Darius Garland helped the Cleveland Cavaliers qualify for the 2023 NBA playoffs last season. Their first playoff berth this century without LeBron James on the roster. While they had home-court advantage, they were ultimately heavily outplayed by the New York Knicks and lost to them in five games in the first round.
While Garland struggled and was outplayed by Knicks point guard Jalen Brunson, his talent is undeniable and through only four seasons in the league, he is already one of the best point guards in the NBA. Averaging 21.59 points and 7.8 assists per game on 46/41/86 splits for the Cavaliers last season was actually a slight drop for Garland, but makes sense when you factor in the addition of Donovan Mitchell in the summer of 2022. But where does Garland rank exactly among the league's point guards?
He's easily ahead of Tyus Jones, Spencer Dinwiddie, Russell Westbrook, and others who are at the bottom of the barrel for a starting point guard in the NBA. He's also ahead of folks like Derrick White and Dennis Schroder, but is he better than Trae Young? Jalen Brunson? Tyrese Haliburton? How much stock do you put in his post-season struggles when it was his first-ever playoff appearance?
We broke the projected starting point guard for all 30 NBA teams into four tiers: Scrubs, starters, stars, and elite. Each group has a relatively equal number of players, incoming rookies were not included, and recent off-court problems were factored into these rankings as well. Injuries were also factored in, but current trade requests were disregarded as were contracts for the most part. This is a talent and on-court impact ranking, not a monetary value ranking. Garland is in the upper half of point guards, but how high up do you think? Top 10? Top 5? Top 3? Well, to start, here are the scrubs.
The Scrubs: Kyle Lowry, Russell Westbrook, Spencer Dinwiddie, Ayo Dosunmu, D'Angelo Russell, Tyus Jones, and Devonte' Graham
Some of these players are here because of their age. All due respect to Russell Westbrook and Kyle Lowry who have both had incredible careers, they are not the players they used to be. Neither should be a starting point guard at this stage of their careers. That's why both of their teams are exploring avenues to add Damian Lillard or James Harden to their teams respectively.
Dinwiddie was atrocious for most of last season. After a solid showing in the 2022 NBA Playoffs for the Dallas Mavericks, his performances nosedived. He returned to the Brooklyn Nets in the Kyrie Irving trade and did not improve. He was terrible in the first round of the playoffs against the Sixers, and the Nets should consider other options at point guard.
Ayo Dosunmu is entering only his third season in the league, so his ranking is primarily based on experience here. Tyus Jones is looking at his first-ever season as a full-time starting point guard. He was solid as a starter when he had to fill in for Ja Morant last season occasionally and it will be interesting to see if he's capable of being a full-time starter with the Washington Wizards this season.
D'Angelo Russell and Devonte' Graham are talented but flawed players. While both of them are capable of scoring in bunches, most of their careers have been defined by what they can't do on the court. They are easily exploitable on the defensive end and are not efficient enough scorers to stomach their defensive woes, particularly in playoff games. Without improvements on that side of the ball, they will always be in this tier.
The Starters: Dennis Schroder, Markelle Fultz, Derrick White, Jaden Ivey, Mike Conley, CJ McCollum, Fred VanVleet, and Colin Sexton
Most of this tier is solidly reliable, that's what they bring to the table, in varying ways. They are not earth-shattering and likely won't be the difference maker in a playoff series, but they also probably won't cost you a playoff series either.
Mike Conley, CJ McCollum, and Dennis Schroder are very steady hands who have been starting point guards in the NBA for a combined 35 seasons and 10 teams between them. Schroder is coming off an MVP winning performance at the 2023 FIBA World Cup for Germany, but his international success has never exactly translated to the NBA.
Jaden Ivey had some struggles in his rookie season but the talent is obviously there. He averaged 16.3 points and 5.2 assists per game and his future is clearly bright. He could easily be out of this tier next summer. Markelle Fultz had a very rocky start to his career but averaged career-highs in points per game (14) and assists per game (5.7) for the Orlando Magic last season/
Fred VanVleet and Colin Sexton are at a similar talent level as Conley, McCollum, and Schroder but are less experienced as starters and both have failed to reach the peaks that those players have. Conley and McCollum have had big playoff moments, even Schroder has to a degree. VanVleet and Sexton are yet to do that as starters.
Derrick White was the toughest player to rank in this tier. He is easily the most well-rounded player in this group, a very solid player on both sides of the ball. He was critical in the Boston Celtics playoff run last season but wasn't their point guard. Those responsibilities were mainly assigned to Marcus Smart and Jayson Tatum. White was solid as a point guard for the San Antonio Spurs a few seasons back, and we expect to see that again for the Celtics this season.
The Elite: Tyrese Haliburton, Jalen Brunson, Darius Garland, Bradley Beal, LaMelo Ball, Jrue Holiday, Ja Morant, and Kyrie Irving
We're ranking Darius Garland as the 10th-best point guard in the NBA. Seven point guards are in the next tier, and we've got Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson ahead of him. Haliburton was fourth in the league in total assists last season and also averaged 20.71 points per game. He has the makings of a star.
Jalen Brunson outplayed Darius Garland in their first-round playoff match-up last season and that, plus Brunson's previous playoff success with the Dallas Mavericks, lifts him ahead of Garland. Garland has plenty of time left in his career to find playoff success, but he hasn't yet.
The remaining players are all behind Garland for various reasons. Bradley Beal hasn't made the playoffs since 2021 and has failed to put up any super impressive regular season numbers. LaMelo Ball has flashed star talent early in his NBA career but never sustained it. Jrue Holiday is a notorious playoff decliner. He has consistently failed on the offensive end for the Milwaukee Bucks in the playoffs.
Ja Morant and Kyrie Irving are arguably the two most talented players in this tier, and on their day, they are certified stars. Unfortunately, both have struggled to stay on the court over the past couple of seasons due to off-court dramatics that impact both them and their team. That stuff matters and gives Garland and others the nod ahead of them.
Garland could be at the top of this tier and perhaps even move into the star tier with another great season and playoff success. Even winning one playoff series would be a notable improvement for him and the Cleveland Cavaliers this season. That should be their goal.
The Stars: Steph Curry, Damian Lillard, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Jamal Murray, Trae Young, De'Aaron Fox, and James Harden
These are the best of the best in the NBA, with Golden State Warriors and NBA legend Steph Curry leading the way. Curry is still a top-5 player in this league, and only 15 months ago he was the best player on the best team in the league. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Damian Lillard trail him. Lillard is here based on longevity, he has at times been arguably the best point guard in the league during his career.
Gilgeous-Alexander was First-Team All-NBA last season and a clear-cut top-five player in the league for a few stretches. He's in this tier, and he's here to stay. At his age and given his talent on both ends of the floor, you could easily argue him ahead of Lillard if that's your preference.
Jamal Murray is the second-best player on the reigning champion Denver Nuggets, and had several clutch moments for them in the playoffs. He's more of a score-first point guard, but still one of the best in the league. Trae Young and the Hawks have declined since making the Eastern Conference Finals in 2021, but Young is still one of the best offensive talents in the NBA. De'Aaron Fox led the Sacramento Kings to the NBA playoffs for the first time in 16 years and went toe-to-toe with Curry in their first-round matchup.
James Harden, while disgruntled for the third time in three years, still led the NBA in assists last season and is capable of 40-point outbursts that few in the league can pull off. He's not the player he once was but is still a star.
Garland ranks 10th in our eyes, behind these seven and Tyrese Haliburton and Jalen Brunson but could easily move up with another strong season and some playoff success. That's what he'll be aiming for for the 2023-24 NBA season.