🤺
We ranked the all-time NBA point guards by category for you a while back. With the response to this being so good, we can’t wait to offer you our next post to enjoy with your morning coffee or unwind from a long workday.
With the point guard in the rearview mirror, we now focus on the shooting guard position. Some of the greatest basketball players of all time, including the greatest players in NBA history, have called the shooting guard position their primary position. Speaking of Michael Jordan, I forewarn you that if you’re not a fan, this article probably isn’t for you.
As we did with point guards, we’ve chosen 15 categories to assign to the best shooting guards in history. Every aspect of offense and defense will be covered, along with the best overall shooting guard in NBA history, and we can all decide who it will end up being. Not every category will be filled by the same two players, though, as there are some outliers in terms of position, but let’s get started.
By category, these are the greatest shooting guards in NBA history.
Best – Michael Jordan
Michael Jordan made this list, surprising no one reading this right now. Jordan redefined what it means to be great during his 15-year NBA career, the greatest in the history of the game.
Michael Jordan didn’t happen overnight. It took him years to get to that level after postseason losses to the Boston Celtics and Detroit Pistons. Once he does, he cannot be stopped. He dominated the league with 10 scoring titles, 5 MVP awards, 6 NBA titles, 6 Finals MVP awards, and more individual and team accomplishments.
During his 13 seasons in Chicago, Michael Jordan became not only the greatest shooting guard in NBA history, but a global icon and a symbol for an entire generation of basketball fans. Anywhere you think your favorite player has had an impact on the game, Jordan has more. When your legacy is still intact 30 years later, that legacy will remain intact forever and cement your status as the greatest man of all time.
Score – Michael Jordan
Yes, this would be a bit redundant, but we trust you get the idea. Michael Jordan, like the best total points category, is not only the greatest shooting guard in NBA history, but also the greatest overall scorer. Let’s start with his 10 NBA scoring titles, most of which came from dominating the mid-range and attacking the rim.
Jordan won the first seven scoring titles of his career in a row from 1987 to 1993. Two years after retiring, he won three more scoring titles in a row from 1996 to 1998. Then, we can look at his NBA career average of 30.1 points per game, further proving his status as a GOAT scorer. If that wasn’t enough, Jordan also leads the playoffs in scoring with a career scoring average of 33.4 points per game.
Inevitably someone will say, “Well, he has the ball and takes a lot of shots.” These people are ignorant and lost in confusion. Michael Jordan has shot better than 50.0 percent six times in his career and shot less than 45.0 percent just twice, both in his age-39 and age-40 Wizards seasons. If I had a ball handler this good on my team, he could take all the shots he wanted.
Playmaking – James Harden
Image credit: Vincent Carchietta – USA TODAY Sports
Now, we can approach organizational categories in a few different ways. Remember, playmaking is the art of engaging you and your teammates effectively in order to bring success and victory to the entire team. Passing is part of playmaking, as is scoring and creating.
For these reasons, the playmaking ability category must go to James Harden. Harden is the three-time scoring leader and two-time assist leader in his career. At his peak, Harden was the MVP and won the scoring title with the Rockets for three consecutive years from 2018 to 2020. He has averaged 7.0 assists or better in every season since 2015 and has posted an APG of 10.0 or better in four different seasons. His 7.01 assists rank 27th in NBA history, and his 7,015 total assists rank 20th in NBA history.
Rebound – Kobe Bryant
Image credit: Rick Osentoski – USA TODAY Sports
It’s an ongoing debate between those who prefer per-game stats or cumulative stats and which carries more weight in the debate between players. When it comes to rebounding, the only two shooting guards that come to mind are Kobe Bryant or Michael Jordan.
I say these two only because in the dog days of the NBA, when it came to shooting guards, they were both rebounding machines, back when it was big men and front courts who dominated rebounding. Kobe Bryant was picked by us today because he was fearless on the glass in an era of physically worn down paint.
Bryant became the leading shooting guard in NBA history with 6,800 rebounds, nearly 1,000 more than Michael Jordan’s career rebounds. Jordan averaged 6.3 rebounds while Kobe averaged 5.3, but 1.0 wasn’t enough for me to change my pick in this category. If I need a guard to rebound, I’ll be happy with either of those guys chasing the rebound. In this case, though, I like Kobe a little more.
Three Pointer – Klay Thompson
One of the more important skills of a shooting guard is the ability to score and shoot from anywhere on the court. In today’s game, nothing is more prevalent than the offensive ability of the three-pointer. Speaking of shooting guards, Miller, Allen and others have once won the three-pointer crown, but their number and efficiency are not as high as Klay Thompson, and they are more successful.
Thompson, who made his NBA debut with the Warriors in the 2011-12 season, has established himself as one of the greatest three-point shooters in NBA history over the past 12 seasons, forming the greatest shooting duo in NBA history with teammate Stephen Curry. Thompson, who has been instrumental in the Warriors’ four NBA titles since 2015, is averaging 41.6 percent of his 3-point attempts on 7.4 attempts per game in his career.
Since 2015, Thompson has attempted seven or more 3-pointers per game per game, making 41.8 percent of them. He has made 200 or more 3-pointers in seven seasons and leads the NBA in 2022-23 with 301 made on 41.2 percent. Klay has proven to be a clutch shooter on numerous occasions, an assassin both off the dribble and catch-and-shoot.
Mid-range shooting – Michael Jordan
Photo credit: Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
When it comes to the best mid-range shooters in NBA history, three names spring to mind for any logical basketball fan. Two of those players were shooting guards, and the other was Kevin Durant, which is a story for another day. Those two shooting guards were Kobe Bryant and Michael Jordan, and their mid-range game was almost identical, making it easy to create and make shots.
In this case, we have to go with the “Best of All Time” Michael Jordan, narrowly voted the best mid-range shooting guard. At his best, Jordan shot between 49.0% and 55.0% from 10-16 feet away, and he feasted on those spots every night. His signature fadeaway is one of the most unstoppable signature moves in NBA history, along with the Skyhook and the Cradle of Dreams. Jordan also has the best footwork and flawless movement among guards, with a purpose in every step.
Passing – James Harden
James Harden makes his second appearance on this list as the greatest passing shooting guard in NBA history. Not only was Harden one of the best scorers in his prime, he was also a former MVP for what he did for his teammates.
In terms of cumulative assists, James Harden ranks third among shooting guards with 5,522 career assists. His 6.6 APG is also the first among shooting guards in NBA history. Harden, who was traded to the Rockets in 2012, has taken his playmaking and passing to another level throughout his career. Harden hasn’t averaged less than 6.0 assists in a season since his first season in Houston, and hasn’t averaged less than 7.0 since 2014. He averaged 11.2 assists per game with the Rockets in 2017 and leads the 76ers in assists with 10.7 per game in 2022-23. PG. He has eight seasons with more than 500 assists and led the NBA in assists with 907 in 2017.
Defense – Michael Jordan
This category again comes down to the Michael Jordan vs. Kobe Bryant debate. Defense is something both players are proud of and a big factor in their standing as the greatest players in NBA history. In this case, Michael Jordan once again separates himself from Bryant as a defender for several reasons.
First, each player has nine All-Defensive first-team selections, meaning they’re all considered the best guards at their positions for the same number of seasons. Jordan’s defense at his peak also reached astronomical levels. In 1987 and 1988, Jordan recorded more than 200 steals and more than 100 blocks in the same season for two consecutive seasons. Kobe Bryant never had a season with 200 steals or 100 blocks. Jordan is also a three-time steals champion with a career average of 2.3 steals per game. He was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year in 1988, averaging 3.2 SPG and 1.6 BPG in one of the best defensive seasons in NBA history.
Look, I wouldn’t be upset if Kobe Bryant was someone’s pick in this category, but in terms of on-ball pressure and off-ball instincts, peak to peak, Michael Jordan is my pick every time.
The End – Michael Jordan
Photo credit: Matthew Emmons – USA TODAY Sports
While this is redundant, the fact is that Michael Jordan accomplished all of these things at such an elite level that he remains the only option in most categories on our list today. One of the absolutely uncontroversial categories is finish. Now, if finishing is all about dunks and flashes, then there’s no question Vince Carter might be our pick. However, when you factor in elusiveness, creativity, athleticism, dunks, touches to the rim and everything that comes with shooting, his air again dominates.
Throughout his career, Jordan defied the laws of physics more than once and captured the hearts of millions of basketball fans around the world. There’s a reason more people tuned in to his NBA Finals games than anyone else in NBA history. The numbers also backed up his point. Over 65.0 percent of Jordan’s field goal attempts during his career have come from within 0-3 feet, using his creative feints, footwork, speed and power to make even the most difficult shots seem routine.
Sportsmanship – Michael Jordan
That’s not disrespect to all the great players who play shooting guard on the floor and show super athleticism in their games. When I think of athletic shooting guards, I think of David Thompson, Clyde Drexler, Kobe Bryant, Vince Carter, et cetera. Those thoughts also quickly faded away when I came back to reality and remembered that Michael Jordan existed.
Growing up as a kid, there was nothing better than being able to watch Michael Jordan play basketball. This is mostly because you never know what’s going to happen, but you always know it’s going to be some kind of amazing physical feat. I remember never knowing where he was going to jump for a dunk on a fast break or what he was going to do in the air. I remember him being able to jump to ridiculous heights and hang in the air as if he was being lifted from the ceiling…
Find more articles in our categories Sports & NFL ou encore Football.