The point guards have been ranked – if you missed that piece, you can check it out here. Andrew Feinstein, Colin Neilson, Jeff Morton, and I will be figuring out where the team’s projected starters of Ty Lawson, Randy Foye, Wilson Chandler, Danilo Gallinari (yes, he’s hurt but we’re still ranking him), Kenneth Faried, and JaVale McGee rank. A bench option or two might also make our lists.
Below we are breaking down the shooting guard position and where Randy Foye fits into the mix. Foye played in all 82 games for the Jazz last season and started in 72 of those contests. He averaged 10.8 points on 39.7-percent shooting from the field and 41-percent shooting from three-point land – he’s also a 81.9-percent free throw shooter, but he only got to the line 1.8 times per game last season.
The shooting guard spot may not be as talent rich as the point guard position and Foye's ranking allowed us to really expand our lists below. You will see numbers in parenthesis to the right of a few players, that is where we had them ranked last season – some may have risen and some may have fallen.
Keys: (–) = stayed the same in rankings from last season.
| NBA Shooting Guards | ||||
| Andy | Colin | Jeff | Nate | |
| 1 | Kobe Bryant (–) | James Harden (2) | James Harden (3) | James Harden (3) |
| 2 | James Harden (4) | Kobe Bryant (1) | Klay Thompson | Kobe Bryant (1) |
| 3 | Dwyane Wade (2) | Dwyane Wade (–) | Kobe Bryant (1) | Dwyane Wade (2) |
| 4 | Eric Gordon (7) | Manu Ginobili (4) | Jamal Crawford | Klay Thompson |
| 5 | Arron Afflalo (9) | Jamal Crawford | Kevin Martin (9) | Joe Johnson (6) |
| 6 | Joe Johnson (5) | J.R. Smith | J.R. Smith | Tony Allen |
| 7 | Klay Thompson | Kevin Martin (8) | Dwyane Wade (2) | Danny Green |
| 8 | Manu Ginobili (3) | J.J. Redick | Danny Green | Arron Afflalo (9) |
| 9 | Monta Ellis (8) | Marcus Thornton | Manu Ginobili (4) | Manu Ginobili (4) |
| 10 | O.J. Mayo | Eric Gordon (5) | Eric Gordon (5) | Jamal Crawford |
| 11 | J.R. Smith | Jared Dudley | J.J. Redick | Wes Matthews (10) |
| 12 | DeMar DeRozan | Gordon Hayward | Joe Johnson (8) | J.J. Redick |
| 13 | Kevin Martin (10) | Lou Williams | Arron Afflalo (10) | J.R. Smith |
| 14 | Gerald Henderson | Randy Foye | O.J. Mayo | DeMar DeRozan |
| 15 | Jamal Crawford | Klay Thompson | Monta Ellis (6) | Eric Gordon (7) |
| 16 | J.J. Redick | Wes Matthews | Lou Williams | Monta Ellis (8) |
| 17 | Lou Williams | Joe Johnson (10) | Tony Allen | Bradley Beal |
| 18 | Vince Carter | Thabo Sefolosha | Thabo Sefolosha | Jimmy Butler |
| 19 | Chauncey Billups | Bradley Beal | Randy Foye | O.J. Mayo |
| 20 | Gordon Hayward | Monta Ellis (7) | Marcus Thornton | Dion Waiters |
| 21 | Marcus Thornton | Vince Carter | Vince Carter | Gordon Hayward |
| 22 | Randy Foye | Evan Turner | Chauncey Billups | Vince Carter |
| 23 | Lance Stephenson | Tony Allen | Bradley Beal | Kevin Martin |
| 24 | Evan Turner | Chauncey Billups | Gordon Hayward | Randy Foye |
| 25 | Bradley Beal | Arron Afflalo (9) | Lance Stephenson | Gerald Henderson |
| 26 | Dion Waiters | DeMar DeRozan | Jimmy Butler | Evan Turner |
| 27 | Danny Green | O.J. Mayo | Dion Waiters | Lou Williams |
| 28 | Tony Allen | Jimmy Butler | DeMar DeRozan | Jared Dudley |
| 29 | Jared Dudley | Danny Green | Gerald Henderson | Chauncey Billups |
| 30 | Wes Matthews | Dion Waiters | Wes Matthews | Marcus Thornton |
| 31 | Thabo Sefolosha | Gerald Henderson | Gerald Henderson | Thabo Sefolosha |
| 32 | Jimmy Butler | C.J. Miles | Evan Turner | Lance Stephenson |
Andy’s Take: The shooting guard position is so pathetically weak right now that it’s hard to believe neither Tracy McGrady nor Allen Iverson could land a job in the NBA this season. Moreover, I had to include some reserves on this list (like J.R. Smith and Jamal Crawford) as they would start on 20 out of 30 NBA teams. I really had to stretch to put this list together and unfortunately for Nuggets fans, Randy Foye still ranks in the bottom third of starting NBA shooting guards. (And it’s painful to admit that we essentially traded away a surefire top-10 shooting guard in Arron Afflalo for a guy that barely breaks the top-30 entering the upcoming season.)
Colin’s Take: James Harden is the best shooting guard in the NBA these days. Bryant’s return from his Achilles injury is uncertain at best. Wade, Ginobili and Crawford are getting up in years (Wade was practically falling apart in the Finals against the Spurs). J.R. is, as always, as enigmatic and up-and-down as a player can be. Kevin Martin is great at shooting but not much else. I placed Randy Foye where I did because while he’s one of the purest shooters on this list, he’s not one of the most complete players at his position. Anything outside the top 10 and I feel like it all comes down to subjective opinion.
Jeff’s Take: Foye is not anywhere close to the top ten in shooting guards. He is you typical adequate guard with competent skills. His shooting touch will help the Nuggets this season (which tells you how bad a shooter Andre Iguodala was) particularly on three pointers. James Harden is unquestionably the best two-guard in the NBA right now.
Nate's Take: The shooting guard spot could use a bit of a face-lift overall, but it's still a talented pool. Could Kobe really be supplanted by Harden as the cream of the crop? I see it that way. Wade and Manu are getting older and Thompson and Green are making their presence felt. I believe DeRozan and Beal are poised to make leaps this year and perhaps Butler, too. Foye falls into the back half here because of his defensive deficiencies and his incomplete offensive game. He has been an above average three-point shooter, in the mold of Voshon Leonard, but he may be fighting for his starting job all season.
The Verdict: Colin gives Foye his vote of confidence at 14th, while Jeff ranked him 19th, Andy 22nd, and Nate 24th. This position could be Denver's weakest heading into the season. Foye is a downgrade from Andre Iguodala and Arron Afflalo (well, not according to Colin) and shows that Denver has taken a step back when it comes to their shooting guard position. Andy is the only member of the DS Crew to keep Bryant at 1st on his list, he must believe in Kobe's "miraculous" recovery process from his Achilles injury. Young players like Harden and Thompson are starting to creep into the conversation as best shooting guards as father time catches up to the former elite.
Let us know where you would rank Foye and the rest of the guys shooting guards in the NBA and be sure to vote on our poll!
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