Top 10 Shooting Guards - 30 Years

TOP 10 SHOOTING GUARDS

10. Vince Carter - "Vincanity" leads off this list, bringing his career 22.9 PPG to the table. Carter sports a decent 10.7 career RAS rating (total of rebounds, assists, and steals per game).

Carter though, has never elevated a team to the NBA finals and his shooting peripherals are just average.

9. Allen Iverson - A.I. was a point guard by trade, but a shooting guard by nature, so he gets the #9 spot on this list. Iverson's career scoring average of 26.7 PPG ranks 2nd on this list and he is the 17th leading scorer in NBA history. Iverson was also a pesky defender, and is one of three players on this list with over 2 steals per game. His 42.5% career FG% and 31.3 career 3PT% keep him from being higher. I guess what I am saying is, if some of these guys were allowed to shoot as much as him, their numbers would be better than his.

8. Mitch Richmond - Richmond's consistent career yielded 21.0 PPG and a RAS of 8.6. Mitch is #20 all-time in 3-pointers made and also sported a 38.8 3-point% over his career. Part of decent teams throughout his career, Mitch never came close to an NBA finals.

7. Ray Allen - Ray Ray checks in here as #2 all-time in 3-pointers made and will likely finish his career #1. Allen has a career scoring average of 20.5 PPG and a RAS of 9.2 and also has at least one championship ring.

6. George Gervin - The "Iceman" played a large majority of his career in the 70's, but did play 6 years in the 80's continuing his impressive numbers. Gervin averaged 24.8 PPG in those 6 seasons which is 5th on this list. Gervin was a true scorer, which is indicated by his low RAS of 7.8, but his 49.2 career FG%, 2nd on this list, shows he knew how to score very well.

5. Dwyane Wade - Wade currently checks in at #5 on the list with room to move higher. In Wade's 7 seasons, he has a 25.4 PPG scoring average and an excellent 13.3 RAS for a shooting guard. Wade also has one championship ring and has become one of the top 5 players currently in the NBA.

4. Reggie Miller - Knick fans have him lower on this list, but Reggie gets the nod here as the NBA's all-time leader in 3-pointers made with 2,560 (39.0% on those 3's). Not surprisingly, Miller sports the worst RAS on the list at 6.4 but had a career scoring average of 20.6 PPG and ranks #14 all-time in total points in NBA history. It was his shooting and his perennial playoff heroics that get him this high on the list.

3. Clyde Drexler - The "Glide" may be known as a stiff from the Dancing with the Stars by some, but Drexler was no stiff on the basketball court. Clyde checks in as #23 on the NBA's all-time scoring list and had a career average of 20.4 PPG. His RAS of 13.7 is 2nd on this list and Clyde is now the 3rd player on the list with 1 championship ring.

Kobe vs Michael

The top 2 shooting guards in the last 30 years have a lot in common, including the coach that led them to their combined 10 championship rings (and counting). A closer look at the stats makes this one a pretty easy choice. Jordan's 30.1 PPG average clearly outpaces Bryant's 25.3 PPG and Jordan's 13.8 RAS is significantly higher than Bryant's 11.5. MJ also shot 49.7% from the field, a number that would have been over 50 if not for those Washington years. Kobe currently checks in at 45.5% career FG. Finally, although #33 was a great "Robin", Jordan was the "Batman" for all 6 of his rings (33.4 PPG career in the playoffs), while Bryant is really only working on his 2nd as "Batman". Don't get me wrong, Bryant is an all-time great and clearly belongs in this conversation, but his no MJ.

2. Kobe Bryant

1. Michael Jordan