NBA shooting guard tier list: Where is Raptors star Gary Trent Jr?

The Toronto Raptors had to be pleasantly surprised when guard Gary Trent Jr. opted into the final year of this contract. With the market for guards exploding and the salary cap expanding, Trent could have easily ended up getting a humongous multi-year deal on the market.

Instead, Trent, who averaged 17.1 points per game last season and played more of the pesky defense fans have come to expect from him, returned to Canada. In what is becoming a pivotal year for the Raptors, they will likely lean heavily on Trent in 2023.

Trent, who may still get an extension, provides tons of shooting for a Raptors team that still is below average in this area. It is not unreasonable to assume that he is going to improve upon his scoring average from last year. Perhaps this will be the year he finally gets respect from the rest of the league.

While the shooting guard position has quickly gotten as deep as any other spot in the league, Trent might be higher on the power rankings than many expect. When one ranks every starting shooting guard in the league, Trent’s final ranking could surprise some.

NBA shooting guard tier list: Where will Toronto Raptors SG Gary Trent Jr. be?

Tier 7: Replacement Level

30. Grayson Allen, Milwaukee Bucks

29. Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic

28. Quentin Grimes, New York Knicks

While Allen has shown to be a solid role player for the Bucks, and Suggs made some strides after a tough rookie year, no team with eyes on the postseason will be looking at them and getting scared. Suggs needs to improve as a finisher to make good on his promise as the No. 5 overall pick.

Grimes started to break out on a Knicks team that actually made some noise in the postseason, but he needs to string together one more year of solid production before he can be moved up this list and regarded as a consistently quality starter in this league.

Toronto Raptors: Gary Trent Jr. is better than Kevin Huerter.

Tier 6: Solid, if uninspiring

27. Austin Reaves, Los Angeles Lakers

26. Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

25. Jaden Ivey, Detroit Pistons

24. Kentaviuous Caldwell-Pope, Denver Nuggets

23. Kevin Huerter, Sacramento Kings

Reaves is a nice player, but he is a product of the Lakers hype machine that can overrate average starting guards. Williams is a positionless dynamo that will assuredly rise up this list, and Ivey was a dynamic scorer as a rookie, but these two sophomores need to keep improving to get bumped up,

Caldwell-Pope doesn’t have the gaudiest numbers, but his performances on a championship team showed that he is an ideal veteran role player for a team with eyes on the prize. Huerter is one-dimensional, but that dimension sure is special.