Article: Top 10 Perimeter Peaks of All Time

[dankok8]

It includes their regular and playoffs stats as well as other factors that are important in assessing peak play.

I gave everyone defensive marks as follows:

A+ GOAT-level defender
A all-time great defender
A- great defender
B+ all-league defender
B solid positive defender
B- somewhat positive defender
C+ slightly positive defender
C neutral defender
C- slightly negative defender
D+ somewhat negative defender
D solid negative defender
F total defensive liability

I also ranked team success as follows:

A won multiple championships
B won one championship
C played on strong contenders
D played on weak contenders for championships
F played on non-contending teams

I added + and - to the letter grades for team success as I saw fit to adjust for certain factors that I felt were significant.

I decided to use 5-year stretches to define peaks. 3 years is too short and gives players with short peaks too much benefit of the doubt and most greats can’t maintain their best form for more than 5 years. I don’t want to include years that are clearly worse because then it isn’t a peak article anymore. 5 years seems like a nice middle ground.

This list contains 3 point guards, 4 shooting guards, and 3 small forwards and covers the entire NBA history since the merger in 1955.

Three guys that were close to making the list are:

2006-2010 Dwyane Wade
1977-1981 Julius Erving
1961-1965 Elgin Baylor

Wade was injured for two of the five years. Dr J is just a step below other players here statistically. This being an NBA-only list also hurts Dr J who had his best years in the ABA. Baylor like Wade had his peak years cut down by injuries and just wasn’t the same player post 1963. He was also much less efficient than most of his contemporaries when it came to scoring the ball.

Along with the rankings for every player I also tried to cover ranges and mention the highest rankings I could envision for these players. This I feel is informative because weighing factors like statistics, defense and team success is somewhat subjective.

Without further ado:

#10

2016-2020 James Harden

S: 31.7 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 8.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.7 bpg on 61.4 %TS (+5.9 rTS), 4.9 topg in 36.7 mpg
P: 29.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 7.4 apg, 2.0 spg, 0.7 bpg on 57.6 %TS (+2.1 rTS), 4.4 topg in 37.4 mpg

Position: SG
Defensive Grade: C+
Team Success: C+
Championships: None
Major Accolades: MVP in 2018
Team ORtg: 113.2 (+4.2 rORtg)

Notes: Harden is one of the most ball-dominant players ever but has anchored one historically good offense, the 2018 Houston Rockets. This was also one of the best teams never to win a title so he gets a C+ for team success instead of a straight C. His defense was probably a D+ in 2016 where he was actually a negative defender but he has steadily improved to the point where he is a somewhat positive defender around B- these days. His overall defensive grade for this five-year stretch I deemed a C+. I think when committed on the defensive end he is capable of giving more than a few other players on this list. He actually made some clutch defensive plays in the 2020 playoffs.

Ultimately I ranked Harden #10 because of his weak playoff numbers especially his +2.1 rTS which is the lowest scoring efficiency relative to league average of all candidates here. I also can’t overlook his average-ish defense in a field of a lot of positive defenders and his high assist numbers are largely a result of holding the ball a lot and not necessarily being a top tier passer. Finally he didn’t have major team success to give me much of a pause. Ultimately he beat out a few guys on the honorable mentions list simply by being more healthy. Harden’s durability is probably his most underrated trait.

#9

2014-2019 Kevin Durant

S: 27.5 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 5.3 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.2 bpg on 63.7 %TS (+9.0 rTS), 3.0 topg in 35.3 mpg
P: 29.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 4.1 apg, 0.9 spg, 1.2 bpg on 60.2 %TS (+5.5 rTS), 3.2 topg in 39.1 mpg

Position: SF
Defensive Grade: B
Team Success: A-
Championships: 2017, 2018
Major Accolades: MVP in 2014; Finals MVP in 2017 and 2018
Team ORtg: 113.7 (+5.5 rORtg)

Notes: Durant is the only player on this list whose peak spans six years because he was hurt in the 2014-2015 season playing just 27 games and then missed the playoffs. I felt obliged to extend his peak to a sixth year. He played on an all-time great Warriors team for the last three years of this stretch. I gave Durant an A- for team success instead of a straight A because he only started winning when joining the Warriors.

I gave him the nod over Harden because despite joining the Warriors he did win 2 titles while making a case for himself as the best player in the world. He’s also notably more efficient scoring the ball and is a much better defensive player probably peaking close to an all-league defender. When I put it all together, I’d rather have Durant than Harden. I think a case can be made for Durant to be a couple of positions higher but having to join an already pre-made team and his relative lack of playmaking hurts him compared to a few other players on this list. His off-ball skills make him an ideal piece on very talented rosters but he is not the best floor-raiser.

#8

1962-1966 Oscar Robertson

S: 30.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 10.9 apg, ? spg, ? bpg on 56.8 %TS (+8.4 rTS), ? topg in 45.0 mpg
P: 30.3 ppg, 9.9 rpg, 9.2 apg, ? spg, ? bpg on 56.2 %TS (+7.8 rTS), ? topg in 47.0 mpg

Position: PG
Defensive Grade: C+
Team Success: D+
Championships: None
Major Accolades: MVP in 1964
Team ORtg: 98.4 (+3.9 rORtg)

Notes: Anchored the league’s best offense for the first four years of this stretch. I had a hard time grading his defense given the dearth of footage but he isn’t mentioned as a great defender and given his size relative to other guards and a huge offensive load I figured slightly positive defense is probably in the right ballpark.

I considered 1961 and 1967 but ultimately this was the best stretch. His team success is only a D+ and that’s what brings him down in these rankings but I can consider a much higher spot for Oscar because his teammates weren’t special and he was up against the greatest dynasty ever in the 1960’s Celtics in two of the Royals’ best years in 1963 and 1964. Oscar was such an offensive dynamo that I can see a case for him as high as #3 or so on this list if we are willing to give him a pass for the lack of team success. And like I explained you can argue he deserves a pass with his teams clearly much less talented than the Celtics. As a pure offensive force, Oscar has almost no match. But for me his lack of team success is a really major flaw because it’s worse compared to any other player on the list.

#7

2015-2019 Stephen Curry

S: 26.5 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 6.5 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.2 bpg on 64.8 %TS (+9.9 rTS), 3.1 topg in 33.3 mpg
P: 27.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.9 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.3 bpg on 61.6 %TS (+6.7 rTS), 3.5 topg in 37.0 mpg

Position: PG
Defensive Grade: C
Team Success: A+
Championships: 2015, 2017, 2018
Major Accolades: MVP in 2015 and 2016
Team ORtg: 114.2 (+6.2 rORtg)

Notes: Curry anchored an all-time great offense. He has amazing gravity thanks to his unbelievable shooting and with him on the floor, teammates often find themselves wide open. Even prior to Durant joining, the Warriors were unbelievably great offensively thanks to Curry.

The reason he doesn’t rank higher on this list is that he’s probably the worst defensive player. In fact given his small size and relatively thin frame he is a straight-up liability in certain matchups like facing bigger guards in the post. If you value his offensive game very highly and construct the right team around him he can be argued as high as #3 on this list.

[dankok8]

#6

2006-2010 Kobe Bryant

S: 29.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.4 bpg on 56.5 %TS (+2.4 rTS), 3.1 topg in 39.1 mpg
P: 29.8 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 5.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.6 bpg on 57.0 %TS (+2.9 rTS), 3.3 topg in 41.2 mpg

Position: SG
Defensive Grade: B+
Team Success: A
Championships: 2009, 2010
Major Accolades: MVP in 2008; Finals MVP in 2009 and 2010
Team ORtg: 110.3 (+3.1 rORtg)

Notes: Anchored some good offenses even with less than stellar talent the first two years of this stretch. One of the few perimeter players to ever maintain their efficiency in the playoffs. Kobe was the ultimate maker of tough shots and he could always manufacture them. This along with underrated court vision made him produce one of the most resilient if not hyper-efficient individual offenses ever.

I settled on Kobe ahead of Curry because their offensive game is comparable but Kobe is the better defender. And his size and strength made him a much more versatile defender who could handle most situations. Generally speaking Kobe was very difficult to take advantage of on either end of the floor. Some of these factors don’t appear on the stat sheet and Kobe was generally a very difficult player to rank. He can also be ranked as high as #3 on this list.

#5

1965-1969 Jerry West

S: 29.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 6.1 apg, ? spg, ? bpg on 57.0 %TS (+8.1 rTS), ? topg in 40.1 mpg
P: 32.9 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 6.0 apg, ? spg, ? bpg on 56.2 %TS (+7.3 rTS), ? topg in 41.8 mpg

Position: SG
Defensive Grade: A-
Team Success: C+
Championships: None
Major Accolades: Finals MVP in 1969
Team ORtg: 98.7 (+3.3 rORtg)

Notes: Anchored the league’s best offense for two of the five years. West had significant gravity with his shooting and had a knack for elevating his game in the playoffs particularly in the finals against the greatest defensive dynasty ever which was Bill Russell’s Celtics. He got a C+ for team success having never won a title at his peak but he still faced very tough competition in the Celtics. Jerry’s Lakers made four finals appearances in these five years.

Jerry West has playoff numbers worthy of #2 on this list and he was a very good all-time level defender. His team success is what ultimately holds him back. Not winning a single title is a critical shortcoming when all players ahead of him won multiple championships during their best years. Overall he was very difficult to rank and I feel like I may be selling him short.

#4

1987-1991 Magic Johnson

S: 21.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 12.2 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.3 bpg on 61.1 %TS (+7.4 rTS), 3.8 topg in 36.9 mpg
P: 21.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 12.4 apg, 1.5 spg, 0.2 bpg on 60.2 %TS (+6.5 rTS), 3.6 topg in 39.9 mpg

Position: PG
Defensive Grade: C
Team Success: A
Championships: 1987, 1988
Major Accolades: MVP in 1987, 1989 and 1990, Finals MVP in 1987
Team ORtg: 113.7 (+5.7 rORtg)

Notes: Anchored the league’s best offense for three of the five years of this stretch. Magic was from my time watching film the greatest passer the game has ever seen. He would not only find almost all good passing opportunities but he would often find ridiculous windows that other players just couldn’t see.

I could see 1986-1990 as Magic’s 5-year peak as well. The numbers aren’t affected much either way. Magic’s average defense is what made me put him here but as an offensive force he clearly has few equals and unlike Oscar also has the team success to back his case up.

#3

1984-1988 Larry Bird

S: 27.3 ppg, 9.8 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.8 spg, 0.9 bpg on 58.8 %TS (+4.8 rTS), 3.1 topg in 39.1 mpg
P: 26.3 ppg, 9.7 rpg, 6.7 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.7 bpg on 57.5 %TS (+3.5 rTS), 3.1 topg in 42.8 mpg

Position: SF
Defensive Grade: B+
Team Success: A
Championships: 1984, 1986
Major Accolades: MVP in 1984, 1985 and 1986; Finals MVP in 1984 and 1986
Team ORtg: 112.9 (+5.1 ORtg)

Notes: Anchored the best offense in the league in the last year of this stretch. Probably the second best passer ever after Magic and actually has a case as the best given the speed of his decision making. Bird is probably better than his stats because his time of possessions was very low. He rarely held the ball for long and cut defenses apart with quick moves kind of like he’s playing blitz chess.

Bird at his peak was a little better than Magic in my eyes because Bird was a better scorer due to his shooting ability and was much better defensively reaching all-league defensive levels while Magic was average on that end. Of course the two are inseparable and both ways of ranking them are fully acceptable but this is just my take.

#2

2012-2016 Lebron James

S: 26.3 ppg, 7.3 rpg, 6.8 apg, 1.6 spg, 0.7 bpg on 61.2 %TS (+7.6 rTS), 3.4 topg in 37.0 mpg
P: 28.0 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 6.6 apg, 1.9 spg, 0.9 bpg on 57.3 %TS (+3.7 rTS), 3.4 topg in 40.9 mpg

Position: SF
Defensive Grade: A
Team Success: A+
Championships: 2012, 2013, 2016
Major Accolades: MVP in 2012 and 2013; Finals MVP in 2012, 2013 and 2016
Team ORtg: 110.4 (+4.6 rORtg)

Notes: Lebron was a difficult player to choose a 5-year peak for. Ultimately I settled on this stretch because 2011 and to a lesser extent 2010 underperformance in the playoffs makes me doubt that these years could be part of his peak. Post 2016, his defense began to suffer. Had I chosen 2016-2020 as his 5-year peak for instance his offensive numbers get better but his playoff defense drops to B- because he was an average defender in 2017 and a really bad one in 2018. Ultimately elite defense in the playoffs (A) and good defense in the regular season (B+) makes me comfortable in choosing this 5-year stretch of Lebron as his best and since playoffs matter more I gave him an A overall defensively. This stretch also includes his two best postseasons which were 2012 and 2016 and it would feel wrong to exclude either.

Lebron took the #2 spot because he’s a very similar player to Bird statistically while being better on defense. At the end I think he has a better case to be the runner-up here than any player above him. Lebron’s weakness is his relative lack of offball game. While he’s one of the best players with the ball in NBA history he isn’t a great shooter, cutter, screen setter etc. and so doesn’t bring much value to his team when he doesn’t have the ball.

#1

1988-1992 Michael Jordan

S: 32.5 ppg, 6.6 rpg, 6.4 apg, 2.8 spg, 1.0 bpg on 60.2 %TS (+6.7 rTS), 2.9 topg in 39.1 mpg
P: 34.5 ppg, 6.7 rpg, 6.8 apg, 2.4 spg, 0.9 bpg on 59.0 %TS (+5.5 rTS), 3.5 topg in 41.8 mpg

Position: SG
Defensive Grade: A
Team Success: A
Championships: 1991, 1992
Major Accolades: MVP in 1988, 1991 and 1992; Finals MVP in 1991 and 1992
Team ORtg: 112.1 (+4.1 rORtg)

Notes: Anchored an all-time great offense for the final two of the five years in 1991 and 1992. His teammates grew considerably in this period. In 1988 Chicago was merely a good team and by 1991 they were an all-time great team as Pippen matured and the cast of players was built. Jordan’s peak could have been 1989-1993 which yields very similar numbers but given that 1988 was his best defensive year, I ultimately opted for 1988.

At the end of the day, Jordan was easily my #1 perimeter peak because he put up the best offensive stats while being an elite defender as well. His scoring volume is 4+ ppg ahead of everyone but Jerry West and he did it on remarkable efficiency. He also achieved a lot of team success and played amazingly well even in the regular season so there is absolutely nothing to nitpick about his position.

[SouBeachTalents]

Personally, I’d rank Dr. J, Wade & Kawhi over Harden. And I find it pretty ridiculous you can talk about LeBron’s prime and not even mention ‘09, ‘17 or ‘18

HM’s go to Barry, CP3 & McGrady

[Manny98]

Oscar is so overrated it's funny
Dude missed the playoffs multiple times in his peak years and when he eventually got to the playoffs he couldn't get out of the playoffs most years

[Stephonit]

Is being the ultimate defender the ultimate objective? There is no reason to rate a great defender higher over another player who produces the same or better results. To do so indicates an unobjective bias and prejudice. Does it matter if the world record holder in the 100 meter dash is big or small? What matters is he is the world record holder.

[dankok8]

Personally, I’d rank Dr. J, Wade & Kawhi over Harden. And I find it pretty ridiculous you can talk about LeBron’s prime and not even mention ‘09, ‘17 or ‘18

HM’s go to Barry, CP3 & McGrady

I too think Wade as a player is better than Harden but Wade was hurt half the time. If I take his best 5-year stretch there's hardly 3 years worth of games. Kawhi just doesn't have anywhere close to 5 consecutive peak seasons. 2017 hurt in the playoffs, 2018 out for the year... I think he could eventually make this list and overtake Harden. His level 2019 till present is pretty sick. Dr J... if you take ABA sure but ABA also inflated numbers to an insane degree.

[dankok8]

Oscar is so overrated it's funny
Dude missed the playoffs multiple times in his peak years and when he eventually got to the playoffs he couldn't get out of the playoffs most years

Oscar made the playoffs every year in his 5-year stretch I chose. Lost 3 times to the Celtics, 1 time to Wilt's Sixers who were also most talented and 1 time to the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons' loss was disappointing but he had little to work with. Individually he was a beast and led his team to the best offense in the league. Can't really ask for more than that.

Is being the ultimate defender the ultimate objective? There is no reason to rate a great defender higher over another player who produces the same or better results. To do so indicates an unobjective bias and prejudice. Does it matter if the world record holder in the 100 meter dash is big or small? What matters is he is the world record holder.

That's not the point. First of all I said that I can see Curry much higher as high as #3 depending on how you weigh the different criteria. For me personally I don't like a guy who can be turned into a defensive liability on the floor. Put him in a pick and roll against a taller man or get any bigger guard even to post him up and he's helpless. Curry is an unbelievable player but he needs a specific type of roster to succeed which isn't necessarily the case with bigger, more versatile players.

[Sulico]

Is being the ultimate defender the ultimate objective? There is no reason to rate a great defender higher over another player who produces the same or better results. To do so indicates an unobjective bias and prejudice. Does it matter if the world record holder in the 100 meter dash is big or small? What matters is he is the world record holder.

It's kinda obvious OP made such a big deal out of just defense in vacuum because otherwise he would have to put Curry in top3 by his own standarts.

[Gohan]

Defense is being the most overrated part of basketball

[WhiteKyrie]

Bird was more of a front court player. A SF - PF hybrid type who could shoot. He wasn’t out on the perimeter dribbling around, initiating offense or just take guys off the bounce. He went to work elbow and down. Given those circumstances, odd that D-Wade was left off the list. I’d go:

1) Jordan
2) LeBron
3) Magic
4) Kobe
5) West
6) D-Wade
7) Curry
8) Durant
9) Harden
10) Drexler

HM 1: CP3
HM 2: Westbrick and Oscar. No defense playing, stat padding losers.

[dankok8]

Bird was more of a front court player. A SF - PF hybrid type who could shoot. He wasn’t out on the perimeter dribbling around, initiating offense or just take guys off the bounce. He went to work elbow and down. Given those circumstances, odd that D-Wade was left off the list. I’d go:

1) Jordan
2) LeBron
3) Magic
4) Kobe
5) West
6) D-Wade
7) Curry
8) Durant
9) Harden
10) Drexler

HM 1: CP3
HM 2: Westbrick and Oscar. No defense playing, stat padding losers.

Agree on Bird. I was debating whether to put him in but the list would feel empty without him. Stylistically he was more of a big but with Lebron and KD in it would be weird to leave Bird out.

[WhiteKyrie]

Agree on Bird. I was debating whether to put him in but the list would feel empty without him. Stylistically he was more of a big but with Lebron and KD in it would be weird to leave Bird out.

But those dudes are SF in name only.

LeBron has basically been a PG for much of his career besides Miami.

And Durant has basically been a SG his entire career.

They both actually play on the perimeter.

Bird was labeled a SF but he was more a front court player. Wings being “perimeter” guys really started with Nique and more so Pippen / Hill.