10. Ray Allen
Ray Allen was great on the Celtics and Heat, but his prime years came in Milwaukee and Seattle. In the 2000-01 NBA season, Allen, Glenn Robinson, and Sam Cassell led Milwaukee to the Eastern Conference Finals. Ray Allen stepped up in those playoffs and showed the world how good he was. This was only Allen’s second All-Star season, so the league had not seen what he was fully capable of yet.
Ray Allen played an integral role on championship teams, but he could also raise the floor of some bad teams. He did a lot more than just shooting threes during his career, and that’s what makes him one of the best shooting guards of all time.
9. Reggie Miller
Reggie and New York had one of the greatest basketball rivalries of all time. The Knicks and their fans all hated Reggie, and he hated them right back.
In the 1994 NBA playoffs, the Pacers and Knicks met in the Eastern Conference Finals. The Knicks were heavy favorites, but Reggie made it anything but easy for them. In-game 5, he dropped 25 points in the fourth, completing a huge comeback.
Reggie Miller’s rivalry with the Knicks is easily the most memorable part of his career. It showcases his amazing clutch play, three-point shooting, and trash talk.
8. George Gervin
George Gervin, along with Julius Erving and David Thompson, was part of a high-flying generation of NBA stars. The 70s saw players who could glide through the air and make seemingly impossible finishes at the basket. It was something never seen before in the league, and George Gervin made it look easy.
He’s one of the greatest scorers the league has ever seen, even though he played before the three-pointer had any kind of popularity. His athletic ability made him nearly impossible to stop at the rim. He was not limited to finishing at the rim either. He had a great jump shot that he could employ if opponents focused too much on his drives.
The whole time he kept an icy cool composure, earning him his famous nickname “Iceman.” All this is what makes Gervin one of the best shooting guards of all time.
7. James Harden
As with all current players, Harden is tough to rank. He is one of the best players in the league currently, and there is definitely ample evidence supporting a higher ranking for him.
He is easily the best passer on this list. That is not normally a shooting guard’s job, but Harden does it with ease. A lot of his time with Houston and the Nets, you could argue he was playing point guard.
6. Clyde Drexler
Clyde Drexler is an all-time great player who sometimes gets lost in history. It’s hard for him to get all the recognition he deserved because he played in the biggest shadow in NBA history.
5. Allen Iverson
Allen Iverson is always one of the first names you think of when it comes to the best shooting guards of all time. His scoring ability was incredible. In a league filled with scorers during the 2000s, Iverson stood out as one of the best. He led the league in scoring 4 times during his career. This is a league with Kobe, Shaq, McGrady, Pierce, and tons of other elite scorers.
4. Dwyane Wade
Not many other great shooting guards have that many championships as the main cog in their team, which is enough to put Dwayne at the 4th spot.
Wade recently retired, and so far, his career post-basketball is going just as well as when he was a player. Nobodies head the last of him, and that’s a great thing. He’s one of the best shooting guards of all time, and there is no debate.
3. Jerry West
His grace, speed, and skill perfectly contain what the NBA is all about. He’s the perfect player to put on the logo because he was a pioneer for many commonplace things in the modern NBA.
He never won an MVP, but he played well enough to win a few. It’s a little hard to win the award when you’re competing with Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, and Oscar Robertson. West is undoubtedly one of the game’s best shooting guards of all time and was the first great shooting guard.
2. Kobe Bryant
Kobe might be the most skilled offensive player ever. Jordan was obviously an offensive superstar that could not be stopped in any situation. He had the move and counter move for every situation. But Kobe took everything that Jordan did and perfected something that was already so perfect. His work ethic was beyond ridiculous, and that allowed him to create possibly the perfect offensive game we will ever see from a shooting guard.
In his first three titles, he played alongside Shaq and was arguably not the best player on the team. But the last two came with him as the clear number 1. When you’re on lists of all-time greats, that’s important. Kobe proved he could do it as the number one. Bryant proved he could take a team all the way when all the focus was put on him.
But that’s no knock on Kobe. He is not only one of the best shooting guards of all time. He’s straight-up one of the best players of all time.
1. Michael Jordan
There was only one man who could take this top spot. The GOAT, Michael Jordan. When he came to the league, it was still just beginning to gain popularity.
His basketball talent allowed him to transcend basketball and become a living legend worldwide. He did it to the degree that may be no other American athlete ever has. For all these reasons, he is considered the GOAT (greatest of all time). So without a doubt, He’s not just one of the best shooting guards of all time. He’s the best.
