The NBA shooting guard position is predicated on scoring. It is a position that most teams rely upon to score a good portion of their points. Most of the all-time great scorers like Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant played this position. Because of that, this list will most likely have some of the league’s elite scorers. Here are the top five shooting guards of 2016-17.
Top Five Shooting Guards of 2016-17
James Harden
James Harden has proven that he is among the NBA’s elite. The four-time All-Star had a career high in points last season with a staggering 29 per game. Despite that, Harden has drawn heavy criticism from critics. He was incredibly left off the All-NBA teams because he has gained an unfortunate reputation as a ball-stopper. Similarly to Carmelo Anthony, Harden is a player who simply gets buckets, but is much maligned for how he goes about doing so.
Harden’s field goal shooting percentage stayed around his career average of 44 percent last year. It’s impressive that he was able to improve an already outrageously high scoring number while keeping his field goal percentage the same. What is even more astounding is that Harden has one of the highest usage rates in the NBA, 31 percent, but his true shooting percentage was over 59 percent.
While his scoring numbers are what have gotten Harden onto this list, it is everything else that he does so well that puts him at the top. At 6’6″, Harden is one of the best passers in the league. As the off-guard last season, he averaged 7.5 assists per game with a very good 35 percent assist rate. These numbers were so good that new coach Mike D’Antoni decided to make Harden the starting point guard for the Houston Rockets this season. Expect his assist totals to only improve in the coming year.
Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler has fashioned himself into one of the best two-way players in the NBA. He is the crown jewel of the Chicago Bulls. Now that they have finally moved on from the injury-prone Derrick Rose, Butler has been handed the reigns to the franchise. Whether or not the Bulls make the playoffs in a much improved Eastern Conference will depend on whether Butler continues to improve.
In this aspect, Bulls fans should be hopeful. Butler has improved his numbers every year that he has been in the NBA. Last season, he scored a career high 20.9 points per game, shooting a respectable 45 percent from the field. Butler is a slightly old-fashioned player, scoring the majority of his points inside the three-point arc. At 6’7″ and 220 lbs, he is one of the biggest shooting guards in the league. He has used his size to great effect, attacking the rim relentlessly. This can easily be seen by his 7.1 free throw attempts per game, one of the highest marks in the NBA. His ability to get to the free throw line slightly masks his career 32 percent shooting from three.
Chicago’s acquisition of Dwyane Wade might seem odd. He’s a 34-year-old on a two year, $46 million contract, and he doesn’t shoot three-pointers well. But one thing that Wade can do is score the basketball, evident in his 19 points per game last season. This will hopefully take part of the offensive load off of Butler so that he can focus on guarding the other team’s best perimeter scorer.
Klay Thompson
The second member of the Golden State Warriors‘ Splash Bros, Klay Thompson has turned into the prototypical three-and-D player. Possessing one of the purest jumpshots in NBA history, Thompson is able to let fly from any spot on the floor. His shooting led him to career highs in scoring at 22.1 points per game and shooting percentage at 47 percent last year. One of the bigger shooting guards in the league, Thompson uses his 6’7″ frame to bully opponents in the post. This has really added to his overall offensive game and turned him into an elite scorer.
What really sets Thompson apart is his ability as a two-way player. In addition to already having two 20-point scoring seasons under his belt, Thompson has established himself as one of this league’s elite defenders. Capable of guarding positions one through three, Thompson regularly takes pressure off of two-time MVP Stephen Curry. Thompson picks up the other team’s best guard so that Curry can relax slightly on the defensive end. Thompson’s versatility has become invaluable to head coach Steve Kerr and the Warriors.
While some would argue that the acquisition of Kevin Durant might hurt Thompson’s numbers, there is little chance of this. It’s true that Durant is another ball-dominant scorer. Fortunately for the Warriors, Thompson is most effective playing away from the ball. He can come off screens and spot up outside the three-point line, where he can let fly. It is very rare that Thompson isolates one-on-one. So don’t expect a drop-off in Thompson’s scoring numbers.
DeMar Derozan
NBA fans, writers, and pundits always talk about what the Toronto Raptors guard can’t do. Make no mistake, DeRozan is a top-25 player in the NBA, so let’s focus on what has made him a two-time All-Star. He’s one of only five players to average at least 23.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 4.0 assists while shooting at least 44 percent from the field. The others were arguably the best four players in the league in LeBron James, Steph Curry, Kevin Durant, and Russell Westbrook.
As one of the NBA’s most prolific scorers, it should come as no surprise that DeRozan scored 24 points per game last year. An old-school guard in the modern NBA, DeRozan defies analytics. Despite being a career 28 percent three-point shooter, he has scored more than 20 points per game in each of his last three seasons. This is because of his staggering ability to get to the free-throw line. Last year, DeRozan averaged 8.4 free-throw attempts per game, hitting them at a remarkable 85 percent clip. This rate allowed him to make the second most-free throws in the league last year, connecting on 555 of them. So while people might claim that he is inefficient, he still had the same true shooting percentage as Paul George, Bradley Beal, and C.J. McCollum, all supposedly elite and efficient shooters.
DeRozan has made drastic strides in his game every season. Look for another jump this year, as last season he averaged career highs in points, rebounds, assists, and three-point percentage. Do not be shocked to see the 27-year-old on an All-NBA team this season.
Andrew Wiggins
The Minnesota Timberwolves are the young team to watch this upcoming season. One of the reasons is their star wing player Andrew Wiggins. Yes, he has played a lot of small forward so far in his young career, but he seems to fit better as a shooting guard. Tom Thibodeau likes big and physical shooting guards, evident by his use of Butler in Chicago. So expect Wiggins to get a lot of minutes at the shooting guard position.
One of the most explosive players in the NBA, the 6’8″ Wiggins will have a size and quickness advantage on just about every match-up. After winning the Rookie of the Year award in 2014-15, Wiggins eclipse the 20-point mark in scoring average last year. This is due to a new-found aggression and improvement on his post game. With that massive size advantage, Wiggins has become one of the better post scorers in the league. Perfecting the turnaround jumper, he is very similar to DeRozan in the way that he is capable of shooting right over defenders. And like DeRozan, Wiggins is extremely adept at getting to the free-throw line, attempting 6.3 per game last year.
The thing that has lacked from Wiggins’ game is defensive intensity. This was not solely a Wiggins problem, as the Wolves were one of the worst defensive teams in the league last year. With exquisite athletes at every position and Thibodeau as the new head coach, look for Wiggins to improve greatly as a defensive player. Only 21 years old, Wiggins could become the ultimate two-way player, given the proper coaching and willingness to improve. He should easily surpass his 20.7 points per game this season, with an even better efficiency.
Honourable mentions: C.J. McCollum, Dwyane Wade, Victor Oladipo
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