James Harden, Klay Thompson and DeMar DeRozan each entered this NBA season as All-Star players and locks to be among the best fantasy shooting guards in the league. It would have been easy to lock in all three names as early picks in basketball fantasy drafts but fortunately for those that missed out on those three stars, there have been a number of other productive shooting guards that have overachieved this season. It has proven to be one of the deepest positions and hopefully you landed one of these overachievers.
Jimmy Butler – Chicago Bulls
Derrick Rose’s return and Pau Gasol’s arrival left a measure of uncertainty when it came to projecting what Butler’s production would look like this season but he has undoubtedly exceeded expectations. So far, he’s ranking fourth among all NBA shooting guards with 20.2 points per game as well as 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. The fact that Butler was Chicago’s best player on some nights when Rose and Gasol were both in the lineup is testament to his development in to one of the league’s top shooting guards and while he has missed some time due to injury, his ascension is worth noting. He actually led the league in minutes played when he was healthy, so you have to like that being a fantasy owner.
Dwyane Wade – Miami Heat
Wade has exceeded expectations in terms of both production and his ability to stay healthy as his numbers are up nearly across the board from a year ago despite not having LeBron James by his side and losing Chris Bosh for the past couple of months. Wade is tied with Thompson behind only Harden among shooting guards with 21.6 points per game while averaging 5.2 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. Wade has been able to stay relatively healthy, playing 52 games this season, which is more than most would have expected considering his age. There is no doubt he has exceeded fantasy expectations and he might do so again next season. Playing with a point guard like Goran Dragic is likely to extend his shelf life, even though most have written him off as a broken down veteran.
J.J. Redick – Los Angeles Clippers
The bad news for owners of Redick is that he is at best the fifth-best option on a loaded Clippers team behind Blake Griffin, Chris Paul, Jordan Crawford and DeAndre Jordan – when everyone is healthy. The good news is that Griffin and Crawford have been hurt and Los Angeles is among the league’s highest scoring teams anyways this season, making Redick a valuable fantasy shooting guard this year. Redick is tied for 11th among shooting guards in terms of his overall points per game average and what makes his numbers that much more impressive is his averages across the board. Redick has averaged 2.5 3-point shots per game and he ranks in the top five in 3-point percentage, field goal percentage and free throw percentage, meaning he has provided his owners with a boost in all three categories while ranking among the top-11 in terms of pure points production.
Redick’s points per game 15.9 points per game, his 47.2 field goal percentage, his 5.6 field goals per game, his 2.5 three-pointers per game and his 42.9% three-point field goal percentage are all career highs. If you invested in him with a low pick, you’ve been rewarded handsomely.
Victor Oladipo – Orlando Magic
One of the few bright spots for Orlando this season has been the play of Oladipo, who has averaged 17.7 points, 4.1 assists and 4.2 rebounds per game in his second season. The lack of talent around him has been alarming but Oladipo has provided some optimism for the future as a shooting guard that has exceeded expectations. There is still room for improvement but considering he ranks seventh among shooting guards in points per game ahead of players like Tyreke Evans, Wesley Matthews and Arron Afflalo he deserves to be on this list. And hopefully for next year, growth from Elfrid Payton and another high draft pick surrounds him with more talent to take some of the defensive attention away.
