Head men’s basketball coach at St. John’s University Rick Pitino said something about the point guard position that caught everyone’s attention.
“There are no point guards anymore,” the St. John’s coach said during a recent media scrum. “If you find it, you’re probably describing a guy who can’t shoot.”
He was then asked, ‘Well what is Jalen Brunson?’
“He’s [Jalen Brunson] a combo-scoring guard,” Pitino said. “I don’t think he’s looking for the assist. I think he’s looking to score. And thank God he is. I said this to the team. Who’s the point guard of the Knicks, the Lakers, the Celtics, the world champion (Thunder)? Point guard is totally done in basketball. The days of John Stockton are long gone. There are no more point guards. Chris Paul is probably the last one. You’ve got to play with everybody handling the basketball, five out, and just create good movement.”
To his point, most of the players we think of as point guards in the NBA are like Brunson – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander,, Steph Curry, Luka Doncic.
SGA’s combo guard skills are elite, though he is technically classified as a point guard.
But one player that is a true embodiment of a PG can’t be forgotten – Tyrese Haliburton.
His passing game is crazy and last season he would often pass to his teammates before hunting down a shot for himself, in true point guard fashion.
Trae Young is another player who comes to mind as a PG, though his scoring is very dominant.
Chris Paul and Rondo were probably the last of that pure breed of point guard. Something we may never see again.
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