Who Is The Best Shooting Guard From The 2010s?
Who is the best shooting guard from the 2010’s?
This one is pretty self explanatory. Yesterday was the best point guards from the 2010s, so today we’re doing the best shooting guard from the 2010s.
#3 – Dwyane Wade
Miami Heat, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers
D-Wade won two titles with 4 Finals appearances this decade, and was an All-Star from 2011-2016 and in the final year of his career, and got his final 5 All-NBA Teams. Pretty impressive saying that this decade was mostly the decline of his career. Wade was like Kobe Bryant. Going into this decade, they were elite and some of the best players in the game. But, they slowly faded away until retirement. Wade was still effective with the Heat during his final few seasons, and it looked like he could have kept going a little longer before his retirement in the 2018-19 season.
I think that that’s a perfect way for a legend like Wade to go out. Still competitive, still effective. It makes us wonder more about what could have been. The only “bad” season for Wade was in 2018 when he went from Cleveland back to his home in Miami. But other than that, Wade was still very good and effective, and could have honestly kept going into the 2020’s.
While Wade was not in his prime, he was better than most people give him credit for. He is one of the greatest players to ever play at the SG position, and he will be one of the top-5 greatest players from the 2000’s and 2010’s.
#2 – Klay Thompson
Golden State Warriors
Klay Thompson was in the prime of his career during this decade. He became one the greatest shooters of all-time, either top-5 or top-3 in most people’s books. He is one of the most explosive players with his ability to score 60 points in under 30 minutes. Along with the records broken, Thompson has been a big playoff performance. Game 6 Klay is not just some name, he earned it. Believe it or not, Thompson led the 2016 playoffs in scoring. Not Lebron, Klay. Pretty impressive.
Since 2015 Klay has been an All-Star, and has made the All-NBA 3rd Team twice, despite being the 2nd or 3rd options on the Warriors. He has also only made 1 All-Defensive Team, which is far too little for a player of his caliber. Thompson is one of the best perimeter defenders in the game, and hides Steph Curry on defense to an extent.
It’s a bit surprising that a catch and shoot player has been slated at #2 on this list, but he has earned it. He is a 3x champion and has come up big in tough spots. Klay Thompson is sort of like Scottie Pippen. Not as underappreciated, but a star who would be viable as a #1 on any other team in the league. But, that star knows their role and plays it perfectly. That’s Klay Thompson.
From a catch and shoot demon, to one of the soul pieces of a dynasty, Klay Thompson has turned into one of the premier guards in the NBA today. Without him, lots of the Warriors success would never have happened. Klay would be a viable #1 option on most teams, he just played his #2 spot perfectly. Look where he is now.
#1 – James Harden
Houston Rockets & Oklahoma City Thunder
This was pretty easy. Harden is the only SG to win an MVP this decade, so that kind of makes him the best automatically. Harden might have even had 2 MVP’s as some people argue he should have won the award in 2015. Nonetheless, Harden is almost always in the conversation for MVP, if not one of the front runner for the award. He has finished 2nd place for the award 3 times. Harden is also one of the best players in the league, and certainly the best guard in the NBA. Harden is also the one star in the NBA who takes the toughest shots. While his isolation style of play has been highly criticized by me and many others, he finds a way to put up 30+ PPG a year consistently.
Along with this isolation ball comes success for the Rockets who have been one of the better teams in the Western Conference over this decade. With his PG experience, Harden is likely the best passing shooting guard, if not the best play-making SG during this decade. Since the trade to Houston, Harden has become a 7x All-Star, a 6th Man of the Year Award with the Thunder, and he has been on All-NBA First Team every single year with the Rockets except for 2014.
Another one of Harden’s feats is that he was the closest guy to beating the KD-Steph Warriors. Other than those infamous 2018 Western Conference Finals, the Warriors were untouchable. Harden and the Rockets made them look human for once.
From longevity to the success to all of the scoring, this argument was never really an argument or a debate. Harden has been the king of the shooting guards this decade, and nobody else is even close. The only thing Harden has to prove is can he get a ring? Other than that, Harden will go down as one of the all-time greats to play this game, and one of the dominant scoring forces we have seen.
What do you think? Do all of these guys on my list deserve to be here? Is there anybody you would add? Leave all of your comments down below.
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