Heart over Height
The NBA has changed, no longer are point guards looking to pass to open teammates, but majority of them look to score. Also the ways the new guards of the NBA are scoring don’t just involve layups some of them involve dunks, which require a tremendous amount of athleticism. Chicago Bull’s Derek Rose, Philadelphia 76ers’ Michael Carter-Williams, and Oklahoma City Thunder’s Russell Westbrook are all the new ideal “Big Guards” in the NBA. Unfortunately to most NBA scouts and general manager’s bigger means better causing them to pass on smaller guards.
While Westbrook , Rose, and Carter- Williams are all great players none of them have won an NBA championship, something “small guard” Tony Parker of the San Antonio Spurs, has done four times in the NBA. Now Tony Parker does have a great big man on his team in Tim Duncan, but Parker won the 2007 NBA Finals M.V.P. Also unlike the bigger, more athletic guards of the NBA, Parker’s game is based on his basketball IQ and his quickness.
What about scoring and being able to see through the defense to find open teammates? Westbrook, Rose, and Carter-Williams are at least 6 foot 3 making it easy for them to see over the smaller guards in the league, however there is one guard in the NBA that is listed at 6 foot and still finds ways to score and find open teammates. Chris Paul of the Los Angeles Clippers is arguably to some the best point guard in the NBA, he has averaged nearly 19 points and 10 assists throughout his NBA Career.
Even with the success of guards like Chris Paul, Tony Parker, and even 5 foot 9 NBA Slam Dunk Champion Nate Robinson, NBA GM’s still continue to pass on the smaller guards of the NBA draft. 6 foot guard Russ Smith out of Louisville, led the Cardinals to the 2013 NCAA championship and averaged nearly 18 points and 4 assists per game his senior season. However even with all of his college basketball career accomplishments he was still only taken 47th in this year’s NBA Draft by the New Orlean’s Pelicans.
Similar to Smith UConn senior Shabazz Napier, another small guard was taken 24th in the NBA draft by the Charlotte Bobcats then traded to the Miami Heat. Napier led the UConn Huskies to two national championships and was the M.O.P. of the 2014 NCAA Tournament. In the championship game he outplayed Kentucky’s “big guards” Andrew and Aaron Harrison who are both taller than 6 foot 3, still though Napier was the 4th point guard selected in the NBA Draft.
The size, athleticism, and success of the “big guards” in the NBA has made it harder on smaller guards to impress NBA GM’s. Even with players like Paul, Robinson, and Parker NBA GM’s are still choosing to select bigger guards first in the NBA . It is up to the smaller guards like Russ Smith and Shabazz Napier to prove that those teams that passed on them made BIG mistakes!
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