Player Attributes
Passing Ratings
It does not appear that the passing ratings of point guards have really decreased. In fact, they are considerably better than they were in the 2005-2015 period. Maybe I'm just imagining this whole thing.
Handling Ratings
Okay, maybe I'm not imagining this. The average handling attributes are down about 10 points over the past 10 years and 20 points over the past 30 years. You should feel pretty lucky if you have a guy that can bring the ball of the court without bouncing it off his foot.
Perimeter Defense
What about defense, though? Surely these guys are making up on the defensive end. Nope. The average perimeter defense scores have been lower than they've ever been in recent years, about 15 points down from their peak in the 90's for backups and 10 points down for starters.
Stealing
The picture for steals is even worse. Average steal ratings are down about 20 points for both backups and starters since the mid 90's. The average for backups was actually below 40 in 2024.
Outcomes
Do these considerably lower ratings lead to much worse outcomes? Not really.
Asists
Assists have held steady. If anything, they are up. This is likely because of the increased shot-making capabilities of the college game generated players I have documented in other places.
Turnovers
Turnovers are essentially unchanged. Perhaps this is because the stealing capabilities have decreased in sync with the handling capabilities of point guards. So, even though turnovers haven't gone through the roof, we're likely seeing a lower level of play.
And there you have it. Essentially, today's point guards are worse than those of yesteryear but it doesn't actually matter that much because they are being guarded and guarding point guards of the same poor quality.
