Amar’e Stoudemire believes the NBA has moved away from the normal pass-first level guard, saying he doesn’t see a present participant he would wish to play alongside in that position.
“For me, , as an enormous typically you depend on that ball coming to you,” Stoudemire stated. “You’ll be able to’t simply seize the rebound and take it your self and simply do your personal factor loads of instances, proper? So, you want a degree guard that may assist facilitate the sport with you.”
Stoudemire particularly pointed to the decline of the pass-first guard who persistently creates alternatives for teammates slightly than prioritizing his personal scoring.
“And I don’t actually see a degree guard proper now within the league that’s that move first, no look passing behind the again passing level guard,” Stoudemire stated. “What occurred to that? I don’t perceive the place it’s at?”
The 2025-26 statistics present that a number of gamers formally listed as level guards stay among the many NBA’s main playmakers, though many additionally carry important scoring obligations. Cade Cunningham averaged 9.9 assists and 23.9 factors for the Detroit Pistons, whereas Luka Doncic averaged 8.3 assists and an NBA-leading 33.5 factors for the Los Angeles Lakers.
James Harden averaged 8.0 assists and 23.6 factors throughout 70 video games for the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, whereas Jalen Brunson posted 6.8 assists and 26.0 factors for the New York Knicks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 6.6 assists and 31.1 factors for the Oklahoma Metropolis Thunder whereas main the league in scoring amongst gamers who averaged not less than 30 factors.
Nikola Jokic, regardless of being a middle, was the league’s high help producer at 10.7 per recreation. The Denver Nuggets star additionally averaged 27.7 factors and 12.9 rebounds, making him an instance of the fashionable positionless playmaker slightly than a conventional level guard.
Different gamers listed at level guard additionally posted notable help numbers. Stephon Fort averaged 7.4 assists for the San Antonio Spurs, Isaiah Collier averaged 7.2 for the Utah Jazz, LaMelo Ball averaged 7.1 for the Charlotte Hornets and Jamal Murray averaged 7.1 for Denver.
