Remember all the talk about who was on the Mount Rushmore of basketball? Well, it’s back (sort of)! At the Cleveland Cavaliers media day, Dion Waiters decided to make his voice heard. He claimed, “I think me and Ky are the best backcourt, young backcourt. That’s all.” Bold statement from the third-year player from Syracuse, who only started 24 games last year. However, this did spark the question: Who really is the backcourt in the NBA? Sorry Dion, but you will not find your name on this list quite yet:
Honorable mentions:
Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, Chicago Bulls
Everyone knows how good D-Rose can be, but nobody knows if he can stay healthy for a full season. If he does, this backcourt can easily find itself in the top five rankings, because Jimmy Butler is no scrub.
Chris Paul and JJ Reddick, Los Angels Clippers
It’s hard to write an article about the top NBA backcourts and not mention the best point guard in the game. Unfortunately, JJ Reddick is not enough to have the Clips’ duo in the top five.
5) Goran Dragic and Eric Bledsoe, Phoenix Suns
Goran Dragic had a breakout season last year leading a Suns team that was projected to be a bottom-feeder in the Western Conference to one game shy of the playoffs. Dragic averaged a career-high 20.3 PPG and 3.2 RPG along with 5.9 APG. The mystery-man in this backcourt is Eric Bledsoe. The Suns brought in Bledsoe last year to lead the team with Dragic, and he did not disappoint. Bledsoe averaged 17.7 PPG, 5.5 APG, and 4.7 RPG in his first season as a true starter. Unfortunately, his season was cut short due to injury. If Bledsoe stays healthy for a year with the continued stellar play of Dragic, this backcourt could find itself moving higher up these rankings this time next year.
4) John Wall and Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
It took him a few years, but John Wall is finally living up to the hype that has followed him since his freshman year at Kentucky. Wall took his game to the next level last season, averaging 19.3 PPG, 8.8 APG and 1.8 SPG, all of which are his career high. Wall also grabbed 4.1 RBG, while playing and starting the full 82 games for the first time in his career. Bradley Beal started to emerge as one of the best young talents in the NBA last year. Drafted 3rd overall in 2012, Beal was good but not great in his rookie season, but last year, he averaged 17.1 PPG and shot 40% from downtown. Together, this duo led the Wizards to their first playoff appearance since 2007.
3) Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews, Portland Trailblazers
Damian Lillard, arguably the quietest superstar in the game, leads this fierce backcourt to the number three spot. Averaging 20.7 PPG and 5.6 APG, Lillard showed the “sophomore slump” was no match for the 2013 Rookie of the Year. Luckily for Lillard, this is not a one-man show, with Wesley Matthews averaging a very respectable 16.4 PPG. Also, both Lillard and Matthews shot 39% from beyond the arc and ranked 3rd and 5th, respectively, in three pointers made. One key feature of this backcourt that makes it special: both players played and started in all 82 games last season.
2) Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan, Toronto Raptors
It’s hard to make the highlights playing in Canada, so this may come as a surprise to most people, except maybe Drake. Kyle Lowry had one of his best seasons in the NBA last season, and the Toronto Raptors rewarded him with a new contract for 4-years $48 million. Lowry averaged a cool 17.6 PPG and 7.6 APG, while posting two triple-doubles. Not impressed? Well, he also averaged 4.7 RPG and 1.5 SPG, so Lowry can pretty much do it all. Starting next to Lowry is DeMar DeRozan, another player quietly becoming a superstar, who averaged an impressive 22.7 PPG last season, a new career high. These two led the Toronto Raptors to their second-ever division title and first since 2007.
1) Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
The “Splash Brothers” reign supreme in the discussion of top NBA backcourt. Stephen “the baby-faced assassin” Curry is one of the most complete point guards in the NBA. He averaged 24 PPG (7th in the NBA) and 8.5 APG (5th in the NBA) last season. Curry’s right-hand man, Klay Thompson, was not too far behind, averaging 18.4 PPG, which was 25th in the NBA. What makes this duo so deadly and where they got their nickname is their three-point shooting. Curry and Thompson ranked 10th and 11th in the NBA in three-point percentage, shooting 42% and 41%, respectively. They also were the top two ranked players in three-point baskets made, making a combined 484 three-pointers last season. Oh yeah, Curry also had four triple-doubles last year, which ranked 2nd in the NBA.
Was there a backcourt snubbed from the rankings? Does the order need to be rearranged? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
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