The NBA’s Top 10 Young Shooting Guards
Here’s a quick list of the top 10 shooting guards under the age of 26, ranked in the order of a combination of current performance and trade value (regardless of salary).
I’ll also list the player’s age and his Player Efficiency Rating.
1. Brandon Roy, Blazers
Age: 24
PER: 22.93
How do you like Roy’s smooth 21.1 points and 5.3 assists? He’s the cornerstone to a resurgent Portland franchise.
2. Kevin Martin, Kings
Age: 25
PER: 18.90
His line is a little thin – 2.9 assists, 2.8 rebounds – but boy can he score.
3. Kevin Durant, Thunder
Age: 20
PER: 17.26
His FG% is three percent higher this season and he’s hitting 47% of his treys. I’d rather see him play small forward, but he’s listed as an off guard.
4. O.J. Mayo, Grizzlies
Age: 21
PER: 17.13
It’s tough to argue with Mayo’s 21.3 points per game, especially when he’s shooting pretty well from the field (46%) and long range (39%). The Grizzlies have something going with their core of Mayo and Rudy Gay.
5. Andre Iguodala, Sixers
Age: 23
PER: 14.56
It has been a down year for Iggy, who has seen his scoring drop by 6.0 points per game since the arrival of Elton Brand. His FG% is down and his 3PT% is brutal (23%), but his rebounds and assists are up. Think the Sixers would trade him for Mayo or Durant straight up? I do.
6. Rudy Fernandez, Blazers
Age: 23
PER: 18.35
He’s been better than advertised. He’s only playing 26 minutes a game, but he’s scoring well (11.6 ppg) and is shooting the long ball often (2.3 made threes per game) and accurately (44%).
7. Ronnie Brewer, Jazz
Age: 23
PER: 16.32
Brewer is building on last year’s breakout season. He’s not a great three-point shooter (32%), but he’s improved in that area of the game. His contributions elsewhere – 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 2.0 steals – make him valuable.
8. Ben Gordon, Bulls
Age: 25
PER: 17.77
Gordon is playing for a contract and while his points are up (20.4), his three-point accuracy is down (37%).
9. Delonte West, Cavs
Age: 25
PER: 14.52
West has settled in nicely with the Cavs. He’s averaging 11.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.0 assists, and is shooting 50% from the field and 41% from long range.
10. Nick Young, Wizards
Age: 23
PER: 15.03
His line is thin, but he’s averaging 11.8 points in 24 minutes, and basketball is (mostly) about putting the ball in the hoop.
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Kevin Durant is with the Oklahoma City Thunder, not the Wizards.
Thanks, that was a brain fart. Fixed it.
im a sixers fan and iggy does not cut it for a shooting guard. hes got one ugly shot and wish the sixers never signed him for such a high deal. the sixers drafted rudy but traded his rights for iggy. man i wish the sixers had rudy instead, than we wouldnt be dead last in threes.
Yeah, Iggy is starting to look like one of those “we never should have signed him for so much” kind of guys.
Wade should be number 1, he’s 26 years old
Sixers should trade Iguodala for Michael Redd
that would be a great deal for both teams if ive ever saw one, especially for Philly, Thad can shoot now and Brand will be so much beetter with the spacing, as will Miller
think about it, Brand and Dalembert is almost like KG and perkins, Redd is like Ray Allen as the pure shooter that can spread the floor, Thad Young is the allaround scorer that can shoot the 3 to spread the floor too, and Andre Miller is like Rondo he cant shoot the 3 but he contributes so much
Obviously they wont be as good as the cltics, but theyd be a 50 win team and not have the glaring deficiency any more, 1 guy can make a huge difference in the overall game for a team thats bad at 3pt shooting to become really good at it, just look at the hawks with mike bibby: they are 3rd in the league in 3pt shooting off of him and jj, and they were LAST in the league before they traded for him
Josh Smith is like Andre Miller in that he cant shoot the 3 or outside shot really but contributes in so many other ways
“under the age of 26” so that means 25 years old or younger, meaning that Wade isn’t eligible.
Wade is 27, people. Too old for this list.
Where is eric gordon? He should be somewhere in the bottom half of this list.