Ask the most casual observer of basketball what they think of when someone says the word "basketball" and one of the most prevalent answers you will receive will be "tall people" or simply some iteration of tall. I can recall as a child being in awe at the size of these men that seemed like giants flying high above the Earth. To this day, journeyman foul magnet Mark West seems like one of the largest human beings that ever walked the planet. I know this isn't the case now but at that time, he might as well have been Paul Bunyan.
Hiding behind all those towers has always been the little man. In terms of relative height, point guards are usually pretty tall people in everyday life. But on the floor in the NBA, it seems like a living reenactment of David and Goliath. These smallish people can't possibly stand up to this pillars of strength right? That's the beauty of basketball. Beyond the amazing grace of these tall men lies another fun battle on a nightly basis. The smallest people on the court can be unstoppable at times and in the modern NBA, they are starting to dominate it.
Many great guards have come before us. We had the razzle dazzle of Pistol Pete, the originator of show time in Bob Cousy, the blinding speed of Tiny Archibald and the pick and roll perfection of John Stockton. There have been countless guards that captured the imagination of the nation but they still lived in the shadows of Wilt, Shaq and Russell. Now though, the times are a changing. Chris Paul is openly discussed in MVP conversations every year now. Deron Williams carried the Jazz to the Western Conference Finals just last year. Rajon Rondo is stuffing stat lines like Big O at 6'1 and 170 pounds soaking wet. Devin Harris is a one-man scoring machine on a nightly basis. Derrick Rose is on pace to be the next rookie of year and Russell Westbrook is showing flashes of brilliance as well.
We've now entered a time where the best athletes are no longer your shooting guards or small forwards. Point guards today not only orchestrate the beautiful music that is basketball but they are completely controlling the game on both ends of the floor. They can be unstoppable scoring and distributing and disrupt the game on the defensive side of the ball as well. With so many teams looking to open things up and let these amazing athletes create, the point guard is as important as it has ever been. With Ricky Rubio, Brandon Jennings and Jrue Holiday approaching us on the horizon, this trend will only continue to grow.
So next time you go to a game and sit in amazement at the size of the big men, don't forget to look down at the point guards and watch as they control the game themselves.
