Fastbreak On FanNation’s Top-10 Point Guards Entering 2022-23 NBA Season
Back on June 16, the final buzzer sounded in Game 6 of the 2022 NBA Finals and the Golden State Warriors were once again crowned champions of the NBA.
Exactly four months and two days later, the Warriors will be one of four teams in action to open up and begin the 2022-23 NBA season!
So much has happened in the offseason between teams dealing with internal drama and stars being on the move and now, it is time for yet another season to begin. As always, with a new season always comes rankings and here at Fastbreak on FanNation, we have you covered with everything you need to know regarding the top players in the league.
Having great play at the point guard position is always key for any championship contending team in the league and some of the league’s best dominate this position.
There are so many great point guards in the NBA today, but only ten of them make up our list of the best-of-the-best.
Here is the first installment of our Top-10 Positional Rankings for the 2022-23 NBA season, starting with the Top-10 point guards in the NBA:
No. 10: Fred VanVleet - Toronto Raptors
Finally earning the recognition he deserves, Fred VanVleet became a first-time All-Star during the 2021-22 season with the Toronto Raptors. He is coming off a year in which he averaged career-highs in points (20.3), rebounds (4.4), assists (6.7) and minutes (37.9), but perhaps the biggest thing that stands out about VanVleet heading into the new 2022-23 season is that he is finally 100 percent healthy.
VanVleet has not played in more than 65 games since the 2017-18 season and for the Raptors to get back to being a top-tier competitor in the Eastern Conference, they will need their All-Star point guard healthy and on the floor. Still just 28-years-old and heading into his seventh NBA season, Fred VanVleet remains one of the better playmakers in the league.
No. 9: LaMelo Ball - Charlotte Hornets
Another first-time All-Star from a season ago, LaMelo Ball is now the face of the Charlotte Hornets and his team will go as far as he is able to carry them. Outside of Ball, the Hornets are lacking firepower, which is why the 2022-23 season has a chance to be Ball’s best season yet.
LaMelo is a Top-5 passer in this league, he is becoming stronger in the paint as a scorer and rebounder and Ball very quietly shot 38.9 percent from three-point range last season. Now preparing for his third NBA season, LaMelo Ball should undoubtedly earn All-Star honors yet again and could flirt with having a 20-point, 8-rebound and 8-assist season, something very few players are able to say that they have accomplished.
No. 8: Chris Paul - Phoenix Suns
He may be 37-years-old now and nearing the end of the line in his career, but Chris Paul is still an All-Star quality point guard in the NBA and he may very well be the best leader in the league. Paul finds success everywhere he goes and since joining the Phoenix Suns in 2020, the Suns have the second-most wins in the league (149). The only team they trail are the Milwaukee Bucks (153), who beat them in the 2021 NBA Finals.
Chris Paul led the league in assists per game (10.8) last season for the fifth time in his career and has really helped others like Devin Booker, Mikal Bridges and Deandre Ayton become key names in this league. As long as Paul is on the floor, the Suns have a chance to compete for a title.
No. 7: Trae Young - Atlanta Hawks
What makes Trae Young such a talented player is not only his scoring abilities from way beyond the three-point line, but his playmaking abilities as well. In fact, there may not be a player in the NBA that has a better blend of scoring and passing to his game than Young right now!
Since the 2018-19 season, Young’s first season in the NBA, only four players in the league have scored at least 7,000 total points: James Harden (7,668), Giannis Antetokounmpo (7,570), Devin Booker (7,097) and Trae Young (7,076). The addition of All-Star guard Dejounte Murray in the backcourt will allow Trae Young to be a better overall and more efficient scorer and as a result, the Atlanta Hawks will have a chance to get back to the Eastern Conference Finals for the second time in the last three seasons.
No. 6: James Harden - Philadelphia 76ers
The 2021-22 season was not James Harden’s best year in this league and while he is now on the Philadelphia 76ers, his third team in as many seasons, Harden looks in-shape and is starting to show flashes of the “old James Harden” in training camp. The debate of whether Harden is a point guard or shooting guard can go on for days, but his primary role with the 76ers is to be their main playmaker and facilitator.
Still one of the best scoring threats with the ball in his hands as well, James Harden is destined for success in Philadelphia next to MVP candidate Joel Embiid. This duo could very well lead the league in scoring this upcoming season and while many claim that Harden had a “down year” a season ago, he still put up All-Star-like numbers.
Averaging 22.0 points, 7.7 rebounds and 10.3 assists in 65 total games is a dream come true for almost every player in the league right now and if this is how Harden looks when he is not at his best, just imagine what the 76ers can achieve with him focused and ready to play heading into the new season!
No. 5 Kyrie Irving - Brooklyn Nets
Regardless of how you feel about him, Kyrie Irving is still one of the best players in this league when he is on the floor. With no health restrictions being put on him entering the 2022-23 season, the Brooklyn Nets have their point guard back at full capacity, which is bad news for the rest of this league.
He may have only played in 29 games a season ago, but those 29 games were some of the best performances of Irving’s career. Should the Nets get Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving on the floor together for a vast majority of this season, there is no reason why Brooklyn cannot compete for a title.
Irving truly is one of the best ball-handlers and playmakers at the point guard position in NBA history and having an assortment of elite three-point shooters by his side in Seth Curry, Joe Harris and Patty Mills, Kyrie Irving could be well on his way to having his best statistical season as a point guard yet.
No. 4: Damian Lillard - Portland Trail Blazers
An abdominal injury only allowed Damian Lillard to play in 29 total games a season ago and as a result, the Portland Trail Blazers hit the “reset button” and completely revamped their roster. CJ McCollum, Robert Covington and Norman Powell may be gone, but one thing we know is that Lillard is going to come out firing to begin the new season.
Since entering the league in 2012, not many players have been as efficient scoring the basketball as Damian Lillard has been and after signing a massive two-year extension worth upwards of $122 million, Lillard is set to make close to $260 million in Portland through the 2026-27 season.
How is that for loyalty?
There is no question that Lillard is going to have a massive season with Portland, should he remain healthy, and he could very much work his way into the conversation for MVP this upcoming year should Portland compete for home court advantage in the Western Conference playoff picture.
No. 3: Ja Morant - Memphis Grizzlies
When you go and search for highlights from the 2021-22 NBA season, you are going to come across a ton of plays made by Ja Morant. A high-flying, acrobatic guard, Morant has already become one of the faces of this league at 23-years-old and he is one of a few players that has a chance to do something “Ja-dropping” each and every night.
You see what I did there?
From blocking shots that nobody should be able to block to throwing down dunks that very few players in NBA history could achieve to taking over and leading his team at such a young age, Ja Morant has fully embraced being the face of the Memphis Grizzlies and has very quickly made them a real championship threat in the Western Conference.
No. 2: Luka Doncic - Dallas Mavericks
He was the favorite to win the MVP award last season and once again, Luka Doncic enters the new season as the league’s favorite to win MVP. A sure-thing for First Team All-NBA if he remains healthy, Luka Doncic continues to be an ambassador for the game of basketball overseas and is already making a case for being one of the greatest international players to ever play in the NBA.
At 23-years-old, Doncic is a Top-10 player in the NBA and he recently took the Dallas Mavericks to the Western Conference Finals, a spot that nobody projected them to be in at the start of the season. It will not be long until Doncic has the Mavs in the NBA Finals and he has been very active this offseason both in the gym and remaining competitive in games for Slovenia in the European Basketball Championship. There, Luka took his home country to the quarterfinals where they lost a close game to Poland.
After averaging 28.4 points, 9.1 rebounds and 8.7 assists in 65 regular season games a season ago and then stepping up his play even more in the postseason, there is no telling as to what Luka Doncic could achieve during the 2022-23 NBA season. Looking like he is in the best shape of his career, the rest of the league should be very scared to run into Doncic this year.
No. 1: Stephen Curry - Golden State Warriors
Stephen Curry became the NBA’s all-time leader in three-pointers made last season, he made his eighth All-Star appearance and took home the Kobe Bryant All-Star Game MVP award, he led the league in three-pointers made (285) and Curry led the Golden State Warriors to their fourth championship in the last eight seasons, claiming the Bill Russell Finals MVP trophy in the process.
What more does Curry have to do in order to earn everyone’s respect? The answer is simply nothing, as Steph Curry is and has been the best point guard in this league for quite some time now.
What he and the Warriors did last season was something many thought was improbable, yet here we are talking about Golden State being the team to beat in the NBA again and the rest of the league trying to catch up to them.
We can talk about Curry’s three-point shooting and scoring abilities all day long, but what makes him the best point guard in the NBA is the fact that he is an extremely unselfish leader. Whether it is making the extra pass or taking the youth of his team under his wings or simply making his post-game press conferences about the team instead of himself, Stephen Curry is the epitome of what it means to be a leader in professional sports.
Continuing to set standards on- and off-the-court in this league, Stephen Curry remains one of the faces of the NBA heading into his 14th NBA season at 34-years-old. What is very scary to think about in regards to Curry is that he may just be hitting the prime of his career, something almost unheard of for a player of his age.
The Warriors are going to be championship contenders for many more years to come and if there is one thing Stephen Curry wants more than the fourth ring he just won, it is the fifth ring that could very well be on its way within the next year.
Other Fastbreak on FanNation 2022-23 NBA Top-10 Position Rankings:
