Who is the 2nd greatest PG ever?

[Eric15]

I think there's a pretty good consensus amongst sports fans that Magic Johnson is the greatest PG of all-time. Who, in your opinion, is #2? Meaning, what guy in their prime would you want running your offense if Magic wasn't available, all other things being equal.

John Stockton? Bob Cousy? Oscar Robertson? Jason Kidd? Steve Nash? Rajon Rondo? Isiah Thomas? Gary Payton? Someone else?

 

[CusefanATL]

i think its quite a bit early to put Rondo on that list...

especially because 1 can make an argument that Rondo has never been a top 3 PG in any season he has played, let alone in his career and you skipped the other 3 in this list totally.

I am guessing you put him on there because of the title... but you put chris paul on that team and they have prob won 3+ titles by now.

 

[Knicks411]

MCW?

Definitely not Rondo. On longevity sake, probably Stockton? Though Oscar's numbers are tough to beat...

Edit: If we're going to pick a current guy to put in the mix, it's gotta be Chris Paul, right?

 

[DoctorBombay]

Tough question.
Never saw enough of Cousy to really judge though he is often credited with being the first "prototypical" PG- but he also had a great team around him.
Steve Nash is the most fluid PG I've ever watched in that, he never seems to lose his dribble. The man is a whirling dervish and just flows within the game.
Kidd in his prime was an incredible passer- I've seen JKidd throw some dimes that not even Magic did.
Stockton had the benefit of his symbiotic relationship w/ Karl Malone but he was a master as well.
The Big O was before my time, and Isiah, Payton, Tiny Archibald were more "score-first" PG's, IMO.
As for Rondo, he shouldn't even be in the vicinity of this discussion...at least not yet.

 

[longislandcuse]

Rajon Rondo is very good but he's never even been the best pg in the NBA with Chris Paul ahead of him for the time Rondo has been in the league.

 

[DoctorBombay]

Also, in 3 years Uncle Drew will be the NBA's best PG.

 

[OrangeOnions]

The Big O and I don't think it's even close. He had 181 triple doubles. Magic had 138. In 1962 Robertson averaged a triple double with 31 points 13 rebounds and 11 assists per game.

 

[OrangeDW]

Isiah Thomas, then Payton, Kidd, and Paul are the best that I've seen, and I'll stick to who I've seen. Nash's poor defense knocks him down a bit to the top 5-10 range. Stockton was very good for a long time, but he was never the best. First Magic and Thomas were better, then guys like Kevin Johnson and Tim Hardaway, then Payton and Penny and Kidd. He outlasted many of them and had a better career, but at their peaks they were better.

Rondo doesn't belong in the conversation because Paul is clearly better. Depending on how the rest of Paul's career goes, he has a chance to end up 2nd or 3rd.

 

[alibrat66]

The Big O and I don't think it's even close. He had 181 triple doubles. Magic had 138. In 1962 Robertson averaged a triple double with 31 points 13 rebounds and 11 assists per game.

A big Amen!

 

[Melancer46]

I'm biased towards Stockton because he was my favorite player not named Michael Jordan growing up, and biased towards Nash because the guy that trained him taught me how to shoot.

You could make an argument that Nash might be the best shooter to ever play the game.

On the offensive end, I don't think there is another PG I would rather have than Nash.

His defense is pretty bad though, but he'd probably still be one of my top 5 PGs on my list.

I tend to go with Magic, Oscar, and Stockton as my top 3 PGs, but Nash, CP3, and Kidd aren't far behind, which is pretty impressive considering they're all still playing.

 

[Knicks411]

The Big O and I don't think it's even close. He had 181 triple doubles. Magic had 138. In 1962 Robertson averaged a triple double with 31 points 13 rebounds and 11 assists per game.

Just remember how different the game was back then. (Though it might be even more amazing that through the first 5 years of his career he averaged a triple double). The year he averaged a triple double teams averaged 107 shots per game. They average 82 now. Not a knock, still amazing, but a little easier with so many possesions

 

[Eric15]

My bad on forgetting Chris Paul on my list - I knew there was a current guy I was missing.

Regarding Rondo, while I personally don't like the guy and obviously his career is still very young, I think there are incredibly few players in NBA history that have the ability to completely control the pace and rhythm of a game the way he can.

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

Rondo's odd demeanor and quirky style will never be fully appreciated. No one knows how to classify this kid... he's kind of like Lebron, in that...we haven't really seen their combination of talents before so it scares us and everything we've known and held to be true.

 

[rrlbees]

Oscar Robinson who may have bern better than Magic. And I am old enough to have seen him play. The competition level and era makes comparisons tough though.

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[OrangeDW]

Rondo's odd demeanor and quirky style will never be fully appreciated. No one knows how to classify this kid... he's kind of like Lebron, in that...we haven't really seen their combination of talents before so it scares us and everything we've known and held to be true.

He's great and all, but to be one of the top guys ever, you had to at least be the best in the game at some point. Now maybe Rondo will do that at some point, but so far he has been behind Paul for certain.

 

[CusefanATL]

He's great and all, but to be one of the top guys ever, you had to at least be the best in the game at some point. Now maybe Rondo will do that at some point, but so far he has been behind Paul for certain.

and derrick rose and possibly deron williams

(not to mention steve nash earlier, and maybe even tony parker)

 

[kcsu]

dave bing, calvin murphy, clyde, earl the pearl all great but i believe the best of all time has to be Magic or Big O

 

[TinyManInside]

If I had to pick one guy to run my offense, at his peak (which I don't believe we've seen yet), it would be LeBron. No, he's not a point guard, but he orchestrates an offense beautifully. Maybe I'd choose the Big O, but I never saw him play, and I don't like to comment on guys I've never seen play.

 

[realorange]

Big O for me without a doubt. I was fortunate to see him play in college several times. He was the first player I ever saw who could completely take over a game almost by himself.
A story is told that he was traded, when Cousy was coaching his NBA team, because Oscar was getting more PR than Cousy.
I can't argue that LeBron running a team wouldn't be able to do some of the same things. 'Certainly stronger than Oscar, but where LBJ can be a tank, Oscar was a Ferrari.

 

[TinyManInside]

Big O for me without a doubt. I was fortunate to see him play in college several times. He was the first player I ever saw who could completely take over a game almost by himself.
A story is told that he was traded, when Cousy was coaching his NBA team, because Oscar was getting more PR than Cousy.
I can't argue that LeBron running a team wouldn't be able to do some of the same things. 'Certainly stronger than Oscar, but where LBJ can be a tank, Oscar was a Ferrari.

Man, I would love to have seen him play...

 

[MyMeloMyMan]

If I had to pick one guy to run my offense, at his peak (which I don't believe we've seen yet), it would be LeBron. No, he's not a point guard, but he orchestrates an offense beautifully. Maybe I'd choose the Big O, but I never saw him play, and I don't like to comment on guys I've never seen play.

Has anyone ever been a better passer out of a double team than LeBron? The play to seal the game last night was a good example. He just waits to crush your soul with a pass, and if you don't double..he's going to the rim.

 

[MikeSU02]

Hate choosing guys I never saw play, but everything I read says that O would be the man.

For guys I have seen, it would be Isaiah, hands down.

 

[CorduroyG]

Isiah. If anything he's underrated.

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[Knicks411]

Has anyone ever been a better passer out of a double team than LeBron? The play to seal the game last night was a good example. He just waits to crush your soul with a pass, and if you don't double..he's going to the rim.

Lebron is amazing at the cross court passes to shooters in the opposite corner for 3

 

[Knicks411]

Isiah. If anything he's underrated.

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Haha no Knicks fan will ever give Isiah any credit!