Ballad of the Bandwagoner: 2011 Top Players in NBA- Shooting Guards

Shooting Guards
1 Dwyane Wade

Miami Heat
Rating: 99
Scoring: A+
Shooting: A-
Driving: A+
Passing: B+
Rebounding: B+
Defense: A+
"IT" Factor: A
Dwyane Wade is unbelievably dynamic. He can score, pass, play defense, basically do it all. Not only does he do it all, he does it on the biggest stage; he has an NBA Finals MVP on his resume along with a career scoring average in the playoffs of 26.

2 Kobe Bryant

Los Angeles Lakers
Rating: 98
Scoring: A+
Shooting: A
Driving: A
Passing: B
Rebounding: B+
Defense: A
"IT" Factor: A+
Kobe still gets it done. Even if he is not shooting well like in Game 7 against the Celtics, he finds other ways to get it done. However, he no longer remains the best player in the NBA because Kobe's game demands that he must have the ball in order for the team to win. If the team doesn't succeed, like they didn't do this year getting bounced by Dallas, then Kobe's lack of efficiency and lack of being as dynamic as he once was makes Dwyane Wade the better overall player.

3 Manu Ginobili

San Antonio Spurs
Rating: 94
Scoring: A-
Shooting: A
Driving: A-
Passing: A-
Rebounding: B-
Defense: B
"IT" Factor: A
The reason why Manu is ahead of younger and more talented players such as Monta Ellis is that Manu is one of the most valuable players to his team in the league. When healthy last year, the Spurs were the best team in the NBA. Then his health took a turn for the worse and the Spurs were not the same team against the Grizzlies in the playoffs. Manu gets it done, simple as that.

4 Monta Ellis
Golden State Warriors

Rating: 94
Scoring: A
Shooting: A-
Driving: A-
Passing: C+
Rebounding: B-
Defense: B+
"IT" Factor: B+
Ellis is an elite scorer. But is that the only thing he can do? Well, time will tell. He is certainly one of the most explosive players in the league and he is only in his early twenties, but for Ellis to take the next step to superstardom, he will need to produce W's in the win column.

5 Joe Johnson

Atlanta Hawks
Rating: 92
Scoring: A-
Shooting: A-
Driving: A-
Passing: B
Rebounding: B
Defense: B+
"IT" Factor: A-
Joe Johnson is quietly productive. He doesn't have a huge ego, but he is always leading the Hawks into the second round of the playoffs year after year. If he can put the Hawks on his back and lead them on an even deeper playoff run, Johnson might crack the list of the best players in the league today.

6 Kevin Martin

Houston Rockets
Rating: 92
Scoring: A
Shooting: A
Driving: A-
Passing: B+
Rebounding: B-
Defense: B+
"IT" Factor: B+
Marting can flat out score. He is like Monta Ellis though, his teams usually don't make the playoffs, so what good is it in the end. That being said, Martin is an All-Star caliber player and has some more good years ahead of him.

7 Eric Gordon

Los Angeles Clippers
Rating: 90
Scoring: A
Shooting: A-
Driving: A-
Passing: B
Rebounding: B
Defense: B+
"IT" Factor: B+
Eric Gordon is only 22 years old and he is the cornerstone of the Clippers franchise along with Blake Griffin. Gordon has a solid all around game and his scoring has improved in each of his three seasons.

8 Andre Iguodala
Philadelphia 76ers
Rating: 89
Scoring: B+
Shooting: C+
Driving: A-
Passing: B
Rebounding: A-
Defense: A+
"IT" Factor: A-
Iguodala provides the Sixers with a dynamic game that is backed by his stellar defense. His scoring has gone down recently, but he is still young and explosive enough to put up 20 a game.

9 Brandon Roy

Portland Trailblazers
Rating: 87
Scoring: A-
Shooting: A-
Driving: A-
Passing: B+
Rebounding: B
Defense: B
"IT" Factor: A-
Roy has certainly been plagued by injuries and they could turn out to derail his career. But as of now, I still base my placing of Roy in the top 10 by his Game 4 performance against Dallas in the first round of the playoffs when he took over the 4th quarter and led Portland to the victory. When healthy, Roy can still produce.

10 Jason Terry

Dallas Mavericks
Rating: 87
Scoring: A-
Shooting: A
Driving: B+
Passing: B
Rebounding: B
Defense: C+
"IT" Factor: A
Terry is a clutch player who makes big shots. We saw it throughout the playoffs and in the NBA Finals against Miami where Terry made big shot after big shot, especially in Game 6. Terry plays at a high level when it matters most.

Wesley Matthews

11 Ray Allen
Boston Celtics
Rating: 86

12 Wesley Matthews
Portland Trailblazers
Rating: 85

13 Nick Young
Washington Wizards
Rating: 84

14 DeMar DeRozen
Toronto Raptors
Rating: 84

15 Stephen Jackson
Milwaukee Bucks
Rating: 82

Jamal Crawford

16 Jamal Crawford
Atlanta Hawks
Rating: 82

17 Richard Hamilton
Detroit Pistons
Rating: 81

18 James Harden
Oklahoma City Thunder
Rating: 80

19 Jason Richardson
Orlando Magic
Rating: 79

20 O.J. Mayo
Memphis Grizzlies
Rating: 79

21 Ben Gordon

O.J. Mayo

Detroit Pistons
Rating: 77

22 J.R. Smith
Denver Nuggets
Rating: 77

23 Leandro Barbosa
Toronto Raptors
Rating: 75

24 Jordan Crawford
Washington Wizards
Rating: 74

Marcus Thronton

25 Aaron Afflalo
Denver Nuggets
Rating: 73

26 Marcus Thornton
Sacramento Kings
Rating: 72

27 Toney Douglas
New York Knicks
Rating: 71

28 Anthony Morrow
New Jersey Nets