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Washington Wizards: Ranking the Top 5 Point Guards In Recent Franchise History

By Ben Mehic

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3) Rod Strickland

by Oz Baig

The raw numbers don’t do Rod Strickland justice.

Strickland wasn’t a great 3-point shooter, shooting just 28.2 percent for this career and 20.6 percent during his time in Washington from beyond the arc.

He never averaged 20 points and he never made an All-Star team.

Don’t let that dissuade your impression of his impact, though. Strickland was an impact player and is one of the most underrated players in recent history.

At his best, Strickland was a force, consistently finding his way to the basket and finishing in traffic, creating for his teammates, and getting to the free throw line.

Strickland’s best season in Washington came in 1997-1998.

For comparison’s sake, let’s look at that season and compare it to John Wall’s 2015-2016 campaign in Washington.

PTS    AST    Reb    PER    FG%    FGA     3Pt%    TS%    ORtg    DRtg    FTA    TOs
RS    17.8    10.5    5.3    19.6    43.4    14.9    25%    50.1    107    105    6.5    3.5
JW    19.9    10.2    4.9    19.8    42.4    17.5    35%    51.0    102    104    4.5    4.1

Now let’s look at Strickland’s three season snapshot between 1997-1999 versus Wall’s three All-Star seasons.

PTS    AST    Reb    PER    FG%    FGA     3Pt%    TS%    ORtg    DRtg    FTA    TOs
RS    17.1    9.7    4.7    19.8    44.3    14.0    22.2    51.1    108    105    6.1    3.4
JW    18.9    9.7    4.5    19.7    43.4    16.2    33.8    51.9    104    104    4.6    3.9

This is not to say that Strickland was as impactful as Wall.

Wall has not had the benefit of playing with Chris Webber, Juwan Howard, or Mitch Richmond.

I did, however, want to point out that a comparison between the two does suggest that once you knock off the “Rod Strickland never made an All-Star game label,” he compares very favorably to a player who has made it in three consecutive seasons.

Though he ranks third on our list, if I needed to win one game, I’d pick Strickland as my point guard over anyone else on this list.

Strickland was the epitome of a vet, a player who was unfazed by what was going on around him or the stage he was on.

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Admittedly, there’s a bias here, but the first time I saw Jordan in the Verizon Center was against Strickland and the then Bullets in 1997.

Washington came out victorious, handing the 68-win Chicago Bulls a 110-102 loss with Strickland, often guarded by Jordan down the stretch, putting up 26 points, 14 assists, and 7 rebounds on 10-15 shooting from the field.

I also fondly recall a 21 point, 20 assist, 12 rebound triple-double on the road versus Golden State in 1998 – a game where in the absence of Chris Webber and Juwan Howard, 89 of Washington’s 99 points came from the combination of Tracey Murray, Strickland, and Calbert Cheaney.

The reason Strickland doesn’t rank higher on this list is because he did not have the postseason appearances and success both John Wall and Gilbert Arenas had in Washington.

Additionally, he arrived in Washington as a 30-year-old and probably didn’t help extend the duration of his high level of play with his notorious junk food eating habits, including eating hot dogs before, during, and after games.

While Strickland at his best was a great basketball player, you at times felt cheated because that great player wouldn’t always show up, much to his own doing.

You can’t ignore the negatives in analyzing his career in Washington, but what I do know about Strickland is from a viewing perspective.

I can’t recall a player as crafty as him in getting to the basket and finishing in traffic, without the benefit of a great jump shot or teammates that can space the floor.

Though some may view Strickland’s career as a “what could have been,” his time in Washington, specifically his first three seasons, were more indicative of the player and talent he was.

Next: 2) Wall

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