Mark Jackson shares who are the top 5 pure point guards in NBA history: "Magic Johnson is number one"
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Mark Jackson knows a thing or two about being a high-level playmaker in the NBA. He totaled 10,334 assists for his career, which ranks sixth all-time and ahead of Magic Johnson, who is widely considered to be one of the best passers the game has ever seen.
The shortlist of players who have more assists to their name than Jackson includes John Stockton, Jason Kidd, Chris Paul, LeBron James, and Steve Nash. Two of those five players went on to win MVP awards, and all five have been or will be enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mark names his top 5 pure point guards in NBA history
Jackson weighed in on who he believes are the five greatest floor generals in the history of the league, and interestingly, he didn’t include himself on the list.
“Magic Johnson is number one. Lock that in, we’re good. Isaiah Thomas is number two. Number three, guy who’s an all-time leader in assists and steals, John Stockton. Four, Jason Kidd. Five and six, wherever you wanna put them, Steve Nash and Chris Paul. I’m talking about six guys that run a team like true maestros,” Jackson said.
Mark really named the cream of the crop when it comes to playmakers, as these are the greatest point guards in NBA history. From the old-school PGs like Magic, Zeke, and Stock to the newer generation of J-Kidd, CP3, and Nash, the Association has seen its fair share of fantastic floor generals.
The case for Magic as the best pure point guard ever
While Mark racked up more career assists than Johnson, it’s worth noting that he played four more seasons in the NBA than the latter. Firstly, Johnson averaged 11.2 assists per contest for his career, the highest average of any player ever to play 400 games in the NBA and ahead of the all-time assists leader in Stockton. He’s also one of just seven players to win four or more assists titles during their pro career.
The 64-year-old’s assist titles came in the 1982-83, 1983-84, 1985-86, and 1986-87 campaigns. He dished out a career-high 13.1 dimes per contest during the 1983-84 regular season, the eighth-highest assists average ever in a single season.
Considering Johnson’s aforementioned milestones from a passing perspective, coupled with the fact that he served as a primary playmaker on five title teams, it’s understandable why Jackson has Magic atop his list of pure point guards.