The summer of 2022 is upon us and we’re ranking the top 30 players at every position. Today, we look at the shooting guard position. From multiple Sixth Man of the Year candidates to a top-five MVP candidate, the position is loaded with talent.
You can read our mid-season rankings here, but fair warning: we focused only on starters at the time, which kept some names off the board in favor of representing all 30 teams. Not this time around. It’s the offseason, change is inevitable, and we’re embracing the best players, regardless of team.
Let’s get the ball rolling…
Top 30 NBA shooting guards — 30. Jordan Clarkson, Jazz
Jordan Clarkson is the quintessential sixth man: he comes in and scores a bunch of points, sometimes with great efficiency, and sometimes with very poor efficiency. He’s there to make shots and not much else. He’s a poor defender, a subpar decision-maker, and mostly one-noted as a player. He plays that one note quite well, though.
Top 30 NBA shooting guards — 29. Luke Kennard, Clippers
After some turbulence in recent years, Luke Kennard reasserted his presence as one of the NBA’s top marksmen. He hit 44.9 percent of his 3s and proved critical to the Clippers’ depth-oriented approach to winning games. He doesn’t get much love — in part because of his contract, and in part because of the talent around him in LA’s backcourt — but Kennard is on the shortlist of most valuable off-movement shooters in the NBA.
Top 30 NBA shooting guards — 28. Patrick Beverley, Jazz
It’s impossible to deny the impact Patrick Beverley had on the Timberwolves organization, both on the court and inside the locker room. His pitbull attitude gave a much needed edge to that team, and he remains an extremely influential on-ball deterrent defensively. He’s small and probably a little overrated in the grand scheme of things, but good teams need players who are willing to go to war like Beverley.