Amar’e Stoudemire believes the NBA has moved away from the traditional pass-first point guard, saying he does not see a current player he would want to play alongside in that role.
“For me, you know, as a big sometimes you rely on that ball coming to you,” Stoudemire said. “You can’t just grab the rebound and take it yourself and just do your own thing a lot of times, right? So, you need a point guard that can help facilitate the game with you.”
Stoudemire specifically pointed to the decline of the pass-first guard who consistently creates opportunities for teammates rather than prioritizing his own scoring.
“And I don’t really see a point guard right now in the league that’s that pass first, no look passing behind the back passing point guard,” Stoudemire said. “What happened to that? I don’t understand where it’s at?”
The 2025-26 statistics show that several players officially listed as point guards remain among the NBA’s leading playmakers, although many also carry significant scoring responsibilities. Cade Cunningham averaged 9.9 assists and 23.9 points for the Detroit Pistons, while Luka Doncic averaged 8.3 assists and an NBA-leading 33.5 points for the Los Angeles Lakers.
James Harden averaged 8.0 assists and 23.6 points across 70 games for the Los Angeles Clippers and Cleveland Cavaliers, while Jalen Brunson posted 6.8 assists and 26.0 points for the New York Knicks. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander averaged 6.6 assists and 31.1 points for the Oklahoma City Thunder while leading the league in scoring among players who averaged at least 30 points.
Nikola Jokic, despite being a center, was the league’s top assist producer at 10.7 per game. The Denver Nuggets star also averaged 27.7 points and 12.9 rebounds, making him an example of the modern positionless playmaker rather than a traditional point guard.
Other players listed at point guard also posted notable assist numbers. Stephon Castle 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.
