Ranking 76ers’ James Harden and the top 30 NBA point guards

Darius Garland has thrived despite the ever-large shadow of Donovan Mitchell, who has undeniably been the focal point of Cleveland’s recent ascent. Garland has adjusted well to sharing ball-handling duties and spending time off-ball, where he can still leverage his shooting gravity and movement skills. He’s certainly exploitable on defense, but very few point guards can operate as prolifically and efficiently as Garland.

Tyrese Haliburton has made the star leap — to the point where, on my personal ballot, he was an Eastern Conference All-Star starter. He’s one of the smartest players in the game, a mega-watt game processor who can pass teammates open instead of simply passing to open teammates. He’s going to be near the top of the league is assists for the next decade while bombing 3s at a supremely efficient rate and playing quality defense.

Trae Young’s reputation has been hotly debated this season with the Hawks struggling to maintain relevancy in the East. But, at the end of the day, we’re talking about a 24-year-old who has already made two All-Star appearances and led his team to the conference finals. Young’s limitless range, twitchy handles, and playmaking wizardry combine to make him one of the NBA’s most productive — and effective — offensive engines.