A shooting guard’s primary assignment is to score and score often. Since they also occupy so much of a defense’s attention, possessing the ability to make plays for others is also worthwhile.
This list does not take into account a player’s future prospects, or past salad days. The criterion is simple—which NBA shooting guard is best suited to being an integral part of a championship team this year?
Due to the way some NBA lineups are presently constructed, a handful of potential shooting guards will be asked to play different positions this year. For that reason, Brandon Roy is listed as a small forward, while Allen Iverson and Monta Ellis are listed as point guards.
No rookies made the list, as neither you nor I have seen them play in meaningful games against NBA competition to know where they should be ranked.
Now, the list:
1) Kobe Bryant—Los Angeles Lakers
With his newfound attitude adjustment augmenting his considerable talents, not only is Kobe Bryant the best shooting guard, he’s the best player in the NBA.
Kobe possesses so much raw skill that he can simply will the Lakers to victories against overmatched opponents, and his creativity and pure desire can trump even the staunchest of defenses. He has a fantastic jump shot, range extending well beyond the three-point line, an advanced post-up game, terrific handles, and superb passing skills. And in the end game, he’s one of the finest perimeter defenders in the league.
Kobe has his flaws, but they’re minor compared to his shooting-guard brethren. While Kobe is a prodigious scorer and terrific playmaker, he still has trouble taking games over by both scoring and making plays, usually settling for one or the other. Also, Kobe doesn’t have otherworldly court vision, and ends up driving into help defenders without seeing open men—a factor the plays into his inability to dominate by both scoring and playmaking.
Defensively, Kobe has trouble navigating through screens, and takes too many plays off over the first three quarters. These characteristics serve to register Kobe as a basketball mortal, distancing him from gods such as Michael Jordan.
Still, in present-day NBA Olympus, the hierarchy starts with Kobe and works its way down—at least until LeBron develops a jump shot.
2) Dwyane Wade—Miami Heat
Wade combines tremendous explosion and physical strength with sheer heart, making him one of the most unstoppable players in the NBA. Not only is he strong enough to be a great scorer, but his toughness allows him to be a very physical defender, and a terrific rebounder for his size and position.
Injuries have held him out of the limelight the last few seasons—but make no mistake about it, Wade is a championship-level performer.
3) Manu Ginobili—San Antonio Spurs
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3 months ago
just for kicks...what do u think about matt carrol of the charlotte bobcats...now im not really sure about keith bogans role or anthony parkers role on there teams besides shooting the three...i havent really seen enpough games of them to actually know...but for matt carrol im sure theres a lot of teams out there who need very accurate 3 point shooters who dosent turn the ball over at all...i think hes better suited for a championship team as a prototype of the next steve kerr type guy...
also...do you really think nate robinson will ever win an nba championship...
and just wondering...where would u have ranked dwade if there wasent the olympics this past summer...
from 3 months ago
But that's all Caroll can do, is shoot the three. He doesn't do anything else. At least Bogans and Parker are good defenders. Caroll's useful, and depending on the team, I'd have a spot for him as a backup, but I wouldn't take him as a top 30 shooting guard.
With Robinson, that's a very difficult question considering all the circumstances that are involved, like who his teammates will be, whether he'll continue to develop, etc.
He certainly has the athleticism and the talent to be a sparkplug scorer off the bench on a good team, but he'll have to figure out that the simple play is sometimes the best play.
If Robinson's a starter though, he's too impatient, and too much a defensive liability to ever win a championship as a starter.
Pre-olympics, I'd probably rank Wade fourth. The Olympics showed me that he was healthy again, and also reaffirmed how awesome of a finisher he is.
3 months ago
good article
3 months ago
Where's Brandon Roy? I think you certainly have slipped on that one.
from 3 months ago
Read the small forward article Sean, and you'll find each of the players you mentioned.
from 3 months ago
But Roy is a shooting guard...I've seen you say this before and it's just plain not true. I watched most of the Blazers games last year and when he wasn't playing shooting guard, he was playing the point. Look at the depth chart, or ask some fans on a Blazer forum, any of those sources will tell you.
3 months ago
Also, where's Rudy Gay?
3 months ago
Is Maguette a shooting guard?? Also what postition does Monta fall under, I think it is traditionally point guard, but he seems like more of a shooting guard with his slithering ability, his jumper needs work...Roonie Brewers vertical is one of the best Ive ever seen, but his jumper also needs some polishing....... but solid list nonetheless... :)
from 3 months ago
With Davis gone, Monta moves over to become Golden State's shooting guard, Stephen Jackson becomes the 2-guard and Maggette becomes Golden State's small forward.
3 months ago
Roy is clearly a shooting guard and so is Gay
from 3 months ago
I may have misranked Roy, but I've already received flak for and defended my reasoning in the small forwards list. If I did rank Roy, how can have him on two lists?
And Gay played a lot of small forward for Memphis last season, with Miller at the 2.
3 months ago
sean's right. but still good list i like it.
3 months ago
Pretty good list Erick.
3 months ago
Good list as always, but I beg to differ on Arenas. Don't forget that the Wizards have seen their greatest success under the Eddie Jordan era with Gilbert Arenas on the floor.
Jamison and Butler see their numbers go up when Arenas is out, but thats not because they were uninspired before and suddenly feel important when Arenas is gone. It's because they have to pick up the slack. Sure their numbers are lower when Arenas is in the game, but so would anyone's when the star and most important player is on the court.
Also, Tmac has never made anyone around him better. Ditto on Joe Johnson and if anything, he's more of a shoot first player than Arenas. Allen is inflated because of this season, otherwise he doesn't play defense either.
So my only grip is Arenas being lower than those mentioned. Otherwise, great stuff.
from 3 months ago
gripe*
from 3 months ago
The Wizards also had success last season without Arenas, and weren't appreciably better or worse with him or without him.
I also thought Washington's offense flowed really well when Butler took on more of a role. They gave the ball to Haywood more in the post. They gave Daniels the ball and did more stuff for Butler and Jamison without the ball. Their offense had more continuity.
I think McGrady's a bit more consistent than Arenas, is a better rebounder, and is less reckless. Pretty much the same for Johnson. And while Allen's individual defense comes and goes, he was extraordinary when it mattered the most. I haven't seen Arenas lock down a player in a playoff game yet.
I think Arenas is really talented, but his ego is so huge---he always loves to play around, and he always love to answer challenges personally, forgetting that there are four teammates on the court unless he's driving and dishing. He gets bored with their offense and brakes it off so much.
3 months ago
Since you put Areans on the list, I think you should put Iverson here too; they are extremely similar, but Iverson is better. Also, I know he is only a rookie, but I think OJ Mayo should be ahead of at least Rashard McCants.
from 3 months ago
With Arenas, Antonio Daniels is Washington's starting point guard. Denver's only other point guard on their roster is Chucky Atkins and not only is he not going to start, but he's injured. Iverson has to be Denver's point guard, while J.R. Smith shifts over to the 2-guard.
from 3 months ago
When Arenas is on the court, Stevenson plays shooting guard and Butler small forward. Daniels and Nick Young come off the bench.
3 months ago
I mean Arenas, my bad.
3 months ago
It makes me sad that you think Roy is a small forward. In fact, Roy is one of the top 2 combo guards in the league, 2nd only to dwyane wade. Considering Wade is coming back from injury, I would give Roy the nod as the top combo guard in the league.
It is true that Roy will play SOME minutes at the 3 but he will play the bulk of his minutes as the STARTING 2.
I applaud your effort at a legit list, but the league's quickest rising star deserves more credit than being ranked out of position.
I dont understand how you call Kobe a SG and Roy a SF. Roy SHOULD be behind Kobe on this list and next year Roy will take the top spot from Kobe.
3 months ago
Mike Miller over Vince Carter??
from 3 months ago
I am not a Carter guy, and I'm sick of him playing uninspired ball and having little impact on big games. Plus last season his legs disappeared as the season progresses. The elevation he used to have isn't there, and he's not the kind of player who'll use his brain or his toughness to compensate. If he's not going to be running around people, and jumping over them, he's just going to be a volume jump shooter. Miller's more efficient, a better shooter, and a slightly better defender.
3 months ago
Carter is so hated now, not by only you, but by some many writers that it's crazy. Carter is a better defender than Miller, and he is a better passer, scorer, and leader as well. I'd give the shooting and rebounding to Miller, but that's about it. Did you watch how he played in the second half of last season? When motavated, VC is a top 5 shooting guard for sure. Other than that, he is at least in the top 10.
from 3 months ago
Carter doesn't move his feet and he always shies away from screens. The first thing that you look for in a perimeter defender is the willingnes to fight through screens. If you go under, it's a wide open jumper. If you get strung out, it's a mismatch. I saw him play the same way last season as I did early on. Bored, and uninspired. Plus he lost a lot of athleticism. He's never shown up in fourth quarters in the playoffs, and he doesn't bring it every game. Players who go through the motions as much as Carter are stale, lead to losing atmospheres, and subsequently, losing teams.
3 months ago
At the risk of sounding extremely bias, you really screwed JR on this one. The guy can do it all on offense(shoot, FT, drive, finish, pass, etc), and isn't any worse on defense than most of those guys. Then again, I guess he still has a lot to prove. I'm sure I will be able to make a STRONG case for him about mid-season. Still, Larry Hughes? Jamal Crawford? Mike Dunleavy???? Ouch...
I also think Carter and Redd are a pretty low, but I guess you gotta make room for the overrated players like T-mac and Ray Allen.
Other than those, this is a pretty good list. As always, interesting stuff.
3 months ago
What do you mean when Leron developes a jumper. So What! He's still not going to be better than 30 yr. old Kobe Bryant. LeBron Is Very erratic verry verry. All he can do is dunk. LeBrons current is only 5% better than Kobe's past. They play two different positions so of course LeBron in to have more assists than kobe 1st because he's not better than kobe which he admits. 2ndly because he can't score at will. Kobe's required to shoot more just because he's Kobe. LeBron on the other hand not so much. You guys seem to forget when Kobe was LBJ'S age he was 10x more explosive and athletic than JAMES will ever be. Kobe will forever be the King Laker of B-ball.
3 months ago
Hey Blasco, are you going to be compiling a top 50 nba players list after you do the point guards list? Could you also go into more detail about Dwyane Wade and tell me more about him. He is my favorite player.
My personal list:
1. Kobe
2. DWade
3. TMac
4. Manu Ginobli
5. Rip Hamilton
6. Joe Johnson
7. Ray Allen
8. Kevin Martin
9. Jason Richardson
10. Gilbert Aenas
3 months ago
It`s a good list but i would include monta ellis , brandon roy and kevin martin and how the hell did jason richardson make the list all he does good is jump.
TATENDA
from 3 months ago
Erick has Roy listed as a small forward and Martin as at number 10. Richardson actually has a nice jumpshot, in fact as Erick said, he's rock solid in every aspect of his offensive game other than ball-handling (passing is average but he is a sg so that is a bit more palatable than if he played the point.) Although I will say that he is a defensive liability despite his size and strength. As for Monta Ellis, Erick said in his criteria that he is only taking into account how well a player will do this season and Ellis has a serious injury.
3 months ago
i know we are both huge fans of manu, but i think the injury he suffered in the olympics might bump him down for this season. no love for the barry family?
3 months ago
In my opinion:
Ray Allen > Joe Johnson
Vince Carter > Mike Dunleavy, J-Rich, K-martin..Joe Johnson ... like I know he took a step or two back but he's still a hell of a talent and you're really sleeping on him here,
At 6'10, Durant is a small forward, no matter what anyone else. I'll agree that Gay is a SF as well, but that's debatable. Furthermore, Anthony Parker is not at all a poor athlete as you highlight over and over... he just doesn't get flashy, and when you see how injury-free he's been for the past 2 years V.S the likes of Wade for instance, you can see the logic. Also... Morris Peterson is better in which way? He's a worse defender, worse penetrator, worse athlete, and the worse shooter. He might be a year younger but as a Raptor fan, I seriously can't agree with this claim... other wise, very cool article.
Just think about one thing..
If I create a situation where I can add Vince Carter to star with the Spurs, and then a situation where I can add Mike Dunleavy to the Spurs and have the two teams face eachother in the world of make believe, barring a miracle, do you honestly think Dunleavy's Spurs would win? Seriously?
from 3 months ago
On the Sonics he played shooting guard with Green/Szczerbiak playing the 3. If Oklahoma plans on playing Green as a small forward, then Durant is Oklahoma City's shooting guard.
With Parker, he rarely is able to stay in front of the quickest wings in the league, and he rarely is able to create his own shot off the bounce, or on the run. Those are two traits that signal a slight lack of athleticism.
If Peterson's a worse defender, he isn't much worse, and is about on par with Parker. He defended the perimeter very well for the Hornets, moves his feet well, is very fundamentally sound, and is both long and strong, two qualities Parker doesn't possess. He's still able to create his own shot better than AP, and he doubles as a reliable shooter.
And yes I do think Dunleavy's Spurs would win. Carter has no idea how to function in a complicated offense, disappears in the clutch, and isn't great at reading defenses then making quick decisions. He'd abandon San Antonio's offensive sets to launch jumper after jumper, and his assist totals would go down because the Spurs wouldn't give him free reign to simply drive then pass. San Antonio's offense isn't that simple.
3 months ago
I just noticed this Erick. Good stuff. If you had classified Roy as a shooting guard, where would you have ranked him on your list?
from 3 months ago
Fifth. I think he has a better floor game than Johnson, better court vision, and is a pure playmaker. The same qualities rate Roy ahead of Allen, who isn't quite as versatile a scorer.
3 months ago
Hey Erick, when will you get your point guard rankings up?
from 3 months ago
Hopefully by Thursday!
3 months ago
Dunleavy is WAY WAY WAY WAY WAY too high..He sucks so badly dude..Great list except for him
3 months ago
I would place Roy fifth too. I love watching B-Roy. He's never out of control and he makes great decisions. He plays with a maturity far beyond his years.
from 3 months ago
All major reasons why the Blazers are set to explode within the next handful of seasons.
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