It’s hard to deny that the point guard position has evolved over the years in the NBA. What used to be a position concerned with getting other teammates involved and locking up on the defensive end has turned into a score-first mentality littered with elite shooters. But what does an old-school traditional point guard like Rajon Rondo think about the evolution?
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Rick Pitino said it best — the NBA point guard position is dead. Gone are the likes of Isiah Thomas and other guys who were concerned with passing first before scoring. Now, guys like Steph Curry can handle the ball up the court and make the defense pay from three if he’s uncovered.
Pitino’s comments stuck out and went viral among the NBA community. “There are no point guards anymore,” he stated to the media. “If you find it, you’ll probably describe him as a guy who can’t shoot.”
It’s the exact label that Rondo owned during his playing days. He was an elite passer who struggled to shoot the further away he got from the rim. But his playing style fit right in back in the 2000s, and he won a championship with the Boston Celtics.
That’s why it was interesting to hear Rondo’s take on Pitino’s comments. Matt Barnes of All The Smoke hosted the former point guard and asked him if he thought the coaching legend was telling the truth, and if teams can win a championship nowadays without a true point guard.
“I think the Thunder just did it,” Rondo stated. “For me, I think it’s the level of the IQ of the team overall. And a lot of teams don’t have the IQ of the Thunder organization.”
It was somewhat of a surprising statement. After all, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander just won the MVP while listed as a point guard. But many basketball purists might argue that because of his scoring mentality, he doesn’t fit the “true point guard” label.
Nowadays, Rondo believes that teams just need a point guard to execute a coach’s vision.
“A point guard is an extension of a coach on the floor. So, when you’re not executing… a point guard understands when and where to get guys the ball,” he said.
It’s an excellent point coming from the three-time assist champ. The true value of a point guard is in how they can organize a team and set them up for success consistently throughout a game. It’s not always about the scoring.
At the end of the day, in the current state of the NBA, if you can’t shoot, you had better be elite at something else. Even a player like Rondo might have struggled to fit into the league today due to his inability to shoot at a high rate and percentage. His passing, vision, and defense would have saved him, but we have seen other pass-first players like Lonzo Ball and Ben Simmons struggle to reach their full potential in modern times.
Regardless, Rondo was able to win a second title by the end of his career with the Los Angeles Lakers, proving that his style of play is still very valuable in a role off the bench. Maybe other title-contending teams should take note of that and get themselves an old-school guard to help make a championship run.
