Lance Stephenson didn’t exactly play it safe when he was asked to name the five best point guards in NBA history.
During a recent appearance on “ 3’s and Ones,” the former NBA guard rattled off Isiah Thomas, Magic Johnson, Jason Kidd and Stephen Curry before landing on the name that raised eyebrows: Luka Doncic.
“Isiah Thomas. This is not in order.
Magic Johnson. Jason Kidd.
Stephen Curry. That’s four?
I got Luka.”
That last pick quickly turned into the conversation. Michael Beasley called it a “hot take,” and Russ jumped in with a defense of Doncic’s long-term ceiling:
“Right now, it is. But I agree, if he stays at this pace, Luka is top-five ever. Yeah, for sure.”
The case for Doncic is easy enough to understand. He’s already one of the NBA’s most dangerous scorers, coming off the scoring title in the 2025-26 season, and his playmaking has him in the broader all-time conversation. But putting him in a top-five point guard list right now is a different kind of leap.
At 27, Doncic still has plenty to prove before he can force his way into that kind of company.
That’s where the omissions start to matter. Russell Westbrook and Chris Paul are two obvious names left off Stephenson’s list, and both have resumes that stack up with the best of them.
Westbrook brought explosive athleticism, relentless rebounding and elite playmaking to the position, and his prime was defined by a level of force few point guards have ever matched. He averaged a triple-double for an entire season four times, including three straight years at one point, which tells you everything about how fully he controlled games.
Paul’s case is built on a different kind of mastery. His game has always been about precision, command and feel, and the numbers back it up.
He owns the second-most assists in NBA history with 12,552, has led the league in assists five times and has a career average of 9.2 assists per game across 21 seasons. There’s a reason “Point God” stuck.
And then there’s Steve Nash, a two-time MVP who also belongs in that same discussion. Once you start weighing all of those names, Stephenson’s list looks more like a snapshot of the moment than a finished all-time ranking.
That doesn’t mean Doncic can’t get there. It just means he isn’t there yet.
The upside is obvious, though, and the path ahead is clear. Doncic enters the 2026-27 season with huge expectations, now the undisputed face of the Los Angeles Lakers after LeBron James’ departure. If he can deliver a championship in L.A., the conversation around his place in history will move fast.
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