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The guard position has plentiful of talent in the league today. Often you will hear analysts and fans talk about the league being guard heavy. The league has produced an astonishing amount of talented guards in recent years and it has been fun to see them compete against each other.
Today we will focus on the shooting guards. They typically are the guards that play off-ball and instead of playmaking, they focus more on the scoring aspect of the game. The shooting guard position has historically been an important position with legends such as Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant being the flagbearers of the same.
Even today, we see young shooting guards such as Donovan Mitchell and Devin Booker making name for themselves in the league. This list will rank the 5 best shooting guards heading into the 2018-19 NBA season.
#5 Victor Oladipo
You could make a serious argument about how the Indiana Pacers won the Paul George trade. Oladipo has emerged as a star in the league with the potential of becoming a superstar if he continually improves his game. His success this year came as a big surprise for most as he averaged 23.1 points, 4.3 assists, and 5.2 rebounds per game.
He has emerged as a strong two-way player who could lead the Pacers far into the playoffs. He and his team were able to take the King LeBron James and the Cavs to seven games, so don't be surprised if the Pacers can make it to the conference finals if all the pieces click.
#4 DeMar DeRozan
The newest member of the Spurs will be able to take his game to the next level with the help of Gregg Popovich. DeMar DeRozan was the face of the Raptors franchise for years and was a key contributor to making the playoffs and securing high seeds in the regular season. His last season averages were 23 points, 5.2 assists, and 3.9 rebounds per game.
The playoffs have been a different story for him, as he has consistently struggled in the playoffs and was never able to carry over his regular season success. DeRozan will be the primary scorer for the Spurs organization and will be working under arguably a top 3 coach of all time.
#3 Klay Thompson
It's hard to evaluate Klay Thompson considering he's a potential primary scorer playing the role of a tertiary scoring option. He knew what he needed to sacrifice when Kevin Durant joined, and his stats did take a hit but his level of talent has remained the same.
The stats from last year won't jump off the page, but you must remember he gets less touches these days and he's superb on defense. He's a solid two-way player who people think may want his own team when he hits the free agency market this coming off-season. I guess we will have to wait and see.
#2 Jimmy Butler
Most talk these days isn't about Butler's talents, but where he will land next year during free agency. It's rumoured he's unhappy in Minnesota and may move to New York. Rumours aside, Butler has come a long way since being a 30th pick.
He's consistently shown to be a great two-way player, who is capable of being a number one or two scoring option on a team. Last year he averaged 22.2 points, 4.9 assists, and 5.3 rebounds. His workout intensity is off the charts and he is a bulldog in training and practice.
#1 James Harden
You could argue he's a point guard now, but with the addition of Chris Paul we are going to refer to Harden's natural position which is the shooting guard position. He's got a killer crossover and has been one of the best player in the game for years. He's the face of the Rockets franchise and has proven he has the talent to lead them far into the playoffs.
Harden averaged 30.4 points, 8.8 assists, and 5.4 rebounds per game. He's not strong defensively from all the Harden defence "highlights" you can find on the internet, but he makes up for it was his strong offensive game.
