Houston Rockets: James Harden ranked as the best shooting guard

To no one’s surprise, Houston Rockets star James Harden was recently ranked as the No. 1 shooting guard in the entire NBA.

After leading the league in assists in the 2016-17 season and then leading the NBA in scoring and winning the MVP the season after, it has become quite obvious that James Harden is the league’s best shooting guard.

One can also argue that he is the league’s best player.

Hoops Habit, a network site of FanSided that covers the NBA, recently ranked basketball’s top 30 shooting guards. As Gerald Bourguet explains, Harden was an easy choice at No. 1.

“Defensive flaws be damned; even if you believe James Harden only plays one end of the floor, he plays it so excellently that he’s still the best shooting guard in the NBA by a wide margin. Coming off a long-awaited first MVP award, after finishing second in MVP voting twice, this shouldn’t be a surprise.”

Harden averaged a league leading 30.4 points per game last season and he also nailed a league-leading 265 3-pointers and 624 free throws. Harden also put up ridiculous single game numbers, as he topped 50 points four times and annihilated the Orlando Magic with a 60-point triple double.

In six seasons with the Houston Rockets, Harden has become a six-time All-Star, five-time member of the All-NBA team, a scoring champion and assists champion. He’s been the best two-guard in the league for quite some time now, and at 29 he’s still got a lot left in the tank.

With Chris Paul and Clint Capela back in the fold along with Houston’s most recent acquisition, Carmelo Anthony, Harden and the Rockets have a good shot at winning at least 60 games again next year.

If Houston focuses on playing air-tight defense and they’re able to stay healthy, the Rockets will have an opportunity to secure home-court advantage throughout the postseason. And Harden will be right in the middle of MVP conversations. Its going to be a fun season.