The Point Guard Has Changed From The 50's To The Present

Throughout time in the NBA, the point guard has changed from the 50’s to the present. They have had some similarities, but there have been a ton of differences. Also how the fan base was in the 50’s compared to the present. When the NBA first started it had a lot of promise coming in and people were really excited. That was until they saw how bad the scoring was with an all-time low scoring in a game 18-19. This is when fewer people were starting to watch the games. Once 1950 came around people were coming back to the game, because a big name of Jerry West came. With his flashy passing and flashy scoring the lakers and West were unstoppable (Speil). Then once West was done playing the game, the league didn’t lose any business because
Two people that really resembled that were Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson. When Isiah Thomas came along with the Detroit Pistons they were called the “Bad Boys” the team’s style of play really intimidated a lot of teams. But Isaiah was an excellent defensive player and an alright offensive player. But Isaiah really took pride on the defensive end to make a name for himself (Isaiah Thomas). Now when Magic Johnson played he was very tough to stop at standing 6’9 he was very tall for a point guard. Also, his play on both ends of the court has made Magic one of the best of all time (Speil). Now in the 90’s the league was starting to get where players had to have athleticism to compete in the league. Two players that were really athletic and good at both ends of the floor were Gary Payton and Penny Hardaway. Gary Payton was an excellent offensive player and defensive player. With Gary being able to get a lot of steals he was able to convert a lot of layups and dunks. When Penny would play, he was a high flyer on offense being able to do a lot of nasty dunks. Also standing at 6’6 he basically impossible to guard because he had a very good jump shot, very good dunks, and layups and also was a great passer for the
Around this time is when the point guard became a big part of the game. Players like Allen Iverson, Derrick Rose, Steve Nash, Chris Paul, and more really started to change people’s perspective on how big of a role the point guard is. Point guards we’re starting to be looked at as playmaking and explosive players that could not only find there open teammates but drive to the hoop and score. A star example of an explosive point guard is Allen Iverson. He averaged 26.7 points, 7 assists, and 2 steals per game (Forman). So not only was he a scoring machine but he had no trouble finding his teammates and letting them score easy points. Derrick Rose also starred as a great point guard in the 2000’s. He still plays today but definitely isn’t as good as he used to be. Before all of the knee injuries he was a leading point guard for the Chicago Bulls. He was always making highlight plays and kept the game entertaining. His motivation was where he came from, he came from a home with no dad and only his mom. She had bills to pay that she couldn't and could barely provide for herself. Derrick lived in a house where there were dozens of people there, some on drugs, and partying. His goal in life was just to try hard at everything he did and make his mom proud (Derrick Rose). He more than exceeded this goal when he joined the NBA. He came out of the draft scoring 20