NBA’s top 10 guards, ranked: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ascending as Mavericks backcourt gets two nods

In the latest positional breakout from our recently published top 100 NBA players, we’re going to be looking at the top 10 guards as ranked by our panel of 10 NBA analysts. Reminder: This is a projection for the 2024-25 season. There’s some educated guesswork here. 

As far as the positional designations, it’s fair to ask what, exactly, constitutes a guard these days. Well, the point guards are easy; they’re the guys who control the offense. But that can get sticky when so many wings effectively act as point guards initiating the offense. Jayson Tatum and Devin Booker feel like very similar players, but Tatum classifies as a wing with guard abilities, while Booker actually played 91% of his minutes last season as Phoenix’s point guard. 

Booker most comfortably classifies as a combo guard, which means he operates with and without the ball and as both a lead facilitator and scorer at different times and in different lineups. Donovan Mitchell is another combo guard. As is Stephen Curry. And Kyrie Irving. 

Alas, they are all guards. And according to our rankings, these are the top 10 of the breed heading into the upcoming season. 

10. Kyrie Irving, Dallas Mavericks

Top 100 rank: 25

For all the concerns about how Irving would fit on the Mavericks, both on and off the floor, he put together one of his best seasons to date without ruffling any feathers. Irving has reminded us all of why he’s among the best secondary options in NBA history. Irving still has the best handle in the league, can easily get to the rim and score from all three levels. The Mavericks certainly wouldn’t have made it to the NBA Finals without him as he and Luka Doncic create one of the most dangerous backcourts in the league. — Jasmyn Wimbish

9. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

Top 100 rank: 24

Last year’s rank: 60. After James Harden’s departure, Maxey stepped into the No. 2 role in Philadelphia last season and made the leap from exciting young prospect to All-Star. For his efforts, he was rewarded with the Most Improved Player award. It will be interesting to see how Maxey’s role changes, if at all, with Paul George’s arrival. The great news for the Sixers is he has the on- and off-ball skills to easily scale up and down depending on the situation. In fact, he may even be best as a slightly overqualified No. 3 option given his elite catch-and-shoot numbers (44.4% last season). — Jack Maloney

8. Donovan Mitchell, Cleveland Cavaliers

Top 100 rank: 19

A perennial top-10 scorer in the league. Mitchell registered career highs in assists, rebounds and steals last season. He was sensational when Darius Garland was out and he assumed total control of the offense as the lone playmaker. He is virtually unstoppable when he gets going downhill as a pull-up shooter given his force, but his pull-up shooting percentages (35% overall and 30% from 3) dipped considerably last season. — Brad Botkin

7. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

Top 100 rank: 17

When Tyrese Haliburton got hurt on Jan. 9, he was averaging 23.6 points per game and another 32.3 points created off of assists per game. That’s a total of 55.9 points of offense generated, which would be the highest combined total of the tracking era by a comfortable margin. The vision of Haliburton most have in their head right now is of the compromised version we largely saw in the second half of the season and in the postseason. He’s become a bit of a meme for his Olympic role as bench vibes captain. 

But remember… he was chosen to be a member of the most talented Olympic team of the 21st century for a reason. He’s a human fast break, a singular stylistic force that empowers the Pacers to play the only way that ever could have gotten their relatively meager collection of talent to the Eastern Conference finals. — Sam Quinn

6. Ja Morant, Memphis Grizzlies

Top 100 rank: 16

At his best, Morant is one of the most exciting guards in the league thanks to his dazzling skills and daring creativity, but it’s been a while since we’ve seen him show that on the court. Between suspensions and injuries, the high-flier has only played 70 total games in the last two seasons. Whether or not Morant can return to an All-NBA level is one of the biggest storylines to watch this year. If he does, the Grizzlies could be a real threat in the Western Conference. — Jack Maloney

5. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns

Top 100 rank: 14

Booker has arguably become one of the most underrated players in the league and among the most efficient. He’s a killer in the mid-range, and if he gets hot, he’s liable to drop 40+ points on you, and he wouldn’t even have to take very many 3s. He’s the type of plug-and-play guy any championship-contending team would love to have, and last season, we finally saw Booker’s versatility after primarily playing point guard for a Suns team lacking in that department. It resulted in a career-high year in assists for Booker, showing that not only is he one of the best shooting guards in the league, but you can also put him among the best point guards, too. — Jasmyn Wimbish

4. Jalen Brunson, New York Knicks

Top 100 rank: 13

In May, Brunson became the fourth player in NBA history — and first since Michael Jordan in 1993 — to score 40 points or more in four consecutive playoff games. He had a total of 16 40-point games in 2023-24, postseason included; his former teammate Luka Doncic was the only player to have more than 10 such games. Not bad for a 6-foot-2 guy with a 6-foot-4 wingspan who went undrafted six years ago and, heading into his fourth season, couldn’t command a four-year, $55 million extension from the Mavericks. 

Now a full-fledged superstar, Brunson agreed to a four-year, $156.5 million extension this summer, which was seen as an enormous sacrifice. The deal will allow the Knicks to continue building a contender in Brunson’s image, with three of his college teammates alongside him for the long haul. Ideally, the addition of Mikal Bridges and the return of Julius Randle will mean that Brunson won’t have to drop 40 all that often in 2024-25, as New York was far too dependent on Brunson’s scoring last season. That iteration of the team scored like the Celtics with him on the court and like the Blazers with him on the bench. The only player whose presence on the court made a bigger difference to his team’s offensive efficiency is the three-time MVP ranked No. 1 on this list. — James Herbert

3. Stephen Curry, Golden State Warriors

Top 100 rank: 6

Curry is still an offense unto himself with his inimitable movement and pure shot-making talent. At 36 years old, it’s hard to see where he’s declined at all offensively, but what we’ve seen is that even as great as an aging Curry remains, he needs better talent around him to make his way back into title contention. LeBron James can relate. — Brad Botkin

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC Thunder

Top 100 rank: 4

Last year’s MVP runner-up, Gilgeous-Alexander, keeps ascending these rankings as his Thunder ascend the standings. The 26-year-old guard led the NBA in drives for the fourth straight season in 2023-24, and, with improved spacing around him, opponents had an even tougher time disrupting his funky rhythm. According to Cleaning The Glass, Gilgeous-Alexander shot 69% at the rim and 51% from midrange, both of which were career highs. 

And while he doesn’t draw the toughest individual assignments on defense, there are few superstars more engaged and disruptive on that end. Nobody recorded more steals than Gilgeous-Alexander last year, and only two players recorded more deflections. After adding one of those two players (Alex Caruso) and a center who will both protect the rim and operate as an offensive hub (Isaiah Hartenstein) this offseason, Oklahoma City projects to have a historically great defense and a more diverse offense, making the task in front of its franchise player extremely clear: Lead the team to the place it hasn’t been since 2012. — James Herbert

1. Luka Doncic, Dallas Mavericks

Top 100 rank: 3

Even after six years in the league, it’s not uncommon to walk away from watching Doncic play and still think, “How is he doing this?” He plays at the pace of paint drying on a wall, and yet we saw in the Mavericks’ run to the NBA Finals that even the most elite defenders couldn’t stop him. Doncic will make you pay if you try to double team him, and if you switch a big on him out on the perimeter, he’ll likely drill a dramatic 3-pointer. He handles with finesse, bullies you in the paint and owns some of the best assists in NBA history. He’s coming off the best statistical year of his career after leading the league in scoring, and he’s still only 25 years old. — Jasmyn Wimbish

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