Top 10 NBA Shooting Guards: 2008-09 Season
October 22, 2008 – Dr. Anklesnap
So yesterday i’m just minding my own business (ahem… okay lies) and I walked into a debate with some friends about who will be the 2008-09 NBA MVP. As this is a battle or argument that no one will win this early in the year, eventually the discussion turned to who the best shooting guards in the league are. Then I got an email from a reader today, Jerry M, who asked me if we could run a poll/survey on who the top shooting guards in the league are heading into the 2008-09 season.
I’ve had strong opinions about who the best shooting guards in the league are for the past few seasons, but Jerry M. inspired me to sit down and think about who I believe will be the Top 10 shooting guards (legitimate position must be the 2 spot) in the NBA this season. Hoops Addict recently published an article on Becoming A Great Shooter, which discussed the differences between a shooter and a scorer:
“One of the biggest misconceptions in basketball is the difference between a scorer and a shooter. Most people think that shooters and scorers are one in the same but that couldn’t be any farther from the truth.
A shooter is someone with a great jump shot, point blank. A shooter is a player like Reggie Miller, Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick, that when the ball leaves his hands the opposing teams hold their breath. You can not leave him open and if you do you will surely pay.
A scorer is someone who finds a way to put the ball in the basket. Whether it be from a jump shot, lay-up, or put back rebound, he is consistently around the ball.”
I want to be very clear that my list will cover both great shooters and great scorers. This list of the Top 10 NBA Shooting Guards for the 2008-09 Season will be developed based on which player has the most profound effect on their team’s success. In other words it doesn’t matter if you are a scorer, a shooter, or a defender. The list is intended to outline the players that are so effective at what they do that without them their team wouldn’t have anywhere near the success that they do. Here ya go Jerry M.
Given the fact that Chris Paul is a point guard, and Lebron James is a small forward (or a power forward at times as hinted by Coach Brown for this season), Kobe Bryant is the consensus and runaway choice for the top shooting guard in the NBA. Heck he’s probably the choice for the best player in the league too, but at the SG spot there is no contest. He does it all. Without Kobe the Lakers would have no identity, confidence, or scoring punch and would undoubtedly be lottery bound.
‘Don’t call it a comeback, i’ve been here for years…’ Dwyane Wadeproved to the world in the Olympics this summer that he is back on top of his game and his health seems to be in check. During his injury riddled season last year he also proved that when he is not healthy, the Miami Heat are one of the leagues worst teams. DWade is one of the few players that can put up big numbers in scoring and assists, while still playing quality defense. The way he makes his teammates better reminds me of MJ, and his relentless attacking of the basket is one of the main reasons he is my choice as the second best shooting guard in the NBA today.
Regardless of the fact that the Nuggets had their second best record of in franchise history last year, the first full year with Allen Iverson, all anyone talks about is how the Iverson-Melo experiment was a failure since they lost again in the first round. I’m not so quick to write off the experiment. More pertinent to this post however, Iverson is pound for pound probably the greatest scorer the NBA has ever seen. With no sign of him slowing down with age, I expect this year will be no different. Iverson should once again be among the league leaders in points, steals, and possibly even assists.
Tracy McGrady, can you please make a solid attempt to play more than 60 games this year. If so, you deserve to be on my list as the 4th best shooting guard in the NBA this season. I know a lot of you consider Tracy to be a small forward because he has flip flopped between the 2 and 3 spots for his entire career, however with the addition of Ron Artest to the Rockets in the off-season we should see a consistent line-up of Alston, McGrady, Artest at the 1,2,3. McGrady may not have as quick of a first step as TMac 5 years ago, but he still can shoot the lights out and take it to the cup at will. And when McGrady heats up out there, ‘forget about it’. Over.
Did Andre Iguodala deserve the max contract this off-season? We will find out shortly. But regardless of where the analysts end up on the debate of the day regarding Iguodala’s monetary value, there is no question he is one of the top shooting guards in the league. What I like about Andre is that coming into the league he was an athletic freak who was in the line-up for his defense and penetration. Then he worked his tail off to become a better shooter. First the jumper, now the 3-ball is there in his game. Iggy is now one of the most well rounded SG’s in the NBA. Can he be a leader? Does he need to be?
If you put all of the skills you should have in a perfect point guard into some basketball player making machine, i’m pretty sure it would spit out a robot version of Ray Allen. The guy is super athletic, is one of the greatest pure shooter’s the game has ever seen, has flawless technique and fundamentals, has the triple threat, and he is ultra competitive. As we saw in the NBA finals last year (no disrespect to Pierce but I believe he was the more deserving finals MVP), when Allen heats up from beyond the arc he drains them easier than most drain free throws. ‘He Got Game’.
I have no idea why Joe Johnson is always so hell bent on playing the point. Maybe he took a liking to it during his stints filling in at the point in Phoenix and never could shake it. Whatever the reason is, i’m glad the Hawks finally got a pure point guard in Mike Bibby at the end of last year. Now Joe Johnson can focus all season long on being one of the top NBA shooting guards. He scores in bunches, but like many other 2 guards on this list, when he gets hot he can go off for 40-50 on any given night. The beauty of a Joe Johnson is…he often does a lot of his scoring without a ton of plays being called for him.
When Corey Maggette came into the league he was thought to have limitless potential. He was an athletic freak, with insane jumping ability and good ball control. Then he caught the on again, off again injury bug. People started to question his durability, but never his talent. I always felt like the Clippers were not using Maggette’s talents properly. With good half court guys like Brand and Co. anchoring the team, Maggette never really had a chance to be let loose. Now that Maggette is with the Golden State Warriors in a run and gun offense that would tire out even the Phoenix Suns of 2005, I expect Corey to put up some big numbers and prove he is one of the top 10 shooting guards in the league.
Jason Richardson can win dunk competitions, but can he ball? For a few years that was one of the big questions about this high flying star in G.S. Well I personally never thought of J-Rich as just a great dunker with no talent. If you really watch this guy closely you will notice he is an excellent inside/outside guy with great fundamentals. His fadeaway jumper even reminds me a bit of MJ himself, the way he can square his upper body to the basket from almost any angle to get off a good shot. He continues to put up great numbers for his new team in Charlotte, so why do Richardson’s team’s never win? I think it’s just a matter of circumstance more than anything attributable to his game on contributions.
Why do people continue to sleep on Kevin Martin? Every year since coming into the league this guy has improved his game, to the point where he finished last season with a 23+ points per game average. Not bad for a skinny kid that many thought wouldn’t amount to more than some role playing minutes at best. In my mind the guy is now a legit NBA scoring stud, and should average more than 25ppg this season given his pattern of continuous improvement. He may have some funky mechanics on his shooting stroke, but ‘who cares’, so did Reggie Miller who is arguably the greatest outside shooter ever! And for those who think K-Mart is just a shooting sensation with no slashing game, I guess you missed this pre-season dunk on the 7-footer, Greg Oden.
Honorable Mention: Manu Ginobili – For those of you wondering why Manu wasn’t listed, don’t fret. If he wasn’t injured and expected to miss a good portion of this season, I would certainly have to list Manu in my Top 10 NBA Shooting Guards for 2008-09. But who would he replace? That’s for you to figure out….
I love top 10 lists.
Where is Brandon Roy and Manu?
Both of those guys would have been in my top 5.
ok ok. Only thing I would chamge is putting ray allen at 5, joe johnson at 6 and andre Iguodala at 7. Everythinge else is pretty much right. Great post
Manu injured or not, not being on this list is blasphemous. The man is a top 5 shooting guard and was argurably the 2nd best behind Kobe last season. Good piece though.
yoonewverse.com
Brandon Roy is great, but he is more of a PG than a SG right now for the Blazers. Plus who would he knock off this list of true SG’s?
Manu, definitely is a top 5 shooting guard in the league. But if I was to stay true to who will be the best for 2008-09 I had to steer away from him given he could miss like half the season.
I agree with Brandon — hurray for lists! Nice job, Doc-Snap.
Personally, I’d switch Manu with Maggette. Isn’t he more of an SF?
[...] Top 10 NBA Shooting Guards < The Hoop Dr’s [...]
Good list Anklesnap! I agree with everyone including yourself that the list should have Ginobili in top 5. I also think that you should include Ben Gordon as one of the top shooting guards. He is a killer out there. Wheter off the bench or starting. A killer.
I have to disagree on a few things. The only mistake that I can admit on my list is Andre Igoudala not being on it, although i don’t believe he would be too high because Andre Miller and Elton Brand are going to command a lot of time with the ball in their hands.
What about Vince Carter, Brandon Roy, Michael Redd, Richard Hamilton… NO MANU!!!
Compare my list from a few weeks ago: http://www.laballtalk.com/2008/10/01/2008-2009-top-10-shooting-guards/
@Daniel
Vince Carter?? hahhahahah My drink almost came out my nose there. Haha.
Melo_Time: EZ man, Vince may not be the most durable or motivated player in the league but he’s still got incredible skills and gifts.
Daniel: Checked out your list. It’s really good. I like the points.
As I said earlier Manu would definitely be in the Top 5 if he weren’t injured. The list was intended to cover the SG’s that will be playing the majority of the season this year. Since that doesn’t apply to him I had to free up the space for another cat. Manu got the honorable mention treatment…hehe.
As for Vince, I have this feeling New Jersey will lose quite a bit to start the year off, then Vince will lose interest as usual and pull up gimpy or just stop putting forth the effort. I just can’t bring myself to reward a guy with his low level of competitive fire with a Top 10 anything listing..
Brandon Roy I considered more as a point guard the way the Blazers have been using him. When he eventually lands back at the SG spot, he would have to be considered though for sure.
Richard Hamilton is a great player and teammate, but he’s just a piece of the puzzle that makes the pistons great. He himself on another team wouldn’t stand out that much as one of the top SG’s in the league in my opinion. He just happens to bring a specific skill set that fits well with his teammates in Detroit. He’s efficient and all….just not one of the “greats”.
Michael Redd, probably should have been on this list. My bad, I guess after his lack of Burn during the olympics. I sort of forgot about him……Damn!
A couple things. This made me chuckle a bit: “A shooter is a player like Reggie Miller, Kyle Korver or J.J. Redick, that when the ball leaves his hands the opposing teams hold their breath.” J.J. Redick? Maybe at Duke, but he really doesn’t get any PT in the league.
As for Ben Gordon being on the list, take it from a Chicagoan who has watched him now for years–there is no way he should even sniff this list. He can score and he is a solid shooter, but that’s it.
Awesome list!
i would move Joe Johnson above Ray Allen (at least now that he’s proven himself) and Brandon Roy should be moved in here, but Corey Maggette is technically a small forward, and should be outside the top 10 anyway…
Where is Brandon Roy?????
I’d put Brandon Roy in even though he is a quasi SG/PG now. Too good not to be included. But I can understand why you left him out (since he’s not a pure SG), even though NBA fantasy lists him as one.
I agree where is Brandon Roy he may not be the flashiest player in the NBA but he produces. He should atleast be ahead of Maggette, JRich, and Martin. In 2 years he will be 3 or 4 on that list… wait and see!
My list: 1. – K.B 2. – D-Wade 3. – A.Iverson 4. – T.Mac 5. – M. Redd 6. – J. Johnson 7. – R.Allen 8. – J. Richardson 9. – V. Carter 10. – K. Martin and raising to very fast J.R Smith.
How did you come up with this ridiculous list? Oh…i get it. “thehoopdoctors” is an oxymoron.
Check the PER ratings monkeys.
1. Kobe
2. Manu
It is what it is.
Here is the correct top 10 shooting guards in the NBA right now.
where the hell is Roy… what are you smoking??? heres a way better top 10 sg’s.
1.)Kobe- for sg’s he is still number 1
2.)Wade- even though he has injuries he is right now the number 2 sg
3.)Roy-i put roy at 3 because, right now he i better than all the other shooting guards you brought up
4.)Tmac-at 4 he gets it done. he is still a very good sg
5.)Manu-noone can stop Manu great at driving it to the hoop hes my 5th sg
6.)M.Redd
7.)Allen Iverson
8.) Joe Johnson
9.)Kevin Martin
10.)Jason Richardson
top 10 pg’s
1.)Chris Paul- no doubt in my mind number 1
2.)Deron Williams-this guy gets it done and makes no mistakes
3.)Steve Nash-top 3 pg’s still even though is getting there in age
4.)Tony Parker-He has rings, and controls the team.
5.)Jason Kidd-still top 5 pg’s in my book
6.)Gilbert Arenas
7.)Baron Davis
8.)Chauncey Billups
9.)Rajon Rondo
10.)Mike Bibby
I would agree with the list if Roy and Manu were on the list and they were in the top 5, so I totally agree with JNH SG’s list but…
Where the heck is Calderon in your PG’s top 10 list JNH??? He ranks #1 in assists per to ratio, he is a top 5 just behind CP3 and Deron, they are the two best PG in the league.
Brandon Roy is most definetly a shooting guard. Granted he handles the ball alot but steve blake is our point guard. I also don’t think Igudola belongs in the top 10. He’s a good player but not a great one, if his perimeter game improves then he will be on the list.
LOL wtf.. what kinda list is this??:S
Kobe
wade,
Joe Johnson
Roy
Vince
Tmac
Redd
Iverson ..
This is the LIST So far in the season
This list is horrible. Since when has Andre Igudala or Corey Maggette ever even been a great shooting guard? Brandon Roy and Ginobli absolutely deserve to be on this list. In fact, Id put Roy top 3 right behind Wade. Riduculous
Get rid of igoudala, Richardson, and maggette. Add in Roy for sure, Manu, and someone else, maybe durant. How could you forget Roy though? You must be one of those high on your horse laker fans.
Yo, this list is aight. You need to have Carter up there. B-Roy is also worthy of this list. He is a better player than Iguodala. Manu deserves this too. This is my list.
1. Kobe Bryant
2. Dwayne Wade
3. Allen Iverson
4. Vince Carter
5. Joe Johnson
6. Tracy McGrady
7. Manu Ginobli
8. Brandon Roy
9. Joe Johnson
10. Jason Richardson
naw…Roy is DEFINATELY more of a SG than a PG for the Blazers
Outrageous to think that Roy is not on list
If you look at roys shooting percentage in clutch situations
It is easily better than most top players in the league Kobe and dwayne have the top because they own a championship
Put a team around roy( as they are doing now)
And he will get a few
Miles is a pot smoking steriod using bum that doesn’t deserve to play again
So don’t sign him
That 18 million could go to another big name small forward and a championship
I’m assuming from reading quite a few of these comments posted, people aren’t reading my previous comments about Roy being considered at the time the article was written as being more of a PG as the article was written before the season started and in previous years before this season Roy was playing more minutes at the 1 spot than the 2….
I agree then, yes Roy should be on this list if rewritten today with him playing most minutes at the SG spot…
Where’s Ben Gordon and Rudy Gay.
Wut about Vince Carter.
i think dwade is better off in this season , his back on fire top scoring every game .
IIght so im a big sixers fan so i like the igoudala but i think roy should be up there and also ginoblli and maggette defff should not be in there
mm. cognitively..
wheres brendan roy goof, iverson 3?…what u smokin dog
I do not agree at all about Corey Maggette being in front of Jason Richardson. If agreed then put a $$$ at the end of YOUR comments so i can see if i am right.
#1 Kobe Bryant
#2 Dwyane Wade
#3 Brandon Roy
#4 Manu Ginobili
#5 Tracy McGrady
#6 Joe Johnson
#7 Ray Allen
#8 Vince Carter
#9 Allen Iverson
#10 Monta Ellis
Uhh, you forgot the third best shooting guard in the NBA on your top 10 list…
#1 Kobey Bryant
#2 Dwayne Wade
#3 Ray Allen
#4 Allen Iverson
#5 M. Redd
#6 Manu Ginobili
#7 Vince Carter
#8 Tracy McGrady
#9 Monta Ellis
#10 Joe Johnson