Insider Special: Top 10 PG's

By Chad Ford
ESPN Insider


After a three-year point guard drought, the 2003 draft flooded the NBA with a plethora of unbelievable prospects. Kirk Hinrich, Dwyane Wade and T.J. Ford have been great. Luke Ridnour, Marcus Banks, Zoran Planinic, Leandro Barbosa, Mo Williams and Steve Blake have shown flashes of promise. Reece Gaines? Uh ... not so much.

It was about time. It had been three pretty long years since the point guard explosion of 1999 brought us Steve Francis, Baron Davis, Andre Miller and Jason Terry in the lottery.

Suddenly it's vogue to be a point guard again.

The amazing thing about the class of 2004 is how much the definition of a point guard gets fuzzier and fuzzier by the day. There are scoring point guards (Ben Gordon, Sasha Vujacic), pass-first point guards (Shaun Livingston, Roko Leni Ukic) and several guys who fall in between (Devin Harris, Jameer Nelson and Sebastian Telfair).

This year you also have your choice of small (Nelson and Telfair), supersized (Livingston, Vujacic and Ukic) and everything in between (Gordon, Harris).

Small points give you the speed to run a high-octane offense. The big points can see over opponents, play multiple positions and create defensive nightmares. The in-betweens tend to be shooting guards in point-guard clothing. But with the success of players like Gilbert Arenas and Chauncey Billups running and gunning, there's now a place for those guys, too.

Generally, GMs believe this is one of the strongest point guard classes on record. Three to four point guards could go in the lottery. Six to eight could go in the first round. Here are Insider's rankings of the Top 10 point guards in the 2004 draft.

TOP 10 POINT GUARDS
Rank Name Ht, Wt - Age School/Team/Country
1. Shaun Livingston 6-7½, 186 - 18 Peoria (Ill.)
His stock has risen steadily with workouts. The fact he has added 20 pounds hasn't hurt either. Draft range: 2-10.
2. Devin Harris 6-3, 170 - 21 Wisconsin
Quickest point guard in the draft has looked good in workouts. Widely regarded as the most NBA-ready point. Draft range: 6-10.
3. Ben Gordon 6-2¼, 192 - 21 UConn
Has the most experience, but is he a point? Has been great in workouts. Draft range: 6-11.
4. Jameer Nelson 6-0½, 199 - 22 St. Joseph's
Size is only thing keeping him out of the lottery. Workouts vs. Telfair have helped him. Draft range: 10-22.
5. Sebastian Telfair 5-11, 170 - 18 Brooklyn, N.Y.
Has struggled in workouts -- a long term project for someone, but lots of talent. Draft range: 19-30.
6. Sasha Vujacic 6-7, 210 - 20 Udine, Italy (Slovenia)
Added some weight and shot the ball well in SFX workout. Someone will take a chance. Draft range: 19-27.
7. Roko Leni Ukic 6-5, 185 - 19 Split (Croatia)
Helped himself at Eurocamp and workout in Chicago vs. Harris. May pull out of draft, though. Draft range: 23-30.
8. Beno Udrih 6-4, 200 - 22 Slovenia
Best player at Chicago pre-draft camp. Might have worked his way into the first round. Draft range: 28-50.
9. Chris Duhon 6-1, 190 - 22 Duke
Looked very shaky in Chicago. Some teams are still high on him, but he's slipping a bit. Draft range: 30-59.
10. Antonio Burks 6-0, 195 - 22 Memphis
Was OK in Chicago but didn't do a lot to help his stock. Someone will take a chance in second round. Draft range: 30-59.

Others to watch: Blake Stepp, Gonzaga; Marcus Moore, Washington State; Marcelo Huertas, Brazil; Ender Arslan, Turkey; Lionel Chalmers, Xavier; Nate Robinson, Washington; Luis Flores, Manhattan; Timmy Bowers, Mississippi State; Rashad Wright, Georgia; Darryll Hill, St. John's'; Alexsandar Capin, Germany; Marko Popovich, Croatia; Jay Straight, Wyoming