The NBA’s Top 10 Shooting Guards This Season & Why Everyone Is Now Chasing James Harden

The shooting guard position is made for the game’s most gifted scorers. In today’s game, it doesn’t matter if you’re your team’s first option or if you’re coming off the bench. A shooting guard’s job is to put the ball in the hole. It’s always been that way. Although the position isn’t as stacked with talent as it once was, it’s still home to some of the game’s best scorers. Here is my list of the NBA’s top 10 shooting guards this season.

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10. DeMAR DeROZAN: 18.1 ppg, 2.5 apg, 3.9 rpg
Although DeMar DeRozan hasn’t become a household name yet, he’s capable of playing like one. DeRozan is the future of the shooting guard position. He’s one of the most athletic players at the position and that’s always a good foundation to have as a shooting guard. He lives off of his athletic ability every night by attacking the rim and running the floor in transition. The one aspect of his game that’s stunting his growth is his outside shooting. As a career 23 percent three-point shooter, developing an outside game is the only thing holding him back. He shot 28 percent from long range this season, which is his best percentage as a pro so far. If he wants to fulfill his potential, it starts with working on that jump shot and extending his range.

DeRozan’s been a solid player for the Raptors since he was drafted back in 2009. However, he never grew into the franchise player they wanted him to become. Part of that has to do with his poor outside shooting. The Raptors gave him his chance to become the guy, but they couldn’t wait much longer, getting Rudy Gay in a mid-season trade this year, another athlete to pair with DeRozan. With the attention Gay draws driving to the basket, it’s important for DeRozan to feel confident spotting up on the opposite side. If he can become a better shooter next season and get that perimeter shooting percentage up over 30, he’ll be averaging on the plus side of 20 points per game.

9. ANDRE IGUODALA: 13.0 ppg, 5.4 apg, 5.4 rpg
Andre Iguodala is the most unique player at the shooting guard position. He’s never been a lights-out scorer, but he’s always been an extremely efficient and reliable player. He never seems to make mistakes. If I told you he’s never averaged more than 20 points per game, you’d probably say I was lying. That’s the type of player Iggy is. His presence shows up more on the court than it does on the stat sheet, and he’s fine with that.

In Philadelphia, Iguodala was responsible for the majority of the scoring load. He tried to accept that role and take off with it, but it wasn’t his game. Iggy isn’t comfortable taking 20 shots a night. He’s comfortable blending in offensively and making his impact on the defensive end. That’s the role he’s grown into in Denver. He knows he isn’t one of their first scoring options, but that doesn’t affect him. When the ball comes his way, he’s still a threat. Opposing teams still respect his jump shot, and his ability to get to the basket. Even though he may not look for his shot the entire game, you have to respect him. That’s what Iggy brings to the Nuggets. If you consider his contributions offensively, with his leadership defensively, he was a great acquisition for the 57-25 Denver Nuggets this season.

8. JAMAL CRAWFORD: 16.5 ppg, 2.5 apg, 1.7 rpg
Through December, Jamal Crawford had everyone convinced that he was the Sixth Man of the Year. The Clippers were in the midst of a 17-game winning streak and the play of Crawford had a lot to do with it. Crawford’s natural ability to score is something a lot of other players don’t have. He makes it look so easy with his ballhandling ability and his ability to create his own shots off the dribble. He holds such a high value to the Clippers: they know, if need be, they can get him the ball, move out the way and watch him score. A lot of teams don’t have a bench player capable of that. That’s what makes Crawford special. Through December, Crawford was leading the Clippers in scoring from the bench, and it wasn’t until Chauncey Billups returned in February that Crawford began to lose a grip on the award.

When Billups returned, Crawford’s minutes went down and his field goal attempts went down. He became less aggressive, but not to a fault. With the deep bench the Clippers have, it was going to be hard for Crawford to continue what he had going through the first half of the season. Regardless of losing out on the award to J.R. Smith, Crawford had an important role on a winning team. Just imagine what he could’ve done with starter’s minutes.

7. JOE JOHNSON: 16.3 ppg, 3.5 apg, 3.0 rpg
Some would say that Joe Johnson underachieved this season. I disagree. Although this year wasn’t one of his best, Joe Johnson had a really good season considering all of the adjusting he had to do. For one, he’s used to being his team’s first option. In Atlanta, Johnson averaged at least 20 points a game through his first four seasons, and fell just short in his last two. So he’s comfortable being the first option offensively. In Brooklyn, he was his team’s third option offensively and you could see that it affected his rhythm some nights.

On top of that, there was the coaching change. Going through a coaching change in the middle of the season is already difficult, but it’s even more difficult when it’s your first season with the team… especially when you’re one of the main players. Having to adjust to all those different factors would be tough for most players in the league, but Joe Johnson made it look like a smooth transition. Some people may love his game, some don’t. Sometimes people confuse the laid back style with not playing hard. He’s been criticized in the past, but he doesn’t let it bother him. Now that he has one season under his belt with Deron Williams, and will get a fresh start with a new coach next year, look for Brooklyn to become a force in the East.

6. KLAY THOMPSON: 16.6 ppg, 2.2 apg, 3.7 rpg
Klay Thompson’s game defines the word “shooting” in shooting guard. He’s become the best shooter at the position, pouring in 2.6 threes a game this season. That’s more than any other player at the position. The impressive part about Thompson’s game is not only his shooting ability, but the way he creates those shots. Thompson has learned to utilize his height in special ways. As a 6-7 shooting guard who’s not that athletic, he’s often guarded by smaller and quicker players. His ability to recognize a mismatch, turn his back and knock in a fadeaway has improved greatly this season.

People criticize Thompson for not being a freak athlete or not attacking the basket enough, but his shooting is what opens up the rest of his game. Once Thompson is knocking down 25-footers, defenders run at him. That makes it easy for him to get off that sharp midrange jumper or get all the way to the rim. There are few players in the league capable of living by the jump shot. Klay Thompson is one of them.

People aren’t referring to the Warriors backcourt as the best shooting tandem in history simply because Stephen Curry is good. Klay Thompson has a lot to do with that as well.

5. J.R. SMITH: 18.1 ppg, 2.7 apg, 5.3 rpg
The NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year made leaps and bounds this season. For the majority of his career, J.R. Smith has been hearing that he’s a selfish player. He’s been criticized for his poor shot selection and his radical playing style. But this season he was able to shake the stereotypes and prove that he’s growing. It seemed like something just clicked with J.R. this year. He took the game much more seriously. He averaged career-highs in points and rebounds, and helped lead the Knicks to a 54-28 record. The Knicks won 16 of their last 18 games and J.R.’s hot shooting, along with Carmelo Anthony‘s heroics, had a lot to do with that.

Swish’s game has always been electric. Scoring comes natural to him, but now he sees the game from a different angle. The system the Knicks have in place is perfect for him because it allows Smith to be aggressive and put up shots, but it also keeps him under control. The Knicks are a team that lives off of threes and jumpers. When J.R Smith and Carmelo Anthony are both hitting shots, they’re such a hard team to beat. Hopefully they can can climb out of this shooting slump they’re in right now, because the Knicks need them now more than ever.

4. MONTA ELLIS: 19.2 ppg, 6.0 apg, 3.9 rpg
Monta Ellis still thinks he’s the best player in the league. In his mind, he’s the best player on the court every night, and that’s how he approaches the game. He knows what he’s capable of, even if everybody else doesn’t always see it.

There are a ton of quick players in the league, but Monta Ellis is a different type of quick. He plays fast, but he’s always sharp and under control. His moves are always crisp and precise and he sees things before they happen. He can get to the rim whenever he wants and he can finish on just about anybody. In my opinion, Monta Ellis is the closest thing we’ve seen to Allen Iverson (the Philly version).

The question with Monta Ellis is simple: Will he ever turn the corner and become an All-Star? Or will he continue to be a flawed 20-point scorer for the rest of his career? Right now, he’s on the boarder. Some nights he can look like an All-Star and some nights he can look very average. He doesn’t know how good he could actually be if he paid more attention to the details. He has natural talent like Iverson had, and the Iverson mindset, but he doesn’t have the consistency. Ellis doesn’t know how to translate that natural talent into being able to look like an elite player every night. He’s capable of being one of the best shooting guards in the league. All that’s holding him back is his inconsistency.

3. DWYANE WADE: 21.2 ppg, 5.1 apg, 5.0 rpg
D-Wade has been the most humble and unselfish star the NBA has seen in a long time. As a young player, he was always praised for his humility, and after he won that first championship he got away from that a bit. Now the real D-Wade is back, and it’s his humility that’s putting the Heat in the position they’re in today. On multiple occasions, D-Wade has made sacrifices for the bigger picture. Some people mistakenly took those sacrifices as falling off.

Inviting the game’s biggest superstar to come to Miami was unselfish to begin with. Accommodating him became a whole different issue. For that entire first season that D-Wade and LeBron were together, people were still debating on whose team it was. The Heat ended up losing to the Mavericks in the Finals because they hadn’t figured that out yet. It wasn’t until last year (their second season together) that Wade realized the team was better under LeBron’s control. After that was established, they began to build and develop the chemistry they have now, and that’s why they’ve been so successful recently.

Wade played through injury for the entire playoff run last year. After Miami won the championship, he made the decision to get surgery on his ailing knee instead of playing in the Olympics. Because he didn’t play in the Olympics, and was coming off of knee surgery, a lot of people doubted him coming into this season. Even his buddy Charles Barkley didn’t think he would ever be the same player he once was. Because of the decision he made, Wade was able to be ready for the beginning of the season and he quickly proved all the doubters wrong. The Heat flew through the season finishing 66-16 and D-Wade has been just as solid as he’s ever been.

2. KOBE BRYANT: 27.3 ppg, 6.0 apg, 5.6 rpg
There’s no question that Kobe Bryant is the greatest shooting guard in our game today but I’d argue he didn’t have the greatest season. He’s been able to outlast some of the other great shooting guards of his generation and has continued to play at an elite level. Guys like Allen Iverson, Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady were all just as good as Kobe at some point, but his will and work ethic allowed him to surpass them all. There are things that Kobe’s accomplished that the other guys on this list will never achieve. He’s won five championships and he scored 81 points in a single game. That puts him in a class of his own. But just because he’s accomplished the most, that doesn’t mean that he’s going to be on top forever. Father time is beginning to catch up to Kobe. He’s been playing at a high level for such a long time that it was bound to catch up with him at some point. Now he just has to fight it off for as long as he can.

The whole idea for the Lakers going into the season was to allow Steve Nash and Dwight Howard to make things easier on Kobe. That’s not the way things ended up going. Kobe didn’t change his game to accommodate Nash and Howard. He continued to shoot a lot and eventually the team grew frustrated. Dwight Howard grew uncomfortable and the rest of the team became disengaged. Eventually Kobe realized he was losing the group, and in an effort to reel his teammates back in he turned into “Magic Kobe.” Once he showed an effort to get his teammates more involved things began to turn around. Still, the Lakers were on the brink of missing the playoffs and it was going to take a strong push for them to get in. It was a tough task, but Kobe was able to will them back into playoff position only to tear his Achilles in the final days of the season. It was a nightmare ending to a tremendous playoff push.

It was a good individual season for Kobe, but it was a disappointing season for his team. Kobe put up great numbers, and played well individually, but he fell short of the expectations set for him and the goals he set for himself. Now the pressure is on him to make something happen next year. It’s the last year of his contract and if he wants to go out on top, he’s going to need some help. Kobe has to realize he can’t do it by himself every year, especially with all the miles he’s put on his body.

1. JAMES HARDEN: 25.9 ppg, 5.8 apg, 4.9 rpg
After being set free from the Thunder, James Harden was ready to take on a new challenge in Houston. The Rockets took a chance on bringing him in to be the face of the franchise; In Oklahoma City he wasn’t even starting games. It was a quick transition for Harden, but he was confident enough in his abilities and he knew he was due for a breakout season. Although people questioned if he was capable of leading a franchise and taking them to the playoffs, he never questioned his abilities. He put a hush to all the negativity in his first two games as a Rocket, dropping 37 on the Pistons and following it up with 45 against the Hawks.

In the first two games of the season, it was official. James Harden was a force to be reckoned with.
Harden had one goal throughout the season, and that was to take the Rockets to the playoffs. He never lost sight of that goal and kept them on track all season long.

In his first season with a new team, Harden accepted the leadership role with open arms, made his first All-Star team, and took the Rockets to the playoffs for the first time since 2009. He defied the odds all season and quickly became the most intriguing player at the shooting guard position.

James Harden and Kobe Bryant both had phenomenal seasons. Both of their teams finished with a record of 45-37, and both of them lead their teams to the playoffs. To me, what separates the two this season is simple. James Harden’s team surprised us, and Kobe Bryant’s team disappointed us. The Rockets exceeded expectations and the Lakers fell short of them. James Harden is on the way in, Kobe Bryant is on the way out. The torch is as good as passed, unless Kobe Bryant has something to say about it next season.

What do you think of this list?

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