Fantasy basketball rankings: Top 50 SGs
For more fantasy coverage, check out theScore's 2018 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit, with player rankings and new content released daily.
These rankings reflect standard scoring formats, taking into account a player's expected production in the following categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-point shots made, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage, and turnovers.
Position Rankings
PG | SG | SF | PF | C | Top 150
Tier 1 - Fantasy Superstars
RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
---|---|---|
1 | James Harden | HOU |
2 | Stephen Curry | GSW |
3 | Kawhi Leonard | TOR |
The top tier of fantasy "shooting guards" says a lot about the state of the position in the modern NBA; James Harden is a wing by virtue of playing alongside Chris Paul, but he's built in the mold of modern-day scoring point guards like Stephen Curry. Kawhi Leonard will boast eligibility at the smaller wing positions in most season-long league providers despite being a forward.
Thankfully, with most score-first point guards maintaining positional eligibility at both guard positions and with most wings eligible at shooting guard and small forward, you're not sacrificing much if you don't grab a player in the trio above; there's plenty of SG-eligible depth in Tier 2 that will approximate most of the production of the Tier 1 players.
Tier 2 - Starters
RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
---|---|---|
4 | Paul George | OKC |
5 | Victor Oladipo | IND |
6 | Jrue Holiday | NOP |
7 | Kyrie Irving | BOS |
8 | Jimmy Butler | MIN |
9 | Devin Booker | PHO |
10 | Bradley Beal | WAS |
11 | Donovan Mitchell | UTH |
12 | Khris Middleton | MIL |
13 | C.J. McCollum | POR |
14 | Klay Thompson | GSW |
15 | DeMar DeRozan | SAS |
16 | Eric Bledsoe | MIL |
17 | Gordon Hayward | BOS |
Jimmy Butler's stats took a hit in his first year with the Minnesota Timberwolves, but his output should balance out. Tom Thibodeau will always ride his wings with big workloads, so as long as Butler's healthy, you can expect 37-plus minutes of floor time per night. Butler posted a career high effective field-goal percentage of 51.2. Target him at the turn of the second or third round in 10-team drafts.
With his trade from the comfortable confines of the Toronto Raptors to the San Antonio Spurs, DeMar DeRozan's fantasy outlook has taken a hit. It's one thing to be a mid-range scorer on a Raptors roster built to highlight that skill set; it's another to put up 23 points per game alongside similarly minded players like LaMarcus Aldridge and Rudy Gay. DeRozan could still emerge as the leading scorer for the Spurs - and he'll still help prop up your team's free-throw percentage - but expect a period of adjustment for the four-time All-Star.
Tier 3 - Depth
RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
---|---|---|
18 | Jamal Murray | DEN |
19 | Lou Williams | LAC |
20 | Tim Hardaway Jr. | NYK |
21 | Gary Harris | DEN |
22 | Goran Dragic | MIA |
23 | Dennis Smith Jr. | DAL |
24 | Will Barton | DEN |
25 | Zach LaVine | CHI |
26 | Eric Gordon | HOU |
27 | Andrew Wiggins | MIN |
28 | D'Angelo Russell | BKN |
29 | Tyreke Evans | IND |
30 | JJ Redick | PHI |
31 | Nicolas Batum | CHA |
32 | Evan Fournier | ORL |
33 | Joe Ingles | UTH |
34 | Jaylen Brown | BOS |
35 | Brandon Ingram | LAL |
36 | Josh Richardson | MIA |
37 | Darren Collison | IND |
28 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope | LAL |
39 | Reggie Jackson | DET |
Beyond Nikola Jokic, the Denver Nuggets' rotation is stocked with talent - particularly on the wings. It's a logjam that makes it difficult to determine the best option for season-long fantasy leagues. At 21, Jamal Murray has shown the most potential in his first two years in the NBA, but the ever-improving Gary Harris also put up 17.5 points per game on highly effective shooting.
Complicating matters, the Nuggets just committed nearly $50 million to Will Barton this offseason. Add the return of Paul Millsap (he was held to just 38 games last season), plus the addition of Isaiah Thomas off the bench, and it's starting to look like Murray, Harris, and Barton are all still an injury away from seeing a dramatic uptick in fantasy production.
Tier 4 - Bench
RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
---|---|---|
40 | Jonathon Simmons | ORL |
41 | Jeremy Lin | ATL |
42 | Caris LeVert | BKN |
43 | Buddy Hield | SAC |
44 | Kris Dunn | CHI |
45 | Dion Waiters | MIA |
46 | Tyler Johnson | MIA |
47 | Josh Jackson | PHO |
48 | Kent Bazemore | ATL |
49 | Allen Crabbe | BKN |
50 | Bojan Bogdanovic | IND |
With the Phoenix Suns tanking their way to the No. 1 pick, you can be excused for overlooking the strong finish to Josh Jackson's season. The No. 4 selection of last year's draft averaged 17.4 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 1.9 assists in just under 30 minutes per game over his final 36 appearances and has shown flashes as a plus-contributor in steal totals. But the addition of Deandre Ayton means yet another blue-chip mouth to feed; don't expect Jackson to see 15-plus shots per game in 2018-19.
Honorable mentions: Malcolm Brogdon (MIL), Wilson Chandler (PHI), Bogdan Bogdanovic (SAC), Trevor Ariza (PHO), Terry Rozier (BOS), E'Twaun Moore (NOP), Avery Bradley (LAC).
(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)