The game of NBA basketball has changed and so have the roles of each position. The NBA point guard position in the NBA today has and will be the most dynamic, creative, and effective game changing position for a team to utilize effectively. As such, it has become one of the most important positions for a team to build around. At the heart of a team is a player who can effectively dominate the game and create enough offensive threat to end up with the most points at the end of 48 minutes.

As the dynamic of the game changes and evolves, partly from new eras of players and partly because of rule changes, the importance of each position changes. The role a point guard is expected to play in the current era is not only important, but crucial to a team’s success.

An NBA point guard is expected to maintain control of the ball at all times as they are responsible for bringing the ball up court. The point guard is also expected to be hyper-aware of the court, defenders, and the players movement at all times. The point guard is expected to make the majority of the offensive decisions on the court, essentially dictating where players should be during a given play and what they should do.

It used to be that a team would focus on building around a massive center who can score at will. Once again, the goal is to dominate the game enough so that your team has more points than the opponent at the end of the game. Centers played an integral role in this for years. Some of the most dominant and effective offensive players in history have been big men. Kareem, Wilt, Shaq, Russel are all among discussion for greatest player of all time and all were centers.

Dominant big men will always be helpful but the importance has changed. NBA Point guards are the new Centers. Let me explain.

Point guards must facilitate in scoring during every possession.

In the past, the methodic and respected method of getting the best opportunity to score would be for the point guard to pass it to the big man down low where they would post up and create for themself. The good big men were able to do this effectively enough to the point where they would consistently maintain a good enough shot percentage to make this the main offensive threat.

In the current NBA Basketball era, the point guard is expected to be responsible for scoring the most points. By that, I mean they are most often judged by how many assists they get per game. One could then assume that each assist means the point guard was responsible for creating the play that resulted in at least 2 points.

Last year, Chris Paul averaged 22 points and 11 assists per game. This means that he was responsible for 22 + (11 * 2) = 44 points per game. This means that the best point guard of 2008-2009 was responsible for nearly half of all points scored for the New Orleans Hornets

The most successful teams have great point guards

The most talented point guards usually end up on a winning team. Coincidence?

Take for example, the top NBA point guards in today’s game. We’ve got Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Rajon Rondo, Jason Kidd, and Derrick Rose. All players were on winning teams and helped their teams dramatically at some point during the season or playoffs. In fact, the only point guard mentioned that didn’t make the playoffs was Steve Nash but they finished with a playoff type record even though they didn’t make the playoffs.

The Rajon Rondo vs. Derrick Rose matchup in the 1st round series between the Bulls and the Celtics proved to be critical in which team would advance. It was a popular and exciting series and there is no explanation necessary as to why.

It’s important to realize that the role must be filled not necessarily the position.

The best teams in the NBA rely on their point guards to control the game and make smart decisions. Ok. It’s not necessarily true with 2009 NBA Champ Lakers but let’s use them as an example anyway. Their best player is Kobe Bryant who is not a point guard but a shooting guard. Still though, he is responsible for controlling the game and facilitating the offensive flow. Though, Derek Fisher isn’t exactly what you would call a bad player.

The other team that might come to mind to challenge the argument would be the Cleveland Cavaliers and LeBron James. Once again, LeBron is the leading ball handler and facilitator for the team offensively. Neither player is a point guard but they take on the roles of the point guard with their respective positions.

The future of Point Guards in the NBA

With the already abundant number of talented point guards in the NBA, we will approach a new era where more exciting basketball is dependent upon the facilitator. We already have great young point guards in the league like Deron Williams, Chris Paul, Derrick Rose, OJ Mayo and Rajon Rondo but it’s going to get even better.

This years draft is chalk full of talented facilitators and point guards and as the game changes and evolves, we should see their roles change from not only helpful to a teams success but critical as well. Most people think that defense is critical to championships and it is, but it’s not the only thing. You only play defense half of the time and once again, the most important part of the game is to have the most points at the end. Therfore attacking a defense effectively is critical to the teams success in not only the regular season but the playoffs.

Take the recent Lakers domination over the Orlando Magic for example. The Magic had the Defensive Player of the Year on their team but it was obvious that their lack of ability to attack the Lakers defense proved them unworthy of holding that championship trophy.

Good teams will play effective defense and get stops. Great teams will be able to break down any defense thrown at them and score both at efficiently and at will. And the key to scoring at will is having a dominant point guard who can facilitate and make the necessary decisions to exploit any and every defensive hole.

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