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Teams often expect their shooting guards to provide assistance at the small forward when the situation demands. The upcoming draft houses some highly skilled youngsters that tick all the boxes for an ideal swingman for any NBA team.
Any young gun who starts his professional career as a shooting guard has that one true idol they can look up to - Michael Jordan; the man who owned this spot while he played and stamped his initials authoritatively, not to be questioned or challenged for a long time to come.
All of the following shooting guards are projected to be top 10 overall picks of the 2019 draft class, and some minor research into their journey to this point, tells us exactly why.
Let's take a look at the top 3 shooting guards from the upcoming draft class of 2019.
#3 Coby White
Initially overlooked due to his hyped teammate Darius Garland, Coby made a name for himself as his freshman year progressed at UNC. ESPN has currently projected him as the 8th overall pick this year (two spots above Garland) after his season averages of 16.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.1 steals. Moreover, the 6-foot-5 afro-donning guard made 82 three-pointers for a freshman year consisting of 562 points.
“It still hasn’t hit me yet,” White said at the NBA draft combine. “You dream it before you realize you’re capable of it.”
In the process of powering the Tar Heels to a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, White also destroyed Michael Jordan’s freshman scoring record. Widely known for his smooth stepback jumper from beyond the arc, the 19-year-old is also perhaps the quickest end-to-end athlete amongst others that sharing this class with him.
Despite wingspan limitations (by NBA standards), Coby carries the instinct and awareness to stay active on defense at every possession, a quality that makes a huge difference when it comes to NBA basketball.
“The league is full of great point guards every night,” White said at the combine. “I’m looking forward to the challenge of testing myself.”
#2 Jarrett Culver
In his sophomore year, Culver emerged into a weapon that could excel in the NBA right off the bat. He was the Big 12 Player of the Year in 2019, and exhibited impressive defensive abilities to go hand-in-hand with his hyped offensive prowess. Culver ranked 6th in the country in raw defensive rating (86.7).
The 6-foot-7 swingman was only one of seven players to attempt over 150 three-pointers. He has shown time and again that he can score as well as act as a facilitator when the situation demands.
Culver shot 45% from three-point territory during his freshman year when his offensive burden was lesser compared to now. He is currently projected to be a top 10 overall pick, as the second best shooting guard of his class.
#1 RJ Barrett
The Blue Devil guard attained elite level status as Duke Basketball touched new heights under his and Zion's skillsets. RJ Barrett is a bonafide basketball superstar and has the code to greatness already hardwired in his DNA.
The 19-year-old averaged 22.6 points, 7.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists and stacked up 860 points on what was the fourth most points scored by a freshman in Division I history. Barrett is a superhuman finisher at the rim with his strong drives and doesn't flinch when it comes to dominating in the paint. He is a fierce rebounder who crashes the boards at will and his instincts to read the play on defense are out of this world.
"New York is the place I want to be, so I hope they draft me." - RJ Barrett
The Ontario native is expected to be picked behind fellow teammate Zion Williamson and Ja Morant as a strong No.3 overall pick in the upcoming draft and has repeatedly expressed his desire to play for the Knicks.
Only if he could develop his off-ball offense and improve his decision making in the half court, his ceiling is sky high.
