Fantasy Basketball 2021-22: Bradley Beal, Devin Booker sit atop shooting guard rankings

Ameer Tyree releases his fantasy shooting guard rankings for the 2021-22 season

By Ameer Tyree

Sep 30, 2021 at 11:56 am ET • 3 min read

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It's been relatively easy to predict the top fantasy shooting guards over the past few seasons. James Harden is the obvious choice to take the top spot, but I'm categorizing him as a point guard as the Brooklyn Nets' top passer this year. While the other shooting guards up for grabs aren't nightly triple-double threats like Harden, they can provide high-level production at a position that lacks depth. Let's look at some of the shooting guards who could finish inside the top five in 2021-22.

1. Bradley Beal, Wizards

Beal hasn't finished lower than second among shooting guards since 2017 and is poised for another strong year following the departure of Russell Westbrook. Last season, Stephen Curry beat Beal out for the scoring title, but Beal paced the NBA in field goals attempted (23) and field goals made (11.2) per game last season. Beal will be Washington's franchise player for the foreseeable future. Forty-seven players logged at least 2,000 minutes last season, but only Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic could top Beal's usage rate.

2. Devin Booker, Suns

Chris Paul's move to Phoenix didn't stop Booker from finishing as a top-five fantasy shooting guard for the third year in a row. Paul's playmaking did cause Booker to drop below five assists per game for the first time since 2017, but he maintained his elite scoring upside. Only 10 players topped Booker's mark of 9.3 made field goals per game last season. The Suns' franchise player was also one of the nine players who shot 85 percent or better from the charity stripe on more than five attempts per game. Phoenix is essentially running it back with the same team that made last year's NBA Finals, so there's no reason Booker shouldn't rattle off a third consecutive top-two finish.

3. Donovan Mitchell, Jazz

Mitchell reached career highs in points (26.4) and assists (5.2) per game last year. He finished 10th among shooting guards in fantasy production despite Mike Conley and Jordan Clarkson cracking the top 30 at point guard. Missing 19 games hurt Mitchell's overall fantasy placement, but only Bradley Beal and Stephen Curry could beat his mark of 20.6 shot attempts per game. Mitchell is the team's centerpiece and should continue to produce at a high level alongside a quality supporting cast.

4. Jaylen Brown, Celtics

Brown became a top-10 shooting guard in 2019-20 and took another step forward last year. The Celtics wing averaged 24.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game in an All-Star campaign. Brown also connected on nearly 40 percent of his three-point attempts. His stats were almost identical to Jayson Tatum, who is widely considered a late first-round pick in most circles. Boston will need to ask just as much of Brown on with Kemba Walker out of the picture. The 24-year-old can could reach new heights following the departure of the All-Star point guard.

5. Zach LaVine, Bulls

Nobody could've predicted the massive leap LaVine made last year. He finished as the third-ranked shooting guard by averaging 27.4 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game while shooting 41.9 percent from deep. Only eight players made more triples than LaVine in 2020-21. However, an influx of talent will make it difficult for him to crack the top three for the second year in a row. DeMar DeRozan has joined Chicago after finishing as a top-five shooting guard last year. Lonzo Ball is sure to relieve LaVine of some ball-handling responsibilities after a career year in New Orleans. Then there's Nikola Vucevic, who was second only to Nikola Jokic among centers. LaVine shouldn't be a first-round target but should be one of the top players on the board in the late second round or early third round.