Chris Paul
Chris Paul may seem like a strange choice to put above all-time assist leader John Stockton and 2-time MVP Steve Nash in these rankings, especially since he has had even less playoff success than either of those better-known stars.
The first thing that really helps Chris Paul is that he has been the star of his team for nearly every season of his career, while Nash was only the best on his team during the season Amare missed due to a major knee injury, and Stockton was never the best player on his team. Being the best player on his team means that Paul had more to do with his team's successes, which nearly balances out the fact that he hasn't reached the Conference Finals yet.
Chris Paul is also a better scorer than either of those other point guards, with a career average of 18.8 per game, higher than Stockton ever averaged in any season and tied with Nash's career high. His career rebounding average of 4.4 is higher than either of the others ever reached in a single season as well, meaning that Paul contributes in more categories more consistently than the stars.
All 3 of these guards have been league leaders in assists multiple times, with Stockton the all-time standard with 9 straight seasons leading the league, while Nash had 5 seasons and Paul has already accumulated 4. Nash was never known for his defense, but Stockton holds the all-time total steals record, and Paul is the most likely to break it, with 6 seasons leading the league to Stockton's two.
The biggest thing that has pushed Chris Paul ahead in the rankings are his 3 seasons in which he led the league in both assists and steals in the same season. The first two came when he was playing in New Orleans, and both times he also averaged over 21 points per game as well, and the other came with the Clippers, with an average of 19 points per game. He was the best player on his team in all 3 of those seasons, and twice he led his team into the second round of the playoffs in those seasons.
In the first season Stockton led the league in steals and assists, he averaged 17 points per game on a team led by Karl Malone and saw his team swept in the first round. The second time his scoring dipped to 15.8, but he and Malone did get the Jazz to the Conference Finals, though Malone had more to do with it than Stockton.
Overall, the reason that Paul has reached a little higher in the rankings is that he has had several seasons where he ranked as one of the premier stars in the league, one that could be considered a potential MVP, while Stockton never really reached that level. He hasn't gone deep into the playoffs yet, but he still has plenty of time and a solid team around him, so maybe someday he will be good enough to reach the top 50.
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