{"id":2116654,"date":"2026-08-28T15:00:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-28T12:00:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116654"},"modified":"2026-08-28T15:00:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-28T12:00:09","slug":"the-bounce-is-anthony-edwards-still-the-best-shooting-guard-in-the-nba","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2116654","title":{"rendered":"The Bounce: Is Anthony Edwards still the best shooting guard in the NBA?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"Article_ContentContainer__jBNW3 article-content-container bodytext1\">\n<p><b data-stringify-type=\"bold\">The Bounce Newslette<\/b><strong>r<\/strong>\u00a0<span class=\"c-emoji c-emoji__medium c-emoji--inline\" data-qa=\"emoji\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class src=\"https:\/\/a.slack-edge.com\/production-standard-emoji-assets\/14.0\/apple-medium\/1f3c0@2x.png\" alt=\":basketball:\" width=\"20\" height=\"20\" aria-label=\"basketball emoji\" data-stringify-type=\"emoji\" data-stringify-emoji=\":basketball:\"><\/span>\u00a0| This is <em>The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0<a class=\"c-link c-link--underline\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/athletic\/newsletters\/the-bounce\/?source=pulsenewsletter&amp;campaign=9178780&amp;userId=10748855\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-stringify-link=\"https:\/\/theathletic.com\/newsletters\/the-bounce\/?source=pulsenewsletter&amp;campaign=9178780&amp;userId=10748855\" data-sk=\"tooltip_parent\">Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n<p>RIP, Tim Curry, one of the funniest and most talented actors I\u2019ve ever seen. You could name a dozen of his roles and claim it\u2019s his best. He was so talented. But if I may suggest something, go back and watch \u201cClue\u201d at some point this weekend. He\u2019ll be missed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid1\" data-position=\"mid1\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<hr>\n<h3>Position rankings<\/h3>\n<p><strong>The Bounce\u2019s top 40 shooting guards<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Rankings! I love doing them, and you love dumping on them! Every August (for the second year in a row) I\u2019ve put out the Top 40 position rankings in a positionless NBA. I\u2019ve already done <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/f58636ef8a13416684c15b8a14f36d75\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">big men<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/ccb9edd257634c56ac8518873dde3171\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">lead guards<\/a>. I\u2019m 2-for-2 in getting those lists completely correct, as long as you don\u2019t look at the comments or replies on social media.<\/p>\n<p>Now I\u2019m headed to the other part of the backcourt \u2014 the shooting guard\/off-guard position! While some of these guys could definitely qualify as lead guards, I tried to keep everything based on where their minutes were logged or how it felt like the team was trying to build the roster. This list is split into seven tiers.<\/p>\n<p>Let\u2019s rank!<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7545497 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/28080626\/26-27_Top40_ShootingGuards_Rankings1.jpeg\" alt width=\"700\" height=\"512\"><\/p>\n<p><strong>Edwards is clearly the NBA\u2019s best shooting guard<\/strong>, and that\u2019s not a knock on Booker or Mitchell. There is plenty of argument for Mitchell over Booker, but defense side swings it slightly in Book\u2019s favor.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Reaves almost catapulted above Bane, but again \u2026 defense.<\/li>\n<li>White was ranked as a lead guard last year, but his minutes are primarily at the off-guard position. Also, he\u2019s awesome.<\/li>\n<li>Castle takes a big leap, just like he did on the court in Year 2. He\u2019s one of the best two-way players in the league.<\/li>\n<li>I still believe LaVine can be super effective with his offense. He\u2019s just overpaid at nearly $49 million this season.<\/li>\n<li>Vassell feels underrated in a lot of ways. Maybe some would classify him as a wing.<\/li>\n<li>I will always be a Powell fan and am excited to see <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/1a5e04f7494e4b8ca2158ebf4f1dfef4\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">w<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/69168120430f462789b8d7c0fad755ac\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">hat he does in Chicago<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7545498 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/28080643\/26-27_Top40_ShootingGuards_Rankings2-1.jpeg\" alt width=\"700\" height=\"526\"><\/p>\n<p>Hart was really difficult to keep out of the top 10, and maybe I\u2019ll regret not having him over Powell and Vassell. He\u2019s the ultimate glue guy in the backcourt. In Tier 4, there is so much defense. And RJ Barrett.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>I think Edgecombe is going to have some unimpressive numbers overall, but his play with this loaded 76ers lineup will be tremendous.<\/li>\n<li>Peterson has the opportunity to take over the backcourt reins in Utah and <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/b360fc099bb44a2ca3c3bbd52a84a3c9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">have a massive impact right away<\/a>.<\/li>\n<li>Dosunmu took a major step forward and figures prominently into Minnesota\u2019s plan.<\/li>\n<li>Coward delivered on all of the pre-draft hype. He just needs to be a more consistent outside shooter.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-7545499 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/static01.nyt.com\/athletic\/uploads\/wp\/2026\/08\/28080659\/26-27_Top40_ShootingGuards_Rankings3.jpeg\" alt width=\"700\" height=\"528\"><\/p>\n<p>I\u2019m probably most interested in the players who fell to Tier 6, Green and Beal. Green was injured much of last season, and fitting next to Dillon Brooks and Booker will be paramount to his success. Beal is coming back from a hip fracture and wants to show he\u2019s still got it. But I\u2019m not sure that will be his role for the Clippers.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The 36-year-old Thompson has been declining since missing two straight seasons, but he\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/fccc6ce53fa448fcb21f4a0809406fd7\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">still a 39 percent 3-point shooter<\/a> getting out of bed.<\/li>\n<li>I want to see Tre Johnson have a monster second season with all that talent next to him.<\/li>\n<li>Sharpe fell dramatically <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/1bc688f6df8e4279a695e53808fc8060\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">because of a knee injury<\/a> that will sideline him for six months.<\/li>\n<li>The shooting guard I will probably regret not ranking is Max Strus or Isaiah Joe. Brayden Burries having a strong rookie campaign would qualify too.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong><em>Players dropped from last year:<\/em><\/strong><em> Donte DiVincenzo (24th), Buddy Hield (27th), Cam Thomas (33rd), Kevin Huerter (34th), Bogdan Bogdanovi\u0107 (35th), Luke Kennard (39th), Isaiah Joe (40th)<\/em><\/p>\n<div id=\"top-league-content-root\"><\/div>\n<p>    {&#8220;endpoint&#8221;:&#8221;https:\/\/api-prd-nyt.theathletic.com\/graphql&#8221;}<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>The last 24<\/h3>\n<p>\ud83d\udc3a <strong>Wolf man. <\/strong>Jonathan Kuminga turned down bigger offers, including from the Lakers, to sign with the Timberwolves.<strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/11b8505b10aa428d9710c62a8004e4c8\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Anthony Edwards\u2019 focus on defense convinced him<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid2\" data-position=\"mid2\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>\ud83c\udfc0 <strong>Expansion coming? <\/strong>What\u2019s going on with the potential new teams in Seattle and Las Vegas? <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/e820b03d257d44e294e82f26fafda80e\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Here\u2019s everything Mike Vorkunov is hearing<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udcfa <strong>Late-night show! <\/strong>Prime Video will have a talk show two nights a week. <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/ca006cd3c93844dd8c7d77c5a3bab8fd\"><strong>Blake Griffin is the new Craig Ferguson<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><strong>\ud83d\udcc5 Mark your calendars! <\/strong>The Raptors are retiring No. 7 on Jan. 10. <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/065d6b8f44af45e18d2678ab0cf2a737\"><strong>It\u2019s a tremendous honor for Kyle Lowry<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\ud83d\udea4 <strong>Noah\u2019s arc.<\/strong> Joakim Noah is done fighting ghosts, <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/1757a598a7c344bb9e0dac3d1cf7f43f\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>including his last name<\/strong><\/a><strong>.<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Poster child<\/h3>\n<p><strong>The Rifleman vs. Moses in the semifinals<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ve had you vote for the best \u201980s basketball poster this offseason, and now it\u2019s time for the semifinals. First up: Chuck Person\u2019s \u201cThe Rifleman\u201d vs. Moses Malone\u2019s \u201cMoses\u201d poster.<\/p>\n<p>Person beat out Dale Ellis\u2019 \u201cThe Silent Assassin,\u201d and Moses beat out Karl Malone\u2019s \u201cThe Mailman\u201d earlier this month. Which one goes to the championship?<\/p>\n<p>(By the way, Michael Jordan\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/104cdd6619514ce881c6788041febf56\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">frame-by-frame poster<\/a> beat Larry Bird\u2019s \u201cBird Nest\u201d poster by taking 59 percent of the vote last week. MJ moves on to face George Gervin\u2019s \u201cIceman\u201d next week.)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/a\/zc\/5037\/ab2e1b8e626c498682e7e93a513c5d12\/ff928cfb87364cb7a516a907b4b9d7b0\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" title src=\"https:\/\/library.iterable.com\/1557\/5037\/1747dfb1cd344b189d67ecef9293ede6-poster828.gif\" alt width=\"562\" height=\"auto\"><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Who has the better poster? Sound off in the comments!<\/p>\n<hr>\n<h3>Dolly\u2019s world<\/h3>\n<p><strong>We lost a true legend<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>As long-time Bouncers know, sometimes we dip outside the basketball world. We all have celebrities that we love. Celebrities we never met. People who inspired us or made us feel some kind of way whenever we saw them or consumed their work. Dolly Parton, who died earlier this week at 80, was one of those celebrities for me. She was one of the most impressive people to ever grace this earth.<\/p>\n<p>A fact people love to throw out about her is that she wrote the songs \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d and \u201cJolene\u201d on the same day. Not like the same date a year or five apart. <em>The same exact day<\/em>. That would be like Shohei Ohtani going 4-for-4 with four home runs and pitching a complete game with 15 strikeouts in the same game. And it\u2019s an impressive bit of trivia about Dolly. But she was also so much more.<\/p>\n<div class=\"ad-container\">\n<div class=\"ad-wrapper article-treatment\">\n<div class=\"ad-slug-container\">\n<p class=\"ad-slug\">Advertisement<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"mid3\" data-position=\"mid3\" class=\"ad place-ad\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>I\u2019ve watched just about every interview with her I could find over the years. She had the best outlook on life. <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/z\/c\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/2e065f98552b41c5bdef4c33c81ccc25\">She didn\u2019t believe in regrets<\/a>because they shaped the person she became. Dolly said she worked without fear because this was all fun for her. She came from nothing, so she \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/z\/c\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/22ad718e86264567a3a4929520b0a30a\">had everything to gain and nothing to lose<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Watch her present Whitney Houston with the Grammy for \u201cI Will Always Love You\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/z\/c\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/b3bb72c98b994bbf8c935f1a212fece1\">see the pure joy from Dolly<\/a>. Dolly could take any song and make it her own, like \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/z\/c\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/e5b2a54253ac49059fa67e49967a77c4\">House of the Rising Sun<\/a>.\u201d Her cover of the Collective Soul\u2019s \u201cShine\u201d is <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/z\/c\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/a8f5a1667e3049e8a7bee59ec61e5d7e\">probably my favorite cover of all time<\/a>. Listen to her deliver that very subtle \u201cyeah\u201d and try not to get goosebumps.<\/p>\n<p>She wrote the most famous song about working, \u201c9-to-5,\u201d and \u201cpour myself a cup of ambition\u201d is one of the greatest modern lyrical creations. She also starred in the movie \u201c9-to-5,\u201d which is one of the best comedies of the \u201980s. She conquered music. She was great in film, including \u201cRhinestone,\u201d in which she carried Sylvester Stallone in every scene. Dolly even <a href=\"https:\/\/links.e1.nytimes.com\/z\/c\/5037\/75fe56e31335481ab96586dd5a1d8571\/848264bc9a6147c7abcd6691335dc75a\">delivered one of the funniest David Letterman Top 10 Lists<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>We don\u2019t know most of those we admire from afar, but I feel confident we lost one of the best people and inspirations around. Rest in Peace, Dolly. You were a true one-of-one.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Bounce Newsletter\u00a0\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox. RIP, Tim Curry, one of the funniest and most talented actors I\u2019ve ever seen. You could name a dozen of his roles and claim it\u2019s his best. He was so talented. But if I may suggest [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,241],"class_list":["post-2116654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-nytimes-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2116654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2116654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2116654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2116654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2116654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}