Toronto Raptors stud Fred VanVleet has been playing the best basketball of his life. He’s a shoo-in for his first All-Star Game and is leading a deeply flawed Raptors roster to playoff contention. In a lot of ways, it’s all we’ve ever wanted from him as fans.
Fred is a star now, that’s for certain. How high up on the ladder is he? Is he messing around with the borderline stars or has he risen to the rank of superstar? The only way to find out is to go man-by-man and measure out each of their cases for being called the top point guard in the NBA.
Names like Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Dejounte Murray, and even Kyle Lowry barely missed the cut in these rankings. Note that for the purpose of this exercise, 2021-22 performance is weighted heavily. With James Harden being looked at as a shooting guard and Kyrie Irving barely playing, neither of those stars are on this list.
There are some young standouts on this list, but this ranking also confirms that VanVleet has placed himself firmly among the
LaMelo’s highlight-fueled fame might proceed his actual abilities at this point, but that doesn’t change the fact that he’s fast becoming one of the premier playmakers in the world. We learned basketball snobs in the media might take the behind-the-back passes at less than face value, but at a certain point, one has to respect the skill.
LaMelo is also the top player on the now play-in-bound Hornets, and that’s the key point. On-court pizzaz has often been an avenue for high usage stars on bad teams to promote themselves amidst a losing season, but in the case of Ball, it all seems to be translating to production.
Leading a team with no bonafide All-Star to more wins than Jayson Tatum’s Celtics, Julius Randle’s Knicks, or Trae Young’s Hawks is nothing to sniff at. Ball has a bright future, but let’s not forget he has a bright present too.
NBA Power Rankings: Darius Garland has impressed this season.
The most pleasant surprise of this NBA season thus far, Garland’s ascent to stardom has boosted the stagnant Cleveland offense.
In an era that has split the point guard position into the small, deep-range gunners (Damian Lillard, Kyrie Irving), and the jumbo-sized, heliocentric playmakers (Luka Doncic, LaMelo Ball), Garland’s game reminds some of the point guards of old.
Combining precision ball-handling with awesome court vision and awareness, Garland has been doing his own poor man’s Chris Paul impersonation in Cleveland and leading them to the 5th seed in the East despite losing Collin Sexton to injury.
Garland’s abilities aren’t as jaw-dropping as someone like Ball’s, but one could argue he has a better command of the floor and his teammates than anyone in the East right now. His patience and control are what sets him apart.
It’s still too early to rank him any higher than this, but with his first All-Star game on the horizon, it’ll be interesting to see how Garland, and these Cavaliers, will continue to evolve.
For a position teaming with flashy youngsters and offensive dynamos, it’s Jrue Holiday’s steady hand and world-class defense that earns him the 8th spot on this list. Arguably the second fiddle on a team that won it all last year, Holiday has been quietly averaging 18 points, seven assists, and five rebounds a game this season.
We’ve heard the superlatives about his defense before. Calling him anything less than the top defensive guard on the planet seems unfair, but let’s not forget his contributions to the offensive end as well.
Being able to run the offense himself or hand the ball off and play a complementary role for either Giannis or Khris Middleton, Holiday has fit in so seamlessly with the Bucks it’s almost funny to remember he was wearing a Pelicans uniform two seasons ago
It’s that ability to adapt to the needs of a great team that is what sets Jrue apart and ahead of the perhaps more talented names below him on this list. He could never pull off some of the plays Ball does, and he has never been able to will his team to success as the top dog, but he has proven himself able to play a vital role on a championship roster.
NBA Power Rankings: Fred VanVleet is the leader of the Raptors
Here he is.
The timing has been perfect for VanVleet’s All-Star campaign. Since December 14, Fred VanVleet has been averaging around 28 points, 7.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.0 steals per game, all while shooting 44% from both the field and from three.
And yet, it still boils down to the wins. In that time, the Raptors have moved from the 12th seed in the East to a play-in spot.
This stretch of dominance from VanVleet was encapsulated on a sleepy Friday night against a COVID-crippled Jazz team. A half-interested Raptors slipped to an early 12-point deficit and had kept snoozing deep into the third quarter.
That’s when VanVleet took over the game on both ends, piling up multiple steals while scoring 20 points in four minutes to spark the Raptors to a runaway win.
Fred VanVleet is the best player on a playoff team. He’s leading the league in minutes per game, he’s top 20 in the league in both points, assists, and steals per game, and he’s doing all of this at 6-0 even.
Between his battling an abdominal injury, his dip in production on the court, fending off constant trade rumors, the knowledge that his Trail Blazers team is simply not good enough to win big in the NBA, it’s a little sad what’s happened to Lillard this season.
One has to respect Dame for his commitment to a franchise that has never so much as paired him with a second All-Star after LaMarcus Aldridge left. Through sheer force of will and ability, Lillard has spearheaded Portland to greater heights than their roster might suggest.
The sad part is it looks like that might be coming to an end.
However you want to slice it, the odds that Lillard will return to his previous superstar status are waning. A smaller guard on the other side of 30 being asked to carry an immense scoring load for his team, the track record of those aging gracefully isn’t kind.
Even as he starts to transition into the next phase of his career, he can still pop off for 40 points on any given night. That killer instinct has not ebbed away. Doubt him at your own peril.
NBA Power Rankings: Trae Young is still producing.
It’s been an interesting eight months for Young. From fully adopting the dark side and putting on one of the greatest displays of antagonist basketball against the Knicks to knocking out the more talented 76ers, expectations were high for Trae and the Hawks to continue their success this year.
So far, they haven’t.
It’s not so much Trae’s fault. Yes, he did have a transitional period adjusting to the new foul rules, but he has since bounced back and returned to star form. It’s more the fact that the Hawks’ defense has been putrid.
Currently 28th in the league in defensive rating, and 25th in points allowed, Atlanta’s brief tango as “Villains of the League” has taken a bit of a downturn. Still, that shouldn’t be attributed to Young. He’s been great this season, orchestrating the offense as only he can and averaging 27.6 points per game on career-best efficiency.
However, he’s past the point where we can’t count team success against him. Trae isn’t a fun rookie or a fringe All-Star, he’s a cemented star in this league. With that comes the perks of our respect, the benefit of the doubt, and higher expectations. If he wants to move into his positional top three, the wins are the difference.
Whether he’s carrying the Hornets, running Lob City, playing second fiddle to James Harden, willing the Thunder to the playoffs, or leading the Suns to the Finals, Paul has spent more time floating around this top five than anybody else on this list.
It’s hard to quantify how good CP3 is at this stage of his career. The scoring stats won’t wow you at 13.9 points a game, but his efficiency, assists, and leadership are excellent once again.
Paul hasn’t played on a team with a losing record since 2010. He simply makes his teams into winners through things that can’t be measured with a number. Things like leadership, poise, maturity, the clutch gene, and that mysterious schism between high assist numbers and actually being a world-class playmaker.
Paul is coming off a Finals appearance and is currently leading the Suns to the top record in the league. It’s not flashy or new, but it works.
NBA Power Rankings: Ja Morant is electric.
It’s always nice to see players improve. Whether it’s a fringe guy cementing himself in the league, a bench player finding the proper role to become a starter, or in the case of Morant, a star literally vaulting himself into superstardom.
Playing the game with reckless abandon reminiscent of Russell Westbrook and Derrick Rose in their heyday, Ja has been the head of a Grizzlies spear that’s been the best team in basketball for three weeks now.
After the team record, the biggest positive for Ja this season has been his improvement as a shooter. Now that he’s a passable 35% from three, it forces defenders to play Ja honestly from range, making his first step all the more devastating.
It’ll be interesting to see how both the Grizzlies and Ja face the impending challenge of the postseason. If Morant can achieve these results in the playoffs, it will move him from the final five into conversations for the best point guard in the world.
After a slow start and some unreal expectations, Doncic is back to dominating. Just ask the Raptors. This was the year he was supposed to win the MVP and lift Dallas back into Finals contention. Instead, it had been the usual milling around in the bottom half of the playoffs before kicking it into high gear lately
Though only 22 years old, Luka isn’t a kid anymore. His warts should be taken into consideration, but that doesn’t detract from the fact that he’s one of the most singularly skilled players ever. He’s still nearly averaging a triple-double while shouldering an insane load.
Luka’s 2021-22 season hasn’t been as dominant as some Luka for MVP bettors may have hoped, but he’s still one of the best in the world and worthy of the No. 2 spot on this list.
NBA Power Rankings: Steph Curry is still up top.
The three most terrifying words in the history of professional basketball. Curry. For. Three.
Not much to debate here. Curry has been the unquestionable top dog and the PG position since he stole the crown from Paul in 2015. Curry’s Warriors have the 2nd best record in the West and are only poised to get better as now they have Klay Thompson to inject into their already gifted roster
There was a minute there where it looked like Steph was running away with MVP. While he’s still well in the running he’s come back down to earth a bit this past month.
Still contending for the MVP and the top seed in the NBA, not to mention making history every time he sinks a long ball, Steph’s rank atop of the point guard pyramid is one of the few constants in the NBA today.
Fred VanVleet has some big names to pass if he wants to gun for a spot in the top three.