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Can a team build a championship contender around a point guard?

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Published: January 27, 2010

It’s pretty well known that the Hornets feature an other-worldly talent at point guard in Chris Paul. This journal is in no way an indictment on him or the way he plays. If he continues his career at the kind of level of production we’ve all become accustomed, who knows what will be said about CP after it’s all over for him. What I am about to say will sound like blasphemy to most of you, but I’ve been thinking about this for quite a while (since last February to be exact). Can a team really build a championship contender around a point guard?

If you look back through the history of the NBA, the answer to that question is an overwhelming “yes, but VERY unlikely”. The first NBA Champion was crowned in 1947. Looking back, I could only find three teams that won championships who’s centerpiece was a point guard. One of those was Magic Johnson’s Lakers. Magic was also 6’9 and could play all five positions on the floor, and usually played defense against the opposing SF. Not many point guards can do that from any era. Another PG-led team was the Detroit Pistons of the late ’80s, who featured Isiah Thomas (to whom Chris Paul is mostly compared). The third is the ’77-’78 Sonics, who were led by the late, great Dennis Johnson, who won Finals MVP that year. So there it is, 62+ years of NBA history, and three teams won championships with the PG being the centerpiece. Those teams won a total of 6 titles, so there is hope.

Let the Mikey-bashing….errr…. discussion begin.

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