Ranking the top 5 shooting guards in the Eastern Conference ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season

#3 Zach LaVine (Chicago Bulls)

Zach La Vine won a gold with Team USA at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Hailing from the same NBA draft class as Andrew Wiggins and Jabari Parker, it is probably safe to say that Zach LaVine has overtaken most of the players who were picked ahead of him in 2014. After averaging 10.1 ppg in his rookie season, LaVine had a breakthrough 2020-21 where he posted career-best numbers in scoring (27.4 ppg), field-goal shooting (50.7%), three-point shooting (41.9%), rebounding (5.0 rpg) and assists (4.9 apg).

2020-21 was also the first time LaVine ranked among the top 10 scorers in the league and earned his first NBA All-Star nod. The one glaring gap in LaVine’s resume is that he still doesn’t have a single playoff appearance. With Chicago adding more talent in the offseason in Lonzo Ball and DeMar DeRozan, LaVine may finally have the right players around him to help him make his postseason debut in 2022.

#2 Bradley Beal (Washington Wizards)

Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards averaged a career-best 31.3 ppg in 2020-21

Had he not missed a few games during the final stretch of the 2020-21 season, Bradley Beal may well have edged Stephen Curry as the NBA’s 2021 Scoring Champ. Beal finished 2020-21 with career-bests of 31.3 ppg and field goal efficiency of 48.5%. He also tied the Wizards’ franchise record for the best game score by an individual player when he dropped 60 points on the Philadelphia 76ers in January.

The interesting question about Beal is not regarding his talent, but the pieces the Wizards surround him with. With head coach Scott Brooks and Russell Westbrook having moved out, Beal will now have to work with new head coach Wes Unseld Jr. and build chemistry with a new bunch of players that includes Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and Spencer Dinwiddie.

#1 James Harden (Brooklyn Nets)

James Harden of the Brooklyn Nets has scored 10,000 points in the last five NBA seasons

The best in the NBA irrespective of conference. Even as James Harden enters his 13th NBA season, he remains one of the most skilful scorers the game has ever seen. He is the only player to score more than 10,000 points in the last five NBA seasons. Harden has achieved this spectacular scoring streak while also figuring among the NBA’s top three assists leaders over the same period.

Harden began last season on a sour note with the Houston Rockets, which eventually led to him being traded from there to Brooklyn. He was also allegedly out of shape when the 2020-21 season began and not one hundred percent fit when he returned for the Nets in their Conference semi-finals matchup against Milwaukee. If he comes out healthy and ready for the 2021-22 season, he can lead the Nets alongside Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving and get the franchise its first NBA championship.