50 Fun Facts About NBA Point Guards

The rock band Pearl Jam first performed under the name of which New Jersey Nets point guard?

Mookie Blaylock's jersey number then gave the band the title of its debut album, Ten. The group changed its name after signing a record deal.

Which 5-foot-3 Charlotte Hornets point guard is the shortest player ever to appear in an NBA game?

Muggsy Bogues still blocked 39 shots in his career, including one from 7-foot Patrick Ewing.

Rookie point guard Magic Johnson jumped center and scored 42 points to clinch the 1980 NBA Finals against which team?

The Philadelphia 76ers watched him add 15 rebounds and 7 assists that night, with league MVP Kareem Abdul-Jabbar back in Los Angeles nursing a sprained ankle.

Stephen Curry was born in which Ohio city, also the birthplace of his NBA Finals rival LeBron James?

Akron is where both stars were born, in the same hospital a little over three years apart. Curry grew up mostly in Charlotte, where his father Dell played.

Which former point guard, then coaching Portland, helped a 13-year-old girl finish the national anthem in 2003?

Maurice Cheeks rushed over when Natalie Gilbert forgot the words, and the two finished it together as the whole arena sang along.

Which Hall of Fame Detroit Pistons point guard later served as mayor of Detroit from 2009 to 2014?

Dave Bing had spent nearly three decades in business first, founding a steel company in 1980 that grew into one of the largest in Michigan.

Which former New York Knicks point guard won three Chinese league titles and a statue with the Beijing Ducks?

Stephon Marbury also starred in a stage musical based on his own life and later received a Chinese permanent resident card.

Which Chicago-born player won the NBA's Most Valuable Player award with his hometown Bulls in 2011, aged just 22?

Derrick Rose had been drafted first overall by the Bulls in 2008 after a single college season at Memphis, and was Rookie of the Year in 2009.

Which undrafted Harvard graduate set off a worldwide craze as the New York Knicks' point guard in February 2012?

Jeremy Lin was sleeping on his brother's couch when he joined the starting lineup and led the Knicks on a seven-game winning streak.

Which player, born in Melbourne, Australia, hit the go-ahead three-pointer in Game 7 of the 2016 NBA Finals?

Kyrie Irving's shot with 53 seconds left broke an 89–89 tie, and Cleveland won 93–89 after trailing the series 3–1.

Which player won the 2017 NBA MVP award after averaging a triple-double, with 42 triple-doubles in all?

Russell Westbrook did it for Oklahoma City in the first season after Kevin Durant left, and went on to average a triple-double in four different seasons.

Which Cincinnati Royals guard was the first NBA player to average a triple-double for a season?

Oscar Robertson also changed the league off the court: an antitrust suit filed in his name reformed free agency and led to higher salaries for all players.

Which two-time NBA MVP point guard was born in Johannesburg, South Africa, and raised in Victoria, British Columbia?

Steve Nash left Canada on a scholarship to Santa Clara University, and later became a co-owner of Major League Soccer's Vancouver Whitecaps.

Which Detroit Pistons point guard scored 25 points in one quarter of the 1988 NBA Finals on a badly sprained ankle?

Isiah Thomas hobbled through that third quarter in obvious pain, but the Lakers won the game 103–102 and took the series in seven.

Which Boston Celtics great gives his name to the annual award for the best point guard in men's college basketball?

Bob Cousy, nicknamed the Houdini of the Hardwood, led the NBA in assists for eight seasons in a row from 1953 to 1960.

Which point guard shared the 1995 Rookie of the Year award with Grant Hill and won a 2011 title with Dallas?

Jason Kidd was 38 when the Mavericks beat Miami for that title, the only championship of his 19 seasons in the NBA.

Which French point guard was named NBA Finals MVP in 2007 after San Antonio swept the Cleveland Cavaliers?

Tony Parker, born in Bruges, Belgium, to an American father, was the first European-born player to win the award.

Which Seattle SuperSonics point guard, nicknamed the Glove, was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1996?

Gary Payton's nickname took hold during the 1993 playoffs against Phoenix, and he was the first point guard to win the defensive award.

Which Golden State Warriors guard formed the sharpshooting duo known as the Splash Brothers alongside Stephen Curry?

Klay Thompson was drafted eleventh in 2011, two years after Curry, and the pair spent 13 seasons together before he left for Dallas in 2024.

John Stockton set the NBA's career assists record largely by feeding which power forward, nicknamed the Mailman?

Karl Malone and Stockton reached the NBA Finals together in 1997 and 1998, losing both times in six games to Michael Jordan's Chicago Bulls.

Which New York Knicks point guard had 36 points and 19 assists in Game 7 of the 1970 NBA Finals?

Walt Frazier got his nickname, Clyde, as a rookie because he wore a fedora like the one in the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde.

Which Weber State alumnus knocked Oklahoma City out of the 2019 playoffs with a 37-foot three-pointer at the buzzer?

Damian Lillard finished that game with 50 points for Portland, and away from the court he records rap albums as Dame D.O.L.L.A.

Which point guard won NBA titles with both the Boston Celtics in 2008 and the Los Angeles Lakers in 2020?

Rajon Rondo was only the second player to win with both rivals, after Clyde Lovellette, whose Lakers title came when the team played in Minneapolis.

Which Orlando Magic point guard starred in 1990s Nike ads beside a wisecracking puppet voiced by Chris Rock?

Penny Hardaway had reached Orlando in a draft-night trade for first pick Chris Webber, and the puppet, his alter ego, was called Lil Penny.

Which Sacramento Kings point guard, nicknamed White Chocolate, threw an elbow pass at the 2000 Rookie Challenge?

Jason Williams bounced that no-look pass off his elbow to Raef LaFrentz on a fast break. A Kings media assistant had coined the nickname in his first season.

Which point guard, drafted second overall by Memphis in 2019, played college basketball at Murray State?

Ja Morant was unranked by recruiting services, and a Murray State assistant found him by accident at a camp while scouting another player.

Which Slovenian guard was EuroLeague MVP with Real Madrid at 19 before Dallas traded for him on 2018 draft night?

Luka Dončić had debuted for Real Madrid's senior side at 16, the youngest in club history, and was drafted third overall by Atlanta before the swap.

Which future Atlanta Hawks point guard led NCAA Division I in both points and assists as an Oklahoma freshman?

Trae Young is the only player ever to top both national lists in one season, and his 22 assists in one game tied the Division I record of the time.

Which Canadian guard won the scoring title, MVP and Finals MVP in 2025 as Oklahoma City took the championship?

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander was the first Canadian to lead the NBA in scoring, and only the fourth player to collect all three honors in one season.

Which Australian point guard missed his whole first NBA season with a foot injury, then won Rookie of the Year in 2018?

Ben Simmons had been the first overall pick of the 2016 draft after a single college season at LSU, where his team missed the NCAA tournament.

Which New Orleans Hornets point guard's 2011 trade to the Lakers was voided by the NBA, which owned his team?

Chris Paul was dealt to the Clippers instead, where his alley-oop passes earned the team the nickname Lob City.

Which 6-foot Georgetown guard, nicknamed the Answer, was the first pick of the 1996 NBA draft and MVP in 2001?

Allen Iverson was also a star high school quarterback in Virginia, winning state championships in both football and basketball.

Which Los Angeles Lakers veteran beat San Antonio in the 2004 playoffs with a shot taken with 0.4 seconds left?

Derek Fisher caught the inbounds pass, turned and fired in one motion, a moment after Tim Duncan had put the Spurs ahead 73–72.

Which 5-foot-7 Atlanta Hawks point guard won the 1986 NBA Slam Dunk Contest over teammate Dominique Wilkins?

Spud Webb's entry surprised even Wilkins, the defending champion, who had never seen his teammate dunk before.

Which two-time champion Houston Rockets point guard, nicknamed the Jet, became an analyst on TNT's Inside the NBA?

Kenny Smith played his college basketball at North Carolina, where his first team included a junior named Michael Jordan.

Which Charlotte Hornets point guard played professionally in Lithuania and Australia as a teenager, skipping college?

LaMelo Ball left high school to sign with a Lithuanian club, later joined Australia's Illawarra Hawks, and was the NBA's Rookie of the Year in 2021.

Stephen Curry led which small North Carolina college to the Elite Eight of the 2008 NCAA tournament?

Davidson knocked out second-seeded Georgetown and third-seeded Wisconsin on that run before losing the regional final to top-seeded Kansas.

Which point guard suffered a devastating knee injury with the Clippers in 2007, then won three titles with Golden State?

Shaun Livingston had jumped to the NBA straight from high school as the fourth pick of 2004, and went on to play for nine teams in 15 seasons.

Which longtime Memphis Grizzlies point guard is the son of an Olympic triple jump gold medalist with the same name?

Mike Conley was the fourth pick of the 2007 draft after one season at Ohio State, and his father, by then a certified agent, represented him.

Which Knicks point guard, the 1988 Rookie of the Year, coached Golden State for three seasons before Steve Kerr arrived?

Mark Jackson was fired in 2014 despite consecutive playoff trips, and the Warriors won the title the very next season.

Which Los Angeles Lakers great's silhouette is the basis of the NBA logo, according to the designer who drew it?

Jerry West was also named Finals MVP in 1969 even though his Lakers lost the series, something no other player has done.

Which undrafted Wichita State point guard helped Toronto win the 2019 NBA title and later became an All-Star?

Fred VanVleet spent part of his first season with Toronto's G League affiliate, Raptors 905, and won that league's title two years before the NBA one.

Which point guard nicknamed Tiny averaged 34 points and 11.4 assists for the Kansas City–Omaha Kings in 1972–73?

Nate Archibald topped the NBA in both categories that season, but an injured Achilles tendon cut his next one short at 35 games.

Which Orlando Magic point guard handed out an NBA-record 30 assists in a single game against Denver in 1990?

Scott Skiles broke Kevin Porter's record of 29 that night as Orlando ran up 155 points on the Nuggets.

Which 5-foot-9 Houston Rockets Hall of Fame guard was a national champion baton twirler before his basketball career?

Calvin Murphy won a national baton title as an eighth grader in 1963 and performed at the 1964 New York World's Fair.

Which first overall pick of the 1976 NBA draft was an All-American in both basketball and tennis at Maryland?

John Lucas even played professional tennis in the middle of his basketball career, and later returned to the NBA as a head coach.

Which point guard, nicknamed Mighty Mouse, was the Toronto Raptors' first-ever draft pick in 1995?

Damon Stoudamire was booed on draft night by Toronto fans who wanted Ed O'Bannon, then won them over as Rookie of the Year.

Which point guard skipped college to play in Italy, then scored 55 points as a Milwaukee Bucks rookie in 2009?

Brandon Jennings was the first American high school prospect to bypass college for a professional season in Europe, and the 55 came in only his seventh NBA game.

Which point guard was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame three times, as player, coach and Olympic assistant?

Lenny Wilkens went in as a player in 1989, as a coach in 1998 and again in 2010 with the 1992 Dream Team, which he had helped coach.

Which point guard, drafted second in 1999, publicly refused to join the Vancouver Grizzlies and was traded to Houston?

Steve Francis got his wish in a three-team, 11-player deal, then shared the Rookie of the Year award with Elton Brand, the one man picked ahead of him.