I saw the title and only 2 PG's even remotely came to mind... I won't even consider anyone else : Magic or Oscar. That being said, I think Magic would've been an all-star at any of the 5 positions. A 6'9" PG that ran the fast break as well as anyone in the history of the league. I'd take Magic as the best PG. I'd take him as the 2nd or 3rd best player ever to play the game behind Wilt and maybe Jordan. If it came down to choosing a player to start my team and Jordan and Magic were on the board, I'd honestly say I could choose Magic. He was incredible.
I didn't think Big O or West were PGs. My favorite was Isaiah, but the BEST was Magic...Period. Stockton is good, but EVER, I don't know how good he is without Malone. I was never too impressed with Cousy.
I voted for Magic because I think he was the best point guard of all time,but my favorite point guard is Oscar Robertson.
I was thinking that Magic is most likely the best PG of all time, but damn, its hard not to vote for Oscar. I mean, averaging a triple double? That's crazy. I really couldn't decide who to vote for so I just gave it to Stockton. Kidding, KIDDING. I gave it to Magic.
stockton has the most assists all time. and really thats a point guards main job. he has the most steals all time. that means hes one of the greatest defensive players of all time. its as simple as that. thats why hes the greatest pg ever. i mean i dont like saying these things, but as much as you people hate stockton and malone the numbers dont lie. they are two of the greatest players ever. they are both in the top ten. yeah theyre dirty and yeah they flop and yeah they never won a title... but you cant ignore the numbers. i hate jazz fans. and i love the rockets. and thinking back to the 97 basketball season breaks my heart every time. but im just being honest.
Holden, don't use some ace card that we all hate Stockton as logic for why few of us think he's better than Magic. You are right. Numbers don't lie, and Magic has 5 things that Stockton and Malone don't. He did it with a center and without a center. They call him Magic for a reason. I don't care how many asists Stockton has, both Bird and Magic are superior at running an offense and at passing. Bird is a better shooter than Stockton, and Magic is a superior dribbler. Stockton is nearly flawless, but you have to be more than flawless to be better than Magic. You have to be magical. And if you think he's a better defender than Payton or Frazier, you are alone on that one.
Man, is it hard to choose between Magic and Oscar, but the big O always seemed more like a combo guard to me, and that's the only way I'll resolve this, so I'm going with Magic...But Oscar might be the better player. In terms of Stckton, I'd say that he, Cousy, and Isiah vie for the title of best proto-type point guard. Sadly, these are the kind that play-for pay statistical based contracts are making virtually obsolete. Can you beleive that when Marbury was coming out of college, I actually thought he would be the next great true point...sigh....There's Kidd doing the pass 1st thing, but his shot makes that a necessity. P.S...How can Kevin Johnson be there, but Mo Cheeks isn't?
Really? Magic doesn't agree with you: "There's nobody who can distribute the ball, plus lead his team, like John Stockton." -- Magic Johnson And I don't agree with you either. You can say that Magic was a better rebounder (he clearly was), but saying he can pass and run an offense better seems like simple foolishness to me. Not to take away from Magic, but he had Kareem in the halfcourt and James Worthy on the break. James Worthy was probably the greatest receiver/finisher on the break ever. Stockton had Malone in the halfcourt and... umm... no great fast break finishers. Malone got up the floor every once in a while, but not often. I agree, however, that Magic is a better dribbler and probably defender by an inch. Steals don't necessarily make the one-on-one defender (the same thing applies to Jordan), but Stockton was still very good. By the way, because Holden said Stockton's steals total makes him one of the greatest defenders of all time doesn't mean he's saying Stockton is better than Frazier and Payton. You made that up. If I say Olajuwon is the one of the greatest centers of all time, does that mean I'm saying he's better than Wilt? No.
While I would've voted Magic Johnson regardless, I feel that Maurice Cheeks should've at least deserved a mention. We're talking about the greatest defensive point guard in the NBA ever...
i'll be honest. i voted for stockton. ONLY because i didn't realize that magic was on the list. foolish? well, i tell ya what: magic was so good that i don't even think of him when i think of point guards. the man transcended "position". he was simply put...the greatest of all time, regardless of position. so, in a way, my forgetting about the magic man in a position by position contest is a testiment to exactly how good he was.
I just saw the game 6 with Philly in 1980 and Magic was just unbelievable. This is the one during his rookie season where he started at center because Kareem injured his ankle. He was all over the place and he always found the open man. Probably the best basketball performance I have ever seen.
OMG, you're right! How could I forget Mooch!? It goes unsaid, of course, that this pole is asking for the best point guard ever besides Serge Zwikker, the obvious choice.
well, as far as stockton and his assist total, let's be fair and remind everyone that he did have a lot more years in the NBA than Magic did. Also, Magic was able to achieve his total in a far shorter period of time than Stockton took to accumulate the same number.
Magic was the best player in NBA history. I see he's getting his props in this thread. I've never seen anyone answer the 'he could play all five positions at an all-star level.' It simply makes it a non argument. So naturally he gets my vote for best PG. But I also wanted to give it up for my main man, and fellow Saluki, Walt 'Clyde' Frazier... "In the decisive seventh game at Madison Square Garden, Reed hobbled dramatically onto the court, long enough to score the first two baskets of the game. Then he turned the spotlight over to Frazier, who responded with the game of a lifetime: 36 points, 19 assists, and 5 steals, including a celebrated heist from West that devastated the Lakers' morale. While bringing the ball upcourt during the second quarter, the Lakers' on-floor leader momentarily slowed his dribble as he approached the midcourt line. Frazier pounced across the line, flicked the ball off West's fingers, and raced for the Knicks' glass, a half-step ahead of his opponent. As Frazier, in a characteristic motion, laid the ball up into the basket rather than dunking it, West fouled him. Frazier completed the three-point play. On the Lakers' next possession the Knicks' Mike Riordan forced West into a shot-clock violation. "West looked bewildered," Frazier later wrote of the pivotal sequence in Walt Frazier: One Magic Season and a Basketball Life. "For that one moment, he was out of control, and you never saw that happen with Jerry. We'd wounded their leader. I knew we had them." Frazier was right. The Knicks won the game, 113-99, and with it the franchise's first NBA Championship. (http://www.knicks4life.com/history/players/waltfrazier/) Never saw Stockton take over a game like that in the Finals, and Clyde's 70s funky fashion sense rocks.
Actually, this is not true. In Johnson's 12 years (I won't count his comeback) he got 9921 assists. In Stockton's first 12 years, he got 11310 assists. This is far more than Johnson's total, especially when you consider that Stockton wasn't even starting until his 4th year (Rickey Green was starting). If you factor out those years, Stockton is far ahead of Johnson in terms of assists average. It isn't even that close.
Stockton's best season, averaging 14.5 assists is insane. His career shooting percentage is also very good, showing that he only ever took smart shots. However, the people he played with and the system he played in were also conducive to these kinds of numbers. There is no question that Stockton is a great PG, but if he was anywhere near as good as Magic, he could have won some titles with the teammates he had. I could be wrong, but I like to think of it as karmic justice: Floppers never win!
Voted for Magic. Isiah deserves mad honorable mention. So does John Stockton for playing PG the way it is supposed to be played (exception to the elbows of course). He has the steals and assists record, which can't be denied I consider west more of a scorer.
