The Toronto Raptors took a significant risk when they signed Gary Trent Jr. to a three-year contract, as he was coming off a season spent partially with the Portland Trail Blazers in which his defense came under fire. Trent has completely reinvented his game under Nick Nurse.
Trent is fresh off averaging 18.3 points per game and becoming the most reliable shooter on the team not named Fred VanVleet. Ranking near the top of the league in steals per game and deflections per game, Trent’s defensive transformation was remarkable.
One more season with some nigh-elite production will put Trent in a firmly elite category among NBA shooting guards. Given his combination of youth, scoring punch, and two-way skills, Trent should be taken more seriously by the rest of the NBA after coming into the NBA as an anonymous second-rounder.
When looking across the league at all the shooting guards, Trent actually comes out as one of the best options in the association. Where does the Duke product stack up when all of the starting off-ball guards in the league are ranked against one another?
NBA shooting guard tier list: Where is Toronto Raptors SG Gary Trent Jr?
Tier 7: Replacement Level/Unproven
30. Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons
29. Josh Primo, San Antonio Spurs
28. Grayson Allen, Milwaukee Bucks
27. Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic
Ivey, who was picked No. 5 overall in the 2022 NBA Draft, has a bright future ahead of him. We still can’t rank him above anyone with pro experience just yet. Allen is as average as they come from a production standpoint, though he could be a nice role player for Milwaukee.
Primo spent most of last year gestating in San Antonio’s G League system. If Gregg Popovich worked his wizardry on Primo, he’ll shoot up this list in no time. Suggs got kicked in the rear end plenty during his first season in the league with Orlando, but there’s potential worth mining for a Magic team still leaning on his potential.
Toronto Raptors: Gary Trent Jr. tops Evan Fournier, Lonnie Walker.
Tier 6: Serviceable, if uninspiring
26. Lonnie Walker, Los Angeles Lakers
25. Kevin Huerter, Sacramento Kings
24. Evan Fournier, New York Knicks
23. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Denver Nuggets
Walker might not be the most high-ceiling guard that LeBron James ever played with, but he should be a serviceable option for the depth-needy Lakers this year. Huerter and Malik Monk arrived in Sacramento this year, but Huerter’s postseason experience with Atlanta might make him the Kings’ top choice.
While Knicks fans might cringe at Fournier’s contract, you could certainly do worse for a quaternary scorer than a veteran like the Frenchman. Caldwell-Pope has moved around a bit in the last few years, but his ability to snipe from deep and play passable defense knocks him up a couple of notches.
Tier 5: Solid players, not needle movers
22. Seth Curry, Brooklyn Nets
21. Tim Hardaway Jr, Dallas Mavericks
20. Josh Giddey, Oklahoma City Thunder
19. Jalen Green, Houston Rockets
18. Buddy Hield, Indiana Pacers
Curry and Hardaway are not going to put up gaudy scoring numbers at this stage of their careers, but Brooklyn’s 3-point marksman and Dallas’ rock-solid wing player should play roles on championship contenders this year. While Hield is stuck on another rebuilding team, he could soon be traded to a contender.
Giddey and Green both look like players who could compete for All-Star recognition in the near future. With Green already establishing himself as one of the best high-flyers in the sport and Giddey looking like a future triple-double machine, they could pass a player like Trent in due time.
Toronto Raptors: Gary Trent Jr. should be viewed as a nice starter.
Tier 4: Higher-end Starters on playoff teams
17. Terry Rozier, Charlotte Hornets
16. Anfernee Simons, Portland Trail Blazers
15. Norman Powell, Los Angeles Clippers
14. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers
13. Gary Trent Jr, Toronto Raptors
12. Collin Sexton, Cleveland Cavaliers
Rozier and Simons may be viewed by some as benefactors of poor teams that allowed them to shoot a ton, but they would be excellent scorers irrespective of their situation. Powell has moved around a bit, but he promises to be an integral part of the Clippers in the future.
Trent comes in right ahead of Maxey and behind Sexton, who is expected to return to the Cavaliers. All three of these players are shot-creating bucket-getters, so their respective defensive acumen and postseason performance will help differentiate them.
Tier 3: Fringe All-Stars
11. Desmond Bane, Memphis Grizzlies
10. Klay Thompson, Golden State Warriors
9. Tyler Herro, Miami Heat
8. Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves
Even in his advanced age after so many injuries, Thompson’s performance in the playoffs proved that he should be in the top 10. The gap between him and Bane, who is making a legitimate run at the title of best non-Steph Curry shooter in the league, is razor-thin at the moment.
Even though Herro can be hunted on defense, being able to fill it up for an elite Heat team gets him some bonus points in this ranking. Edwards is going to make an All-Star team at some point for Minnesota; the question is simply when that will come. Putting him a tier above this would illicit no argument from me.
Tier 2: Expected All-Stars
7. Brandon Ingram, New Orleans Pelicans
6. Zach LaVine, Chicago Bills
5. Bradley Beal, Washington Wizards
4. Dejounte Murray, Atlanta Hawks
Ingram played the 2-guard role a good chunk this season with New Orleans, and he’s hitting his stride at just the right time. Murray will need to make a position change to accommodate Trae Young, but one of the league’s best all-around players should make that adjustment without much of a fuss.
Both LaVine and Beal are elite scorers who will be trusted to score at least 25 points per game for their respective teams. Fresh off signing new max contracts, both of them will be locked in with their respective teams for the next few years. Trent will need to move mountains to jump above players like this in their athletic primes.
Tier 1: All-NBA
3. Jaylen Brown, Boston Celtics
2. Donovan Mitchell, Utah Jazz
1. Devin Booker, Phoenix Suns
Brown is a few months removed from being the clear No. 2 scoring option on a Celtics team that came within a few games of winning the Finals. Anyone arguing against his inclusion in this most selective of tiers is being stubborn at this point.
Mitchell and Booker are fairly even in this regard, but Booker gets the edge for being a bit more effective when push comes to shove in the playoffs over the last two years. Trent could see a kindred spirit in Booker, as modeling parts of his game after the Phoenix star could help him soar to new heights.