Alright, so I was just chilling yesterday, scrolling through old NBA highlights, right? Got totally sucked into Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant doing their thing. Got me thinking, who really are the GOAT shooting guards? Seemed like a no-brainer to figure out… ha, famous last words.
The Bright Idea Phase
Grabbed my laptop, opened up a fresh doc, feeling all organized and ready. Typed out “Top 10 Shooting Guards” real big at the top. Easy peasy. Started listing names: Jordan, Kobe, Wade, Harden, AI… maybe Ray Allen? The basics.
Then I thought, nah, I need some backup. Can’t just go by my gut. So I jumped online. Stats, stats, stats. Points per game, rings, awards. Found some articles, some forum debates. Man, people get heated about this stuff. Realized I needed more than just my favorites.
The Spiral Into Chaos
Started trying to compare eras. Like, how do you even put Jerry West next to James Harden? Totally different games, different rules. My list started feeling kinda pointless. Points scored? Okay, but Jordan and Kobe were lockdown defenders too. Harden? Uhh… not so much.
Tried looking at advanced stats next. PER? Win shares? Whatever those numbers are. My eyes kinda glazed over. I just wanted to know who the best were! My nice list? Yeah, that doc got messy real fast. Started adding notes everywhere: “Dwyane Wade’s finals MVP!” “Allen Iverson carried that sorry Sixers team!” “Reggie Miller clutchness factor?”. It looked like a crazy person’s map.
Got stuck on Clyde Drexler versus Ray Allen for way longer than I care to admit. Rings? Clyde got one as the second guy, Ray got two as a super role player. All-Star nods? Stats? Ugh. Then remembered George “Iceman” Gervin… gotta put him in the mix, right? Pure scorer. Where? Who does he bump? Started arguing with myself out loud. My dog gave me a weird look.
Hit a complete wall with the modern guys. Devin Booker? Donovan Mitchell? Do they even belong near this conversation yet? Like, how long do they need to keep this up? Started scrolling through their season stats again. Not helping.
The “Okay Fine, I Give Up” Compromise
My coffee was cold. My brain was fried. Decided I needed some kind of order, even if it was arbitrary. Said screw it, just tier them, stop trying to rank them 1-to-10 like some definitive gospel.
- Tier 1 (No Doubters): Jordan and Kobe. Done. You argue? Fight the fans, not me.
- Tier 2 (Legit Dominators): Dwyane Wade, Jerry West. Yeah, Jerry played in the 60s, but come on, the logo? Respect.
- Tier 3 (Elite But… Something?): Allen Iverson (changed the culture!), James Harden (scoring beast, yeah, defense though…), Clyde Drexler (silky smooth all-around).
- Tier 4 (Gotta Mention Them): Ray Allen (best shooter?), Reggie Miller (clutch nightmare), George Gervin (finger rolls!), Manu Ginobili (won everywhere, crazy Euro step).
Modern guys? Booker, Mitchell? Left ’em in the “Maybe Check Back in 5 Years” pile. Felt kinda bad, but whatever.
The Aftermath
Leaned back, looked at my screen. My beautiful, simple idea? It was a battlefield of deleted names, scratched-out positions, and random stat lines scribbled in the margins. Hit save anyway. Shared my tier list mess online, bracing for the “HOW COULD YOU LEAVE OUT TRACY MCGRADY?!” comments.
Finished my cold coffee feeling like I didn’t really answer the “greatest of all time” question at all. Just confirmed it’s harder than it looks. People gonna argue forever. Maybe that’s the whole point.
