The NBA List of Reasonable Point Guard Satisfaction

When I was in middle school, I had my growth spurt when all of the girls did. Aside from bruising my ego a little bit, this meant one thing: I got to play center during basketball. There is almost noting quite like the satisfaction from using one's superior height to throw one's opponents around like children...or Chris Bosh.

Then everyone else caught up. I hung around my 5'10 frame and everyone else started to look like they were on growth hormone. Suddenly 6'4 was the new 5'10 and I went from being Carlos Boozer to Larry Hughes. I was never able to adjust to my role on the court and so I fulfilled my destiny as a hateful fat loser who made fun of LeBron James on twitter instead of actually playing basketball.

But one thing I took away from my experience on the hardwood (aside from the hateful fat loser thing) was a fascination with point guards. When my size forced me to move to the back court, I realized just how difficult a position it was. People take for granted even the ability to competently dribble a basketball without glancing down to look at it every few seconds.

So watching the point guard renaissance this season has been particularly enjoyable for me. And it inspired me to do a little research into just how strong the point guard position in the NBA is. It's easily the nerdiest thing I've done….in the past three days.

I've compiled lists of starters from every position (please note the word "starters," as I have not had time to evaluate the performance of bench players) and have attempted to identify how many teams are at least REASONABLY SATISFIED with the play of the player at that starting position. Then I identified players from those lists who could at least make an argument towards being the best player at that position in the league.

What I concluded is that not only does the point guard position boast the deepest pool of reasonably satisfactory starters, but also has the most candidates for best player at the position.

Check out my wildly unscientific findings and let me know how wrong I am in the comments section.

P.S. I chose the picture at the top because it combines my three favorite things: Kyrie Irving, New Jersey prep schools and not being sued for copyright infringement.

Point Guards

Reasonably Satisfactory
24. D.J. Augustin
23. Jarrett Jack
22. Rodney Stuckey
21. Jason Kidd

Above Average
20. Darren Collison
19. Jose Calderon
18. Mike Conley
17. Ty Lawson

Very Good or Shows Plenty of Potential
16. Tyreke Evans
15. Jrue Holliday
14. Kyle Lowry
13. Brandon Jennings
12. Jeremy Lin

All-Star Level
11. John Wall
10. Ricky Rubio
9. Kyrie Irving
8. Steph Curry

Best in the League Candidate
7. Rajon Rondo
6. Tony Parker
5. Steve Nash
4. Deron Williams
3. Russell Westbrook
2. Chris Paul
1. Derrick Rose

Shooting Guards

Reasonably Satisfactory
15. Marcus Thornton
14. DeMar DeRozan
13. Jason Richardson

Above Average
12. Landry Fields
11. Nick Young
10. Ben Gordon
9. Chauncey Billups
8. Arron Afflalo

Very Good or Shows Plenty of Potential
7. Kevin Martin
6. Paul George
5. Ray Allen

All-Star Level
4. Joe Johnson
3. Monta Ellis

Best in the League Candidate
2. Kobe Bryant
1. Dwyane Wade

Small Forwards

Reasonably Satisfactory
12. Caron Butler
11. Gerald Wallace
10. Shawn Marion

Very Good or Shows Plenty of Potential
9. Danny Granger
8. Luol Deng
7. Andre Igudola
6. Danilo Gallinari
5. Rudy Gay

All-Star Level
4. Paul Pierce
3. Carmelo Anthony

Best in the League Candidate
2. Kevin Durant
1. LeBron James

Power Forwards

Reasonably Satisfactory
20. Kris Humphries
19. Antawn Jamison
18. David West

Above Average
17. Paul Millsap
16. David Lee
15. Serge Ibaka
14. Luis Schola

Very Good or Shows Plenty of Potential
13. Zach Randolph
12. Carlos Boozer
11. Tim Duncan
10. Kevin Garnett

All-Star Level
9. Andrea Bargnani
8. Josh Smith
7. Chris Bosh
6. Amare Stoudemire

Best in the League Candiate
5. Blake Griffin
4. LaMarcus Aldridge
3. Pau Gasol
2. Dirk Nowitzki
1. Kevin Love

Center

Reasonably Satisfactory
16. Emeka Okafor
15. Deandre Jordan
14. Spencer Hawes

Above Average
13. Joakim Noah
12. JaVale McGee
11. Marcin Gortat

Very Good or Shows Plenty of Potential
10. DeMarcus Cousins
9. Greg Monroe
8. Andrew Bogut
7. Anderson Varejao

All-Star Level
6. Tyson Chandler
5. Roy Hibbert
4. Al Jefferson
3. Marc Gasol
2. Andrew Bynum

Best in the League Candidate
1. Dwight Howard