Every once in a while we’re allowed to see greatness. Every NBA generation that comes along has its own niche and role, and always a select few special enough to be considered great players.
Sometimes greatness isn’t acknowledged. Sometimes it simply gets overlooked. In sports, we tend to value wins and championships when it comes to individual success. Sure, winning is a good barometer for a player’s success, but it should never be the end of the argument. We miss out on players like Charles Barkley, Patrick Ewing, John Stockton, Karl Malone and others because of our thirst for championships and a great narrative. Everyone loves a great story. But every great player can’t ride off into the sunset.
As recent as last season, there were people who doubted the greatness of LeBron James. The book on him was that he couldn’t win the game in the fourth quarter. He didn’t have the killer instinct needed to win an NBA title. This was a guy who was a fixture in the All-Star Game for years — a guy who would eventually win his third MVP. His numbers did the talking for him. A championship was only a cherry on top — it didn’t solidify him. He was already an established presence in NBA history.
That brings me to Chris Paul. He’s one of the most underappreciated players in this generation (even All-Stars can be overlooked). Paul has always been the best point guard in the NBA. He’s never had a PER below 22 — even in his rookie year. That speaks volumes about his efficiency and effectiveness. He’s always been one of the most efficient, well rounded players in the league. His career averages are 18.6 points, 9.8 assists, 2.4 steals and 4.4 rebounds per game. He’s averaged 47 percent shooting from the field for his career with a 25.5 career PER, according to Basketball-Reference.
Yet, with Paul, there’s always someone else. In 2010 it was Derrick Rose. Before that, Steve Nash was at the top after winning two straight MVPs — and deservingly so — but Chris Paul wasn’t always in the conversation. For the past year, Russell Westbrook‘s been touted by many as the position’s top dog. We’re seeing the same thing with Paul again this year.
Throughout social networks and even on NBA shows, people are saying that Tony Parker is the best point guard in the league, most loudly after San Antonio blew out L.A. recently and Parker outscored Paul 31-4. Parker deserves to be in the MVP conversation, but he’s nowhere near as good as Chris Paul — not even in this season.
Parker is averaging 21.1 points with 7.6 assists per game in 33 minutes of play. He’s shooting nearly 54 percent from the field and has a 24.7 PER, fourth in the NBA. That’s still worse than CP3.
PER isn’t the only measure of a great season, but Paul has Parker beat in many other categories as well. He’s assisting on 46 percent of his team shots as opposed to Parker’s 41 percent; his 22.1 usage rate is six points lower than Parker’s 28.2; his offensive rating of 127 is eight points higher than Parker’s 119 and his defensive rating of 101 is lower (better) than Parker’s 105.
Keep reading to hear why Chris Paul is the second-best player in the world…
I can come up with a few more reasons why Paul is better than Parker and any other point guard in the NBA. It’s really no contest. He’s one of the few elite players that the NBA has to offer. There are people who say Paul is a top five player in the league, but I don’t think that’s good enough. If you ask me, I think LeBron James is his only competition right now.
Kevin Durant is a great player and is elite in his own right. He’s starting to impact the game in more ways than just offensively and he’s matured as a player. But he doesn’t showcase the consistency and the impact that Chris Paul has on his team every single night.
The Clippers are more dependent on Chris Paul to make things go than the Thunder are on Kevin Durant. I’m not diminishing Durant’s value to the Thunder at all. He has a tremendous impact. But that’s just how good Chris Paul is and how valuable he is to the Clippers.
When we compare Chris Paul’s per-36 numbers to Kevin Durant’s per-36 numbers, Paul outdoes him by a long shot in many facets of the game. Right now, Durant is playing 38.9 minutes per game to Paul’s 32.6. We’ll use per-36 minute numbers to level out the playing field:
Paul (per-36 minutes): 17.8 points per game, 10.5 assists, 2.4 turnovers, 3.8 rebounds, 2.8 steals.
Durant (per-36 minutes): 26.7 points per game, 4.2 assists, 6.9 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 1.1 blocks, 3.0 turnovers
Paul impacts the game in more ways without turning the ball over. Paul is making everyone better while Durant is getting himself going over everyone else. He’s not a selfish player by any standard, but he won’t consistently make others around him shine as much as Paul does.
Chris Paul has always been a brilliant player at both ends of the floor. His career averages speak volumes and he still has a lot of time left barring injury. Paul is already one of the best four point guards of all time. He’s knocking on the door of Johnson, Stockton, and Thomas. Out of Johnson, Stockton, Thomas and Paul, Chris Paul has the highest career PER at 25.5. He also has the highest career offensive rating, and he’s second in assist percentage out of the four with 46.3.
Paul may still be playing but we have to put him in the conversation with some of the greatest point guards of all time. The numbers aren’t going to lie, and Paul isn’t giving us any reason to doubt him.
Has CP3’s value been overlooked?
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