Portland Trail Blazers: Is CJ McCollum underrated among all-time ball-handlers?

For years, Trail Blazers star CJ McCollum has froze defenders and used stepbacks and hesitations to become a nightly 20-point threat. So, why is he so overlooked among all-time great ball-handlers?

We’ve officially reached a point in the offseason — (is it even really the offseason yet?) — where the evaluation of legacies is at a premium, no matter how arbitrary they may be. Earlier this week, a new debate surfaced on social media: where does Portland Trail Blazers star guard CJ McCollum rank among ball handlers?

The Mount Rushmore for the game’s craftiest dribblers is far more inrigid than, say, the greatest defender debate, where there’s wider range for discussion. With ball handlers, the likes of Allen Iverson, Kyrie Irving, James Harden, and Jamal Crawford command spots in Tier I, and players such as Chris Paul, Stephen Curry, Jason Williams, and even Rafer Alston likely occupy the following group.

Despite mastering the art-form that is creating offense through dribbling, and using it to generate more field goals than all but five players since becoming a featured option in 2015-16, CJ McCollum has become the glaring omission to said lists. And for a player like McCollum — unlikely to break through the All-Star glass ceiling or raising championship gold in a top-heavy West — having something he can call an edge over his contemporaries when he retires feels … oddly important.

Also unlike that of great defenders, defining what makes a great ball-handler isn’t as black-and-white. To be great, one has to have both the style and the substance. The ability to create points using those dribbles when his team is in a pinch. Statistically, CJ McCollum fits the bill.

CJ McCollum: Scoring statistics when using 3-to-6 dribbles:

2019-20: 174 FGM (T-11th), 47.8 eFG (25th among players with at least 100 FGM).
2018-19: 178 FGM (18th), 49.2 eFG (29th among players)
2017-18: 224 FGM (3rd), 53.3 eFG (15th among players)
2016-17: 198 FGM (6th), 51.7 eFG (21st among players)
2015-16: 218 FGM (5th), 55.1 eFG (8th among players)

Through this data, a few things stand out: as he’s gotten older, and the Portland Trail Blazers have worked to add more offensive talent, Portland has come to rely less on McCollum’s isolation, dribble-dribble brilliance. As he was entering his prime, he was among the top in both frequency and efficiency.

Another aspect we learn through this sample is that many of the players ahead of McCollum are clear-cut alpha dogs on their teams. This isn’t to say that he would be better off searching for his own team, but rather that his statistics here — like each of his per game numbers — would be on even more of an uptick if he were the featured option.

In the postseason, where scouting reports become more detailed, and more emphasis is placed more on defensive assignments, and matchup hunting, McCollum has been arguably better. Using a minimum of at least 20 made field goals, here’s how he stacks up Playoff-wise.

2016 Playoffs: 27 FGM (T-10th), 47.5 eFG (11th)
2017 Playoffs: DNQ, but went 9-of-22 (47.7 eFG)
2018 Playoffs: DNQ, but went 15-of-26 (61.5 eFG)
2019 Playoffs: 48 FGM (2nd), 41.7 eFG (15th)
2020 Playoffs: DNQ, but went 13-of-27 (50.0% eFG)

So, what we’re seeing is what we’ve already come to know: when the shot clock trickles down, and a team is in need of instant offense, McCollum’s dribbling creativity, more often than not, does the job.

Perhaps it’s because we don’t so readily associate “great ball handlers” with stop-and-go moves and flattening the offense for isolations, so much as we do crossovers and celebrations to follow. McCollum has built his living through that craftiness, with five consecutive 20-point scoring seasons.

Perhaps something that also shows just how much faith McCollum is entrusted with in Portland’s offense: only six players league wide have scored more with 7+ dribbles than McCollum (187), an accomplishment in itself given that his running mate, Damian Lillard, ranks No. 1, per NBA.com.

He’s been elite as an isolation specialist, ranking somewhere between the 56th and 80th percentile since the statistic has been tracked, which is especially important when you realize when the Trail Blazers elect to use it most: the fourth quarters of games.

One could argue that just through sheer reliability and production, McCollum should not only be present on more lists ranking the league’s best and craftiest ball handlers and creators, but also that he should be in the thick of them.

We often coronate flashy, 10-point-scoring regular-season ball handlers on all-time lists — it only makes sense to also celebrate the ones who score more, and do more in big moments, too.