NEWCASTLE (Paul Nilsen's Women's Basketball Worldwide) – It was a simple enough question and yet the silence was deafening and has troubled me ever since.

I asked my great colleague @pierrepiotr_ who is a women's basketball 'nut' like me, who he thought the best playmaker in the women’s game was and who would make the top five? After a lengthy pause and just a couple of suggestions, the conversation quickly diverted to NCAA players and those with promise.

It got me thinking - Is women's basketball actually having a crisis globally at the point guard position?

Just 3-5 years ago, this question would have been a non-issue. Names such as Lindsay Whalen, Laia Palau, Sue Bird, Asami Yoshida and Celine Dumerc would have flooded the conversation and no doubt, an instant response. However, all these players are either now retired or in the twilight of their careers.

Ask the question of who is the best point guard in the women's game under 30-years-old and you suddenly realize there is a worrying dearth of them. Certainly, there are plenty of very good players out there, many candidates in fact. But, the harsh truth is that many are not at the level of what we have enjoyed in the past decade.

So, just who is the best playmaker in the women's game (ignoring the 30 years plus vets). It is a tough one. You all know that I absolutely adore Courtney Vandersloot and you have to respect the quality of Nika Baric of UMMC Ekaterinburg.

Overall though, is it a reason to be depressed at the lack of competition in this category? I know that I have already raised this red light before with specific regard to the quality of USA's playmakers [compared to those outgoing like Whalen and Bird, plus those before them]. I know that respected figures in youth basketball have argued the USA pipeline is drying up and has done so (in general) for the past 5-10 years or so. The other irony of course is that Vandersloot is on fire, but ineligible as she is now a Hungary national team player.

I would be wholly worried from an Australia standpoint too. They actually have some nice kids and teens emerging in the backcourt, but may have to accept that the talent has plateaued at the point guard spot in the short to medium term.

Maybe I am being a little too dramatic.

You could argue that the well has not run completely dry. Even if the quantity is not there right now, there are still some gems. At least if you flip back to those NCAA rising stars and potential for the future.

Back to the question of whether we are in a crisis, it has also got me thinking about how it is maybe linked to how the women's game is evolving. On the flip-side of any potential panic about a crisis of absent top drawer playmakers, perhaps it is indicative of the glass half-full standpoint, about our frontcourt players and wing players becoming more powerful, athletic and dynamic.

Just like in politics when they use the phrase 'it's the economy, stupid', I feel like within women's basketball now, 'it’s the small forward spot, stupid.'

Paul Nilsen

FIBA

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