ESPN's All-Time #NBArank continues with the top 10 shooting guards. Our NBA Insiders weigh in on who is too high, too low and who was better at their peak, Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade?
1. Which top-10 shooting guard is ranked too low?
David Thorpe, ESPN.com: I can't have Wade below the top three. Only Jordan and Kobe rank ahead of him overall. He's one of the worst shooters in this group, but he's the best slasher/scorer against modern defenses we have seen, and his incredible motor has enabled him to make hundreds of game-changing plays off the ball.
Amin Elhassan, ESPN Insider: I'm picking someone who should be in the top 10, and I'm going to sound like a basketball hipster, but Manu Ginobili might be the most underrated player of the 21st century. Everything we ask of players -- to sacrifice individual glory over the betterment of the team, to value possessions and be efficient with them, and to play through injury and fatigue -- Ginobili embodied. In a four-year span, he won a Euroleague title (and MVP), two Italian Cups (and two MVPs), an Olympic gold medal, a FIBA World Championship Silver Medal and two NBA titles. The ultimate winner.
Chris Broussard, ESPN.com: I have to be honest -- I don't have a problem with the top 10. You could make the argument that Iverson should be fifth instead of Drexler, but I'm good with Drexler being a slot ahead of A.I. Drexler was a terrific all-around player who rebounded, defended and dished out assists in addition to scoring big.
Bradford Doolittle, ESPN Insider: We could have bumped up Ginobili a few spots. Think of it like this: We have George Gervin ahead of him, but do we really think he had a better career as a Spur than Ginobili has had? A career that, by the way, is still going strong.
Kevin Pelton, ESPN Insider: Reggie Miller. Because of his longevity as a helpful player, I'd probably have Miller a couple of spots higher. But that's more of a quibble than anything else.
2. Which top-10 shooting guard is ranked too high?
Thorpe: Iverson, easily. He'd be top three if the rankings were based on incredible plays, but the guy was more a highlight reel than he was a teammate who did everything he could (without the ball in his hands) to win games. Ray Allen was better, period. So was Reggie Miller. Maybe Manu too.
Elhassan: Reggie Miller. Not to knock his long career -- being that good for that long is an admirable feat in and of itself -- but his peaks were never as high as those of others on the list below him. Miller's heroics, especially in playoff situations, make his career more memorable, though not necessarily more accomplished.
Broussard: I'm fine with Earl "The Pearl'' at No. 10, but it doesn't take much imagination to put Tracy McGrady ahead of Monroe. McGrady gets slighted for never winning a playoff series, but at the height of his powers, he was darn near Kobe's equal, leading the league in scoring twice. And his playoff numbers are so strong that it's hard to blame him for his clubs' postseason futility.
Doolittle: I love The Pearl, but Monroe's real production doesn't warrant a top-10 spot. He was a joy to behold, yet I think we're letting grainy video of his array of circus shots and his role on a legendary Knicks team skew our thinking.
Pelton: Monroe. He doesn't fare well by either advanced stats or awards from his contemporaries. Per the estimates at Basketball Reference, he never topped a 20 PER. And Monroe was an All-Star just four times -- three fewer than Joe Johnson, despite playing in a far smaller league.
3. Who was better at his peak: Kobe Bryant or Dwyane Wade?
Thorpe: Neither peaked higher than the other, though Kobe deserves his No. 2 ranking on career impact. Both were accountable on so many levels when they were at their best, making countless tough plays on both sides of the ball and carrying their teams to huge wins night after night.
Elhassan: You can't go wrong with either name, but I'd go with Bryant. He was the better all-round player with fewer flaws. Put another way: Everything Wade could do, Bryant could do just as well, but the opposite is not true.
Broussard: I was very, very, very tempted to say Wade. He was more efficient and gave out more assists at his peak. But Kobe scored 81 points in a game and put up four straight 50-point games and nine straight 40-point nights. That gives him the nod, slightly.
Doolittle: It's close, and the most amazing thing is that both players -- despite playing styles leading to great bodily harm -- had a peak that lasted more than a decade. I'd go with Kobe -- he accomplished more tangible stuff, like an MVP award, with more titles and summit seasons that were among the best ever, by anyone.
Pelton: I give Kobe the edge. Wade's 2005-06 season was the equal of any Bryant campaign, including when he won MVP in 2007-08, but Wade only had a couple of other seasons close to that level. Bryant had multiple.
4. Should Vince Carter, Tracy McGrady and Manu Ginobili be in the top 10?
Thorpe: I'd place Manu above Vince Carter and T-Mac (fellow Floridians whom I watched starting in their prep days). What Ginobili accomplished as a teammate was a huge part of the best recent "dynasty" the NBA has seen. Stats alone help him win a "top 10" argument, and they'd be augmented if he insisted he be a starter. By being so agreeable to come off the bench, he has cemented his legacy and his team's.
Elhassan: Ginobili absolutely should (see above). McGrady had one of the most misunderstood careers, unfairly vilified for failing to make it out of the first round until the last season of his career as a Trivial Pursuit answer suiting up for the San Antonio Spurs. Carter also gets a lot of flak for the way he left Toronto, tarnishing what was essentially a stellar career. I'd argue for all three to make it into the top 10, but my will to die on this hill diminishes considerably as I go from Ginobili to McGrady to Carter.
Broussard: The only one I'd argue hard for is McGrady. Vince, the best dunker in league history, is just slightly behind T-Mac in my book because T-Mac had a better all-around game. I love Manu, but definitely not top 10.
Doolittle: Ginobili, yes. The others, no, though McGrady surely would be if not for his injuries. It's hard not to also consider McGrady's lack of postseason success, though I don't weigh that heavily. As for Carter, as good as he was for as long as he was, he never finished higher than 10th in the MVP voting and never made an All-NBA team after leaving Toronto.
Pelton: I would put Ginobili 10th, ahead of Monroe. His important role in multiple deep playoff runs by the Spurs gives him the edge. Carter and McGrady are just outside my top 10.
5. Where will James Harden be ranked at the end of his career?
Thorpe: If he can just learn to be a little more consistent as a "we" guy instead of a "me" guy, he is headed for top-six status. James Harden has the talent, but his penchant for being too concerned about his numbers causes him to bring no energy to too many defensive possessions, or to not move the ball away from the crowd headed his way. The future for him is still unwritten -- he has the power to improve.
Elhassan: Harden is at something of a crossroads, where the things he's great at no longer impress the masses, and the things he struggles at become magnified. Being a bad defensive player is one thing, but being an indifferent one completely sabotages his standing. However, it's funny to see another great scorer in George Gervin, who heard many of the same complaints during his playing career that Harden does, be treated with such reverence. I see Harden dropping out of the top 20 at some point.
Broussard: Harden has to continue what he's doing for about five more years to crack the top 10 unless he somehow begins winning championships. This season's lack of success is definitely dulling his shine. His ball dominance will work against him in the historic rankings.
Doolittle: I see him easily getting into the top 10. Not only is his game floor-based and likely to age well, but his playmaking is strong enough that he could remain a cornerstone player even when he's no longer the top scoring option on his teams. Barring catastrophic injury, "The Beard" will be gray by the time his game slips.
Pelton: That all depends on how much effort he decides to put into defense the rest of the way, but Harden is well on his way to cracking the top five and might surpass Wade for fourth all-time if he wins an MVP.