball this year, who both made the All-Star Game two seasons ago but didn’t last season?
Differentiating within this tier is splitting hairs. Garland rises above Trae Young because of his proven ability to thrive off-ball, but he hasn’t hit the heights of Young, Haliburton or Fox and hasn’t proven himself in the playoffs. You could move these players around in nearly any order and it would be hard to argue.
Jamal Murray has proven himself capable of elevating his game in the playoffs, putting up some massive performances en route to a title last season. That’s why he comes in at the top of this tier, even if his regular season performance last year was the worst of any of these players, which keeps him from being in a higher tier. He benefits from playing with the MVP in Nikola Jokic, but it still takes incredible talent and poise to perform as he did in the Finals.
NBA Point Guard Tiers: Tier 3 – All-NBA Players
- 6. Jrue Holiday, Milwaukee Bucks
- 5. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies
- 4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder
Jrue Holiday is on the cusp of sliding down these rankings, but for now he maintains his spot in this group. His defense wobbled a little last season; if he plays at his 2021-22 level he’s the best point guard defender in the league, capable to taking on guards or wings. Ja Morant is an offensive force when available, but his self-destruction of his own availability and his defensive issues hold him back from an MVP level.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander rises to the top of this tier, and the next step is becoming a top-10 player in the league. He has size and strength to get to his spot and score from anywhere inside the arc; if his shot improves he’ll become an elite offensive weapon. As his roster improves around him, he should get the chance to start proving himself in the playoffs.
Tier 2 – MVP Candidates
- 3. Damian Lillard, Portland Trail Blazers
- 2. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks
It went underappreciated due to how poorly the Trail Blazers played last season, but Damian Lillard had the best offensive year of his career in 2022-23. He was perpetually on fire from anywhere on the court and led the league in a number of advanced offensive metrics. At some point, his game will start to decline due to age, but that hasn’t started yet. If he gets the chance to play for a contender like the Miami Heat next year it will be a boon for fans of basketball.
Luka Doncic should be in Tier 1, and has been pegged as “next up” for MVP for a few years now. Things keep getting in the way, be they nagging injuries, his conditioning, his inaccurate shooting or even missing the Play-In Tournament entirely last year. He is an elite talent and has been tremendous in the playoffs, but something is missing to make him a Top-5 player in the league.
Tier 1 – MVP
- 1. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors
There is only one player to place at the top of these rankings. Stephen Curry is a two-time MVP who is still playing at an elite level. Just 14 months ago he was eviscerating the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals en route to winning Finals MVP. As he ages he is dealing with injuries each year that take him off the court and push the Warriors down the standings, but when he is in the game he’s right there with Nikola Jokic as the best offensive player in the league. His combination of shooting, gravity and savvy are as good as any player in league history.
Which of the rising young stars will move into these top tiers next season? Can Curry, Lillard, Chris Paul and others stave off Father Time? Can Darius Garland find a way to thrive next to Donovan Mitchell that sees him gain the recognition he deserves? The point guard position has never been stronger and it’s a ton of fun to watch.