20. Mark Price
This video will give you a good idea of Mark Price. Price was a great point guard for the Cavaliers in an era where everyone talks about the Bulls, Knicks, Pistons, and Celtics. He was the best player on some really good Cavalier teams including the Eastern Conference Finals in 1992 and the 2nd round in 1993. Mark Price was eliminated from the playoffs by Michael Jordan and the Bulls four times in six years. Price was an All-NBA player four times and finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times. He was a point guard with quickness and the ability to finish in the paint with floaters and good touch, in addition to being one of the best shooters in the history of the game. Mark Price's career was hurt a great deal by injuries, but he was one of the best.
19. Nate "Tiny" Archibald
Tiny Archibald played the majority of his career in the 1970's and he is remembered as the only player in history to lead the league in points and assists per game. In 1972-73, he averaged 34 points and 11.4 assists per game. There are two parts to Archibald's career. The first part happened from 1970-1977, where he was a scoring point guard taking 15-20 shots per game on some bad teams. He hurt his knee and missed the entire 1977-78 season and upon his return in 1978-79, he found himself in a different place in his career on the Boston Celtics. Archibald reinvented himself with the Celtics and became more of a traditional point guard that would score when needed. He helped the Celtics win a championship in 1981. In his career, he was a three time 1st team All-NBA player and made the 2nd team twice. He was also in the top 10 in MVP voting five different times.
18. Tim Hardaway
I can remember the first time I heard the word crossover was someone telling me about Tim Hardaway. The point guard with the crossover before Allen Iverson came along. Hardaway was a great scoring point guard that could get to the rim and was not above trash talk. He averaged over 20 points per game in three of his first four seasons before a knee injury altered his game. He picked his spots more and become a pretty good three point shooter. Hardaway's early career in Golden State was good, but he played some of his best basketball as a member of the Miami Heat. He joined forces with Alonzo Mourning and was a huge part of some good Miami teams, including getting to the Conference Finals in 1997 before Michael Jordan put them out. Hardaway finished top 10 in MVP voting three times and made the All-NBA team five times, one time on the 1st team. He is remembered for the crossover, but Tim Hardaway was a great point guard in the league that could score, but was also willing to be a distributor.
17. Russell Westbrook
This ranking may make some of you stop reading and if that is the case, let me say why. Russell Westbrook is a great player, great. However, he is not the kind of point guard that I value and this is my list. If you want a point guard that is going to keep your team in the place where it needs to be as a unit, Westbrook is not your guy. If you want a point guard to score and keep scoring, then Westbrook is your guy. Also, please save all the stuff about he averaged 10 assists a game, the only thing that proves is that he passed the ball at least 10 times. Westbrook has finished in the top 10 in MVP voting four times and took home the MVP trophy last season after averaging a triple double. The coming season is going to do a lot for the perception of Westbrook as a point guard. Is he willing to sacrifice shots in order to get his team going offensively or does he play with the mentality that he has to do everything?
16. Dennis Johnson
Even though his career ended when I turned six years old, DJ is one of my all time favorite players. He started his career with the Seattle Supersonics, where he played on some very good Sonic teams including the 1979 NBA Champions. Dennis Johnson was the MVP of those Finals averaging 22 points, 6 rebounds, and 6 assists. He would go on to play for the Phoenix Suns before finding his home as a member of the Boston Celtics. DJ won two more titles with the Celtics and had some incredible moments. Who can forget the steal? Not a lot of people talk about DJ making the layup. To be quite honest, Dennis Johnson does not have great assist numbers or scoring numbers, but he helped his team win as a point guard doing what was needed. He goes down as one of the best defensive point guards of all time making the NBA All-Defensive team nine times, six of which were 1st team. He played better when it mattered and was always ready to do what he had to do to win. He seemed to be one of Larry Bird's favorite teammates and they even had a secret play, I love basketball and I love Dennis Johnson.
Disagree with 16-20, let me know about it. You can follow me on twitter @dennisdownba.