Ranking the top 5 shooting guards in the Eastern Conference ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season
The start of the 2021-22 NBA season is a little more than three weeks away. We are counting down to the start of the season by profiling the very best players in the league. We are also ranking players by position across both conferences. Trae Young sits at the top of the five best point guards in the Eastern Conference while Stephen Curry comes in at pole position in the West.
We now take a look at the shooting guard spot in both the East and the West. There is a plethora of talent available at the aforesaid position, with at least one of the players ranking among the all-time greats. There are several young players with a bright future ahead of them provided they continue to get better. The 2021-22 NBA season will give them another opportunity to showcase their talent at the highest level. And so without further ado, we look at the five best shooting guards in the Eastern Conference.
#5 Collin Sexton (Cleveland Cavaliers)
With the exit of LeBron James from Cleveland in 2018, Collin Sexton has been the one bright spark for the Cavaliers over the last few seasons. Picked eighth overall in the 2018 Draft, Sexton has consistently improved over the last three NBA seasons. He has gone from averaging 16.7 ppg to 24.3 ppg in 2020-21. The game against the Brooklyn Nets in January, where he dropped 20 straight points in both overtime periods to lift the Cavs to an improbable win, has given fans a glimpse of just how capable he is.
The key for Sexton is to become a better shooter. He shot 47.5% from the field and 37.1% from long range last season. If he can take those numbers closer to 50.0% and 40.0%, he will draw far more attention from defenses, which would work to his teammates’ advantage. The addition of veteran Ricky Rubio by the Cavs and the expected development of Darius Garland may also help Sexton in his fourth season in the league.
#4 Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics)
One of the best two-way guards in the NBA, Jaylen Brown will look to make good on his absence from the 2021 postseason in 2021-22. Prior to injuring his left wrist (the injury that kept him out of the playoffs), Brown averaged a career-best 24.7 ppg, shooting career numbers from the field (48.4%) and downtown (39.7%) over 58 games in the 2020-21 NBA season. That performance earned him his first NBA All-Star game nod.
With forward Jayson Tatum also heading towards becoming a Celtics legend, Brown’s continued improvement could make the Celtics pair an all-time formidable duo. But for that to happen, Brown must first heal completely and quickly for the Celtics.