Top 10 NBA Shooting Guards Today

We rank the top ten NBA shooting guards using a blend of production, impact, and defense, and we wrestle with a live debate at the top between Jaylen Brown and Anthony Edwards. Along the way, we spotlight rising talent, proven buckets, and the case for rethinking how we label guards.

• criteria that balances talent, efficiency and role impact
• whether shooting guard is weak or mislabeled in today’s NBA
• no. 10 Nickeil Alexander‑Walker as a trusted two‑way piece
• Keyonte George’s confidence and growing playmaking
• Desmond Bane’s elite efficiency and sturdy frame
• Trey Murphy’s spacing plus on‑ball defense at size
• Norman Powell as a professional scorer who closes games
• Stephon Castle’s upside as a point‑of‑attack stopper
• Donovan Mitchell’s scoring vs postseason questions
• Devin Booker’s edge in playmaking and consistency
• Jaylen Brown vs Anthony Edwards for the crown
• honorable mentions and where they fall short

Please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who’s anyone about the show

Transcript

Framing The Top‑10 Criteria

SPEAKER_00 0:00

What's up, everybody? It's your favorite shows. Favorite show get a bucket. I'm your host, Trey, as usual. Hope you're all having a wonderful, wonderful day. Now, today we're going to talk about the top ten NBA shooting guards in the league right now. Now, if y'all heard the last episode, y'all heard about the point guards. So y'all understand how this is going to go. We're going to talk about the shooting guards today, small forwards the next day, power forwards and centers after that, right? So it's going to be different episodes, not the same one. Just give you a heads up. All right. Also, to note, too, I'm trying to figure out if the shooting guards is the weakest position in the NBA right now. Or is it the centers based? I'm basing that question off the all-star nods, right? Like point guards have more shooting guards. We'll talk about it another time, but we're on shooting guards right now. So with that being said, we got to talk about the top 10. I do have some honorable mentions, alright, but this is not all talent based. It's based on a little bit of production as well as talent. Okay, so keep that in mind, ladies and gentlemen. So you may have some gripes with my list. That's okay. I want to hear y'all's thoughts. Let me know who y'all want to replace, who you feel like should not be in the top 10. But with that being said, let's go ahead and kick it off with number 10. We gotta go Nikil Alexander Walker. Alright. Look, buddy, about 6'5, 6'6. Give you about 20 a game. Is it the most efficient 20? No. But it's a solid 20 that any team, and I mean any team, could utilize. Like on this Hawks team, bro. Hey, man. You know what I'm saying? He's cool. And then defensively, we gotta remember Nikhil was actually one of the better defenders on the Wolves. Like when they had to go up against OKC, Nikhil was actually doing his thing against his cousin. Shea Gilders Alexander. So when I'm thinking about Nikhil, yeah, he can play make a little bit. He can score a little bit. He can defend. And he got he got good height to him, good length. I feel like number 10 is good. I feel like number 10 is good. Could I put some other players ahead of him? Potentially, potentially. But especially this particular season, yeah, I would like to see him be a little bit more efficient from the field. Three-point percentage, I think, was actually pretty good. Free throws, I'll work with. Again, the effort he gives on the defensive end, I like. But he's also seemed to step it up a little bit as a player, as a man, as a person. That cannot go unnoticed. So again, ladies and gentlemen, number 10 to kill Alexander Walker. I think he's earned that spot. And again, yes, I could put other players ahead of him if we're talking about talent. But I'm looking at talent and production. You gotta give him some love. You got to. Now, number nine's a little tricky. Because as I'm looking at it, I kind of want to change my answer a little bit. And I and you know what? I think I might have just convinced myself to doing so too. Because for real, for as I'm looking six through nine, it's a little tricky. All right. So I'm gonna go ahead and do a switch on the fly. And I'm gonna put number nine as Keontae George. Keontae, do not be mad at me. Alright? I ain't trying to, you know what I'm saying? I just like you, it's it's a little new to see you right now. It's a little new to see you, okay? I do like Keontae George, though. Now they have him playing the point guard position at 6'4. But I like Isaiah Collier a little bit better as a point guard on their team, even though they have him coming off the bench. But Keonta can score. Oh, yeah, Keontae can score a little bit now. And and decent efficiency, too, might I add. Again, he's still a little young, so we got to factor that in. But also the playmaking in defense, it's not bad. I'm liking the confidence dating back to last season that I saw in Keontae. So again, ladies and gentlemen, confidence breeds a lot. Talent, if we want to talk about talent, there might be other talented players up here. But again, production, confidence, talent. I think Keonta number nine makes sense. 20 points per game plus score, giving you about what, five, six assists, maybe. That's not bad. And defensively, he's not trash. He's not trash at all. So again, number nine, I can't be too mad at that. Now going up to number eight, eight and seven, I have a little bit of a gripe with. I'm not gonna try to readjust things too much. I'm just gonna put number eight as Desmond Bain. That's right, Desmond Bain, number eight. Could we throw him a little bit higher? Potentially. Especially when I'm looking at some of the players on my list, but we're gonna flow with me a little bit, just flow with me a little bit, right? Desmond Bain, about 6'5. Some people haven't listed a 6'6. His wingspan ain't the best. I'll give you that. If we want to talk about talent, okay, cool. He's not the most talented, but what he does do is provide tremendous efficiency on the offensive end. And it's not like the brother can't play defense, too, by the way. He can play, make the ball when you need to. Like Desmond Bain is a true two guard. And I genuinely do like Desmond Bain. To the point that, respectfully, if you had him on my Lakers, oh, we cook him with fish grease. Same with Keontae, same with Nikhil. Don't get it wrong. But Desmond as a professional, a little stocky. I like that. I do. And again, ladies and gentlemen, those intangibles, he's a good leader to me. All right? Like he's a good leader. You gotta remember when John Morant went down on the Memphis Grizzly, yeah, they had a decent team. Desmond Bain was viewed as the best player. Some people try to make the notion that Jaron Jackson Jr. was no, it was actually Desmond Bain. JJ, Triple J was the defensive anchor, I'll give you. But Desmond Bain was that offensive leader. We just got called Spade of Spade. And if I'm being honest with you, I kind of want, I do believe I should put him ahead of number seven. But number seven is just so daggone good, bro. Number seven is so good. And I ain't gonna act like it's biased, all right? But it's Trey Murphy the third. You know what I'm saying? We do got the same name, Trey. We spell a little differently. Fun fact, too, he's the third. I gotta make sure Trey ain't his first name. Because if he's Trey the third, that's crazy. Because usually you know somebody by the name of Trey, that means they're the third. Just fun fact. But Trey Murphy, the boy can score. The boy can shoot. He can play on ball, off ball, and we're talking about both offense and defense. You hear me? All right. About 6'7, 6'8, the boy Lankey gets some solid rebounds. He's an elite-level defender that can get a bucket. I ain't mad at that. And we're talking about shooting guards. All right. That he can shoot and he can guard. And he can guard better than Desmond Bain and Keontae and Nikhil Alexander Walker. Like, if respectfully, if my Lakers get Trey Murphy, okay, cool. I'm gonna start believing my management again. Because respectfully, that man paired with any other player. Like, imagine Cade having that at his disposal, not Duncan Robinson. Imagine Steph Curry having him. That might be the next Klay Thompson. Like, that's kind of crazy when you think about it, ladies and gentlemen. And again, as I'm thinking about it, it's hard for me to put him and Desmond so low. It really is. Like, they're both really good players. So I hope y'all boys are listening. Thank you for the appreciation. Thank you for the support. But also, don't take this as slander. Please don't. Because I understand some of these players can interchange a little bit. But I got Trey Murphy at number seven. Y'all might be wondering then who's at number six since I got these boys quote unquote so low. Well, I got Norman Powell. Okay. Norman Powell at number six. He's an all-star too, by the way, in case y'all didn't know that. So he got a little got a little cachet to him, right? But Norman Powell is a bucket. That man is a bucket. And he's viewed as a role player, which is crazy, because he is. That's fine. That's fair. But he is a bucket. Now, the playmaking aspect, him and Trey not the best playmakers. I'll give you that. They're cool. They're not the best playmakers. They're buckets. You understand me? They can playmake. They're pure buckets, though. And I think Trey's a little bit better off ball than Norman Powell is. But in terms of professional buckets, Norman Powell's one of them ones. Easily a 20-point per game scorer. He's been that way for quite a few seasons now. Defensively, is he better than Trey Murphy? But I think right now, point in time, Norm's just a smear's better than Trey. Just a smear's better than Keontae. Just a smear's better than Desmond. And again, if y'all switch those, I'm not going to have a gripe with you. I understand it. Holla at me next season, and I might switch it off. Norm Powell, though, because he got that all-star nod, that does help sway me a little bit, specifically this season. Do they have more talent, more potential those other players? Yes. But again, production-wise, Norm Powell, he's playing pretty well. I can't hold you. He is playing pretty well. On the Miami Heat, he's doing his thing. Last year on the Clippers, he was doing his thing. Hey, if you have a gripe with Norman Powell being this high, I don't think you watch basketball. And again, I'm not talking about in the league, ladies and gentlemen. I'm talking about amongst NBA shooting guards. Number six. Now, number five. This one could be a little controversial. I'm talking about top five, ladies and gentlemen. Top five. I gotta go Stefan Castle. And hear me out. Because on the Spurs, he's playing the point guard position. But I really do look at him as a shooting guard. If I'm just keeping it a buck with you. Yes, you can put him in the point guard position, which, if I'm thinking about the point guards, huh? But Stefan Castle at number five, top five, like I said. I hear you if you have a gripe. But again, ladies and gentlemen, when you really think about this, Stefan Castle is one of the younger players on this list. He might have the most upside on this list, or one of the most upsides on this list. 6'7, two-way elite player. Or I should say two-way player. He's not quite elite offensively, for me, just yet. Defensively, yes. Like he's guarded players like Cade. Caused a little controversy, caused a little happy for Cade. I think he's one of the few players that can guard almost anybody in the league, especially from a guard position. Like anybody. And he's still young. Still trying to figure out a few of these things. Stefan Castle. You gotta call a spade spade. There's some times where he looks like he might be the best player on the Spurs. And that's including when Victor Wimbenyama plays. Like they're called Area 51 for a reason. That's because he's also viewed as a freak of nature. Defensively, he's stout. And offensively, the man can put the ball in the basket. Forget his averages right now. We've seen him throw up a 40 plus a 40-point triple dub before. We've seen it. We've seen him catch bodies. We know what he can do. You might be able to say, all right, this is a little bit premature. I'll hear that. I genuinely will. Problem is though, his Spurs number two. And I can't put all of that on Victor Wimbinama. I gotta look at, yeah, he has a decent squad. Don't get it wrong. He's one of the better players on his team. So again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, is it safe to say that Stefan Castle is top five shooting guards? I think it is. Now again, if you if you view this as too high, because you feel like it's too early, okay, cool. He's still got to be top 10. And then if you have him as a point guard, I hear that because that's the position that he does play. But keep in mind, on that Spurs team, De'Aaron Fox is really their point guard. So Stefan Castle really got to be their two guard. So again, because of that, and I genuinely view him as a two guard, I think top five is fair. Can Norman Powell maybe outscore him at times? Sure. Can Trey Murphy give him a run for his money defensively while at the same time spacing the floor out a little bit better? Sure. Keontae and Desmond, can they do Okay, maybe not on the defensive end, but offensively, maybe sure. Can Nikhil, yeah, okay, on a game or two, maybe Nikhil can't. But again, ladies and gentlemen, Stefan Castle consistently is one of them ones. And again, he's younger than everybody that I'm listening. And that's scary when you think about it. Now, number four. Number four, I've been calling him a little bit overrated. I don't think he's the guy to get you into that championship, right? But Bunny can play the hell out of some basketball. That's Donovan Mitchell. Now, he was an all-star this year. Stefan Castle, in fact, was not an all-star. Could have been, but was not. All right, cool. No gripes. Donovan Mitchell has been an all-star for quite some time. Has played all NBA caliber games. Only gripes I got with him is playoffs. Because he has not advanced to the conference finals, whether it's the East or the West. He is not. We've seen players like Tyrese Halliburton get to the conference finals and people call him overrated. But at the same time, we're talking about Tyrese is the leader of his team. He's the best player on his team. All right, cool. I need to see Donovan Mitchell get there. But that's like the main gripe I have about him. Because as an undersized two guard at 6'2, yeah, he's pretty spectacular. I ain't gonna lie to you. He can put the ball in the basket. And he's at least given more effort on the defensive end over the last couple seasons. Before that, I used to say, no, he's not good at defense. He's not. I'm still not gonna act like he's elite. I just say I won't say he's trash. He gives effort. Got a solid wingspan, good athleticism. I like him. I do. I just don't believe he's the star that's gonna get you a championship. Not as the one option. If he's your two option, oh well, you cooking with some Greece now. But Donovan Mitchell, number four, I think that's quite fair. And respectfully, he's better than Stefan Castle offensively. He is. I'll give you that. To the point that defensively, yes, Stefan Castle is elite, but Donovan Mitchell, again, because of his effort, he's right there. So I'm not gonna I'm not gonna knock him too much. But again, Donovan Mitchell at number four. Remember that, ladies and gentlemen. All right. And I don't think he's going to go upwards any, by the way. I think he's gonna stay at four and start to decrease. Because he's about 2930 as well, too. So them shorter guards, you gotta pay attention to. Because as time ages on, it don't really sit too, too well for them. Just saying. Just saying. Now, number three, Devin Booker. He was also an all-star, ladies and gentlemen. About 6'5. Good guard comes from, decent stock. Like he got a good head on his shoulders. I really do like D-Book. From a professional, both him and Donovan Mitchell are good professionals. They're both good scores. Problem is, D Book gives a little bit more effort on defense, and I think he's a better defender than Donovan Mitchell. Donovan Mitchell has better athleticism. Devin Booker isn't a slouch on the athletic tip, though, by the way. Playmaking-wise, I gotta lean D-Book. If we're talking about scoring, hell, they both have scored 70 points in a game. So it could be a tie. It really could. But as a shooter, I lean D-Book personally. As a scorer, you can say it's a wash. Playmaker, I say D book. Defense, I say D book. D Book's a taller player. I like D-Book. Now, if you want to put Donovan ahead of D Book, I can understand that world. But again, ladies and gentlemen, I put Donovan below D book. And I think D Book has been the better shooting guard for quite some time, too. Shot looks better. They both good skilled players. I gotta look and see which one's actually more efficient. I would lean D Book. I really would. And when I look at D Book's scoring, too, by the way, Donovan sometimes be dropping the ball. D Book don't. He's more consistent than Donovan. In my eyes. I ain't watch every game, but again, Donovan, Donovan dropped the ball sometimes. D Book don't as much. D Book's also been to the finals. Yes, you can say Chris Paul was there. Got you. Hear you. I hear you. How many excuses are we gonna give Donovan? Because he's had good teams. Just like D-Book has. And D Book went to the finals in the West. Donovan can't even get to the final. He lost to Paul George. Come on now. Come on now. I'm just saying. Paul George, cool, don't get it wrong. But we hear the pandemic P notions, right? You should be able to get over that hump. Devin Booker was able to get to the finals. Just saying, lost in the finals, but still got to the finals. So I gotta put D book there just a little bit more in terms of who's the better guard. Because again, I think as a shooter, as a scorer, shooter, D book, score, wash, guard, D book. But that's just me. If y'all have gripes, let me know. Now, number two and number one is a little tricky. Because sometimes I view my current number two is number one. Sometimes I feel like my number one could be number one or number two. Like it just it really depends on the moment. And I'll I'm gonna I'm gonna be honest. I'm gonna be honest. I'm thinking about switching my picks right now, point in time. But number two currently for me is Jalen Brown, all-star, right? MVP nods right now, like he he's he's in the he's in the MVP consideration. And number one is Anthony Edwards. Sometimes I want to switch, though. Jalen Brown, 6'6, shooting guard, fairly strong, fairly athletic. One of the better two-way players in the game. We can say the same thing about Anthony Edwards, except he's just 6'4. That's it. But he's more athletic than Jalen Brown, if I'm giving it, if I'm being honest. And Jalen Brown's just an older player, so he's a little bit more professional, but ant, ant right there. Ant is right there. Marketability favors Ant. Like we know these things, okay, ladies and gentlemen. I give Ant the nod because sometimes I feel like he got a little bit more dog in him. But that's not a knock on JB. JB has a lot of dog in him himself. And that's why I'm hesitant in putting Jalen Brown at number two. And with Jalen Brown being a one option, Anthony Edwards being a one option, I just got to think a little bit more on this. Because I can flip-flop between these two on any given day, respectfully. I like both Jalen Brown. I like both and Anthony Edwards. They both have shown they can lead their teams. Jalen Brown's playing without Jason Tatum. Anthony Edwards has beaten my Lakers. And that was without Julius Randle really playing up to the potential that Julius Randle normally plays. Like both of them boys are pretty spectacular. Who's number one? I'm not going to be mad if y'all say Jalen Brown, because again, I'm I really want to put Jalen Brown at number one. It's just a little bit of bias on this one in terms of Ant being higher than JB. But again, ladies and gentlemen, both are 20-point per game scores. Both can playmate pretty well, and both can lock down at any given moment. Solid rebounders, good athleticism. They're cut from the same cloth. Like, I don't know what's needed to really make me say one over the other. Because even in this very season, like statistically, Jalen Brown is outperforming Anthony Edwards. Talent-wise, Ant-Man got it. Production-wise, they both right there. So I don't know. I'm still confused. You could say it's biased. Alright, I hear it. When I look at these two players, though, Ant does sometimes view as the better player, especially in the All-Star game, right? Like he seemed to have wanted it a little bit more than JB did. Just a little bit. So maybe that's the reason why I'm putting him ahead of JB. Although, again, JB has done a lot. Finals MVP, potential MVP this season. Ant can do that as well, too, especially later on in his career. I'm just saying, there's a world where Jalen Brown can be the best shooting guard in the game. And there's a world where Anthony Edwards can be the best shooting guard in the game. But ladies and gentlemen, I am curious what y'all think about the top 10 listing thus far. Like, did I miss some people out? Because I do have a couple honorable mentions. Like, we got Kevin Porter Jr., we got Peyton Pritchard, we got Dyson Daniels, we got Josh Hart, we got VJ Escom, we got Con Knutel, we got Jalen Green, Austin Reeves, Zach Levine, Shaden Sharp, Benedict Matherin, RJ Barrett, Dante DiVincenzo, Lou Dort, Quentin Grimes, Jordan Poole, Duncan Robinson. We have a bunch of shooting guards we can list in here. Maybe not Duncan, no disrespect. But we have a bunch of shooting guards that we can mention in here. Like as a Lakers fan, I know people are probably talking about, well, why you ain't put in Austin Reeves? Peep the trend. Okay? Like everybody on this list that I gave are much better defenders than Austin Reeves. And they can score and playmake just as well, if not better. Like that top 10 for me is pretty solid. But I'm curious what you all think, who should be the top 10 shooting guards in the NBA today. And by the way, these guys aren't all doing this on free throw attempts, too. Like Austin Reeves got to lead the league in free throw attempts. He's third, I think, actually, or was third. That's pretty high. I think Keontae George was like top 10 as well, too, which is kind of surprising. But still, his don't seem like they're given by the refs. But that's just me, though. But again, ladies and gentlemen, I'm very curious what y'all's listing is for top ten shooting guards in the NBA. But make sure y'all comment and let me know. But as that that does conclude the end of the episode. Small forwards will be next, ladies and gentlemen. So, you know, bear with me. But please make sure to like, subscribe, comment, tell anyone who's anyone about the show. My name is Trey. I'm the host of Get a Bucket, and I hope you are all having a good one. Take care.