Ranking the top 5 shooting guards for the 2023-24 season

Ranking the top 5 shooting guards for the 2023-24 season: 3. Kyrie Irving

There may not be a more controversial player in the NBA than Kyrie Irving. He may come as a surprise here but since Luka Doncic is the point guard, Kyrie will be considered a shooting guard for the 2023-24 season.

There isn't much negative that you can say about Kyrie Irving's game on the court. Last season he averaged 27.1 points, 5.1 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 1.1 steals on 49.4 percent shooting from the field, 37.9 percent from 3, and 90.5 percent from the free-throw line.

In the 20 games that Irving played as the Dallas Mavericks shooting guard, he averaged 27 points, 5 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 51 percent from the field, 39.2 percent from 3, and 94.7 percent from the free throw line.

Despite all of Irving's off-the-court issues, he is still one of the most skilled players in NBA history. Another Irving is so skilled is that his 34.5-inch vertical jump is way below league average. Despite his inability to jump as high as other players, Irving is still one of the best finishers in basketball. He shot 72.4 percent on shots within three feet, and he has a unique ability to spin the ball off the glass where he rarely misses a layup.

Irving is also one of the best shooters in the NBA. He can score anywhere on an NBA court — last season he shot 50.7 percent on shots that were 3-10 feet, 53.8 percent on shots from 10-16 feet, 50.9 percent on shots from 16-23 feet, and 37.9 percent from 3.

Irving has no offensive weakness in his game whatsoever. One of the reasons why he's third is that he can be a defensive liability at times and also because he is playing next to Luka Doncic. Luka has the ball in his hands a lot so Irving's numbers will be down but his efficiency will be up. 

Expect Irving to have another great season where he is in the conversation of a top-15 player in all of basketball. Hopefully, he and Luka can figure it out and the Mavericks find themselves in championship contention but, there are two other shooting guards who will have a better season than Kyrie Irving.