OLD SCHOOL A HISTORICAL LOOK AT POINT GUARDS WHOSE PASSING -- AND ALL-AROUND -- SKILLS TRANSFORMED THEIR POSITION:

Bob Cousy

Boston

You've got to go back to the 1950s to find the original. Ricky Rubio should pay him a royalty every time he makes a fancy pass.

OSCAR ROBERTSON

Cincinnati and Milwaukee

A big guard who changed the game with his combination of size and versatility and popularized the concept of the triple-double.

MAGIC JOHNSON

L.A. Lakers

He didn't get his nickname for no reason: At 6-9, the only guy in history who could start at point guard and center in the same NBA Finals.

JOHN STOCKTON

Utah

An incredible passer and tough, he missed only 22 games in 19 seasons and is the NBA's all-time assists leader by nearly 4,000.

JASON KIDD

Dallas, Phoenix, New Jersey and New York

No. 2 on the NBA's career assist list doesn't begin to explain his greatness, but this does: At 39, he has convinced New York Knicks teammates to make the extra pass.

SHOOT FIRST THESE POINT GUARDS HAVE REDEFINED THE POSITION WITH THEIR SCORER'S MENTALITY:

Allen Iverson

Philadelphia and Denver

The No. 1 pick in a 1996 draft that offered Kobe Bryant 12 picks later, he showed the way for all those cold-blooded scorers stuck in a point guard's body.

TONY PARKER

San Antonio

Strictly a scorer when he arrived in the NBA from France 11 years ago, but Gregg Popovich's tough love has created a point guard out of him.

BRANDON JENNINGS

Milwaukee

Still trying to fulfill the potential promised by a 55-point game his rookie season, but he's just 23. He's still got time.

RUSSELL WESTBROOK,

Oklahoma City

He has been accused of pushing the concept of scoring point guard over the top, especially with Kevin Durant on his team. But anyone who watched him score 45 points against the Wolves last March knows his scoring talent.

DERRICK ROSE

Chicago

He won a league MVP award by his 22nd birthday, then tore up his knee in the next season's playoffs. Can you believe Michael Beasley once was considered the No. 1 pick over him in the 2008 draft?

JERRY ZGODA