Tag Archives: best point guards of the 2000s

H2H 142: Chauncey Billups vs. Kevin Johnson – Who was Better?

Point guards act as the “floor generals” for a basketball team and often set the tone as the heart and soul of a team, thus serving as an imperative piece of a winning franchise.  For the Phoenix Suns in the 1990s and the Detroit Pistons in the 2000s, the two teams played very different styles of basketball (a fast-paced frenetic offensive style for the former, a more defense-minded, grind-it-out mentality for the latter), but were linked by the common factor of having an elite point guard in Kevin Johnson and Chauncey Billups, respectively.  Though neither was ever regarded as THE best point guard in the NBA, both were top-tier floor generals for roughly a decade for among the winningest teams of their eras, thus bringing up the comparison:

Who was better – Chauncey Billups or Kevin Johnson?

Continue reading

H2H 124: Steve Francis vs. Stephon Marbury – Who was Better?

In the late 1990s and early 2000s, Steve Francis and Stephon Marbury were two of the top point guards in the NBA, though both were also regarded as mercurial personalities with often selfish tendencies.  In fact, their playing styles were similar enough that many basketball pundits and fans alike were puzzled when the New York Knicks paired the duo together in an ill-fated backcourt; moreover, both players wore out their welcomes with numerous teams and eventually fizzled out of the Association completely, though Marbury later rose like a phoenix and resurrected his career in China.  In looking back at two of the most talented, but perhaps also misunderstood players of their generation, the question is:

Who was better – Steve Francis or Stephon Marbury?

Continue reading

H2H 97: Baron Davis vs. Deron Williams – Who was Better?

Traditionally, point guards are the smallest players on the basketball court – short and relatively slight of build, yet fearless as floor generals, e.g. Isiah Thomas, John Stockton, Steve Nash, or Chris Paul.  In recent times, though, the game has seen more and more “big” point guards dominating and controlling the court (think Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd, or more recently, Ben Simmons and Russell Westbrook); during the 2000s, two ballhandlers who fit this new mold of the physically dominant point guard were Baron Davis and Deron Williams – each measuring in at 6’3” and weighing 200+ pounds, the duo were among the league’s elite point guards in their prime with the ability to both score against smaller defenders and dish it out with the best of them.  With each player having seen his brilliance come and gone, let us look back on their notable careers and ponder the question:

Who was better – Baron Davis or Deron Williams?

Continue reading