Battle of the young guards: Jordan Poole, Tyrese Maxey and Tyler Herro

The amount of talent in the NBA has been growing exponentially over the past few years. Years of training through the AAU basketball circuit, the NBA G-League, and the NCAA basketball divisions are allowing players to join the NBA more polished and prepared for its rigor.

Over the past couple of seasons, several young players have ascended to a level of stardom prior to the expiration of their rookie contracts, and this has led to massive comparisons and debates about these players, their potential, and their contact extensions.

Three such players are Jordan Poole, Tyrese Maxey, and Tyler Herro. All three of these players play very similar roles for their teams. They provide offensive firepower by scoring and occasionally orchestrating the offense as primary ballhandlers.

Let's do an in-depth review of each of these players, their journey to the league, their strengths, weaknesses, and how they stack up against each other, and put an end to the "who's the best young combo guard in the league" debate to rest.

Jordan Poole

Poole plays the sixth-man role for the Warriors

Jordan Poole is a 6'4" combo guard for the Golden State Warriors. He is currently in his fourth season with them. He was drafted 28th overall in the first round of the 2019 draft. Jordan Poole was known to be a microwave scorer coming out of college after spending two years at the University of Michigan.

Jordan Poole was given free rein over the team during his rookie year, since the Warriors were in a rebuilding mode. Despite showing flashes of brilliance, he was very underwhelming and statistically one of the worst players in the league in 2019.

A trip to the G-League changed his fortunes in 2020, and he came out of it a changed player. He was more decisive with his moves and overall offensive awareness.

The 2021-22 season was a huge one for Jordan Poole. Not only would he play the role of the sixth man for the season, but he would also be auditioning for a big contract upon his rookie contract's expiration.

Jordan Poole had a fantastic season, averaging 18.5 points in 76 regular season games, and carried the Warriors to the third seed.

After a stellar performance in the playoffs, where he averaged 17 PPG off the bench, Jordan Poole signed a $140 million, four-year contract extension with the Warriors that would kick in during the 2023-24 season.

Strengths	Blistering three-level scorer: From outside, mid-range, and inside the paint Unafraid of the big moments: Proven himself during the biggest stages
Weaknesses	Defense: Poor defender, mostly due to lack of effort Turnover-prone: Commits plenty of turnovers, slips and falls a lot.

Tyler Herro

Tyler Herro is a 6'5" combo guard playing for the Miami Heat. He was drafted 13th overall in the first round of the 2019 NBA draft. He was one of the most-hyped prospects out of college.

In his rookie season with the Miami Heat, Herro made the NBA's Second All-Rookie Team. He also got a chance to showcase his abilities under the brightest lights, as the Miami Heat made the NBA Finals that season. He played extremely well in the playoffs, breaking multiple records in the process. He is also the youngest player to start in the NBA Finals; he was just 20 when he did so.

Herro won the 2021-22 NBA Sixth Man of the Year award. His career is definitely trending in the right direction, and each year, he's shown dramatic improvements in his game. Over the off-season, Tyler received a $130 million, four-year contract extension from the Miami Heat, entrusting him as the future of the franchise.

Strengths	Provides instant offense: Has a shooter's mentality, make or miss, he keeps shooting. Clutch genes: Playing in the Finals his rookie year has helped his clutch game.
Weaknesses	Defense: Below-average defender, lacks awareness Driving to the paint: Herro rarely drives to the rim, he's a two-dimensional scorer

Tyrese Maxey

Tyrese Maxey is a 6'2" combo guard who plays for the Philadelphia 76ers. He was drafted as the 21st overall pick in the first round of the 2020 draft. Maxey had a rough rookie season, as he was behind Ben Simmons, Seth Curry, George Hill and Shake Milton on the roster. He barely got any playing time. However, Simmons' refusal to play the following season was a blessing for Maxey as he made the most of his opportunity.

He finished his sophomore season averaging over 17 points and shooting a blistering 42% from deep. The momentum carried on into the playoffs as Maxey led the Sixers in scoring in their second-round loss to the Miami Heat.

Maxey also holds the franchise record for the most 3-pointers made in a single game, having dropped nine treys in a game against the Raptors. Maxey's impending contract extension is a major talking point for the 76ers, who are already on a heavy payroll with James Harden and Joel Embiid on the roster.

However, with the precedent set by Poole and Herro, Maxey can expect an offer of over $120million for four years.

Strengths	Incredible scorer inside and out: Shoots over 40% on threes, and has a great floater package. High Energy: Maxey plays at a 110% each game
Weaknesses	Defense: Lacks the size to defend other guards. Playmaker: Average play maker, leans more towards being a score-first point guard

Head-to-head

Let's take a quick look at the 2022-23 regular season stats of these players.

Category	Poole	Herro	Maxey
Points	21.0	20.8	20.9
Assists	4.4	4.5	3.83
Rebounds	2.6	5.9	3.0
FG%	43.7%	44.5	45.5

We'll now rank these players based on an assortment of categories (obejctive rankings)

Category	Poole	Herro	Maxey
Scoring	1	3	2
Playmaking	1	3	2
Defense	3	1	2
Clutchness	3	1	2
Leadership	3	2	1

Overall, all three players will very likely have long and productive careers, and seem to be on a similar trajectory. However, in my opinion, Jordan Poole's early success in the form of an NBA championship will likely propel him to superstardom the fastest.