NBA Player Tiers: Ranking all 30 starting shooting guards
By Cal Durrett
NBA Tier 2: Perennial All-Star shooting guards
Jaylen Brown-Boston Celtics
Anthony Edwards-Minnesota Timberwolves
Paul George-LA Clippers
James Harden-Philadelphia 76ers
Zach Lavine-Chicago Bulls
Next up is Tier 2, which features five of the league’s best two guards. Near the top of the group is Jaylen Brown. Brown signed a massive $300 million deal in the off-season, and qualifying for the super max meant that Brown had to put up big numbers, and he certainly did. He averaged a career-high 26.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists for the Boston Celtics.
Partly thanks to Brown, the Celtics finished with the second-best record in the NBA last season and made it to the Conference Finals but came up short. For Boston to return to the NBA Finals, Brown will need to continue playing like one of the five best shooting guards in the NBA.
A healthy George could crack the top tier, but George is never quite healthy these days. That affects his rankings, though when he is, he is still a talented scorer and defender.
Harden also makes an appearance in this tier despite clearly dropping off last season. Even then, he could still be an All-Star-caliber player, though he chose to turn down a spot on the team last season. Next season, he could drop out of Tier 2 altogether with his off-season training, trade request, and age, all being big question marks entering next season.
Edwards is, by far, the youngest player on this list, but he could soon top it at this rate. Edward is just 21 years old and enjoyed another terrific season, averaging 24.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 4.4 assists per game for the Minnesota Timberwolves. In 2023–24, after spending the summer playing for Team USA, he could break out in a big way and crack Tier 1 before the age of 23.