Ranking all the starting backcourts in the NBA

Two of the last three MVPs makes this backcourt the choice to lead the way. Harden has led the league in scoring the past two seasons, and Westbrook has averaged a triple-double in three straight years .

Curry, a two-time MVP, was named to the All-NBA First Team in 2018-19. Thompson could be out, until around the All-Star break, recovering from a torn ACL, but the team won’t suffer too much as Russell is coming off an All-Star season with the Nets.

Lillard made the All-NBA Second Team in 2018-19 and finished sixth in MVP voting. McCollum has now gone four straight seasons averaging at least 20.8 points per outing.

In his 12th year in the league (all with the Grizzlies) last season, Conley averaged a career-best 21.1 points a game. The runner-up for 2017-18 Rookie of the Year, Donovan Mitchell was 15th in the league in scoring average last season.

James will look to reclaim his spot as best player in the NBA after missing a career-high 27 games in 2018-19. For the second time in his career, Green was the starting shooting guard on a championship team last season with the Raptors.

The fifth pick, in the 2017 draft, De'Aaron Fox improved by leaps and bounds in his sophomore season finishing third in Most Improved Player voting. His backcourt partner Hield was fourth in that voting and has connected on 42.9 percent of his three-point tries over the last two seasons.

Simmons is a triple-double threat every night with 10 last season and 12 as a rookie in 2017-18. Acquired from the Heat, Richardson has nearly made an All-Defensive Team each of the last two seasons and posted career-highs in scoring, rebounding, and assists in 2018-19.

Irving has been named to six of the last seven All-Star Games and was an All-NBA Second Team member with the Celtics in 2018-19. Coming back from injury, LeVert was able to show more of his scoring prowess to end the season averaging 16 points in his last eight games.

Murray improved his assist-to-turnover ratio from 1.6-to-1 in 2017-18 to 2.3-to-1 in 2018-19. Harris saw a decline in minutes coming back from injury, but he made 40.5 percent of his three-point attempts in 2016-17 and 2017-18.

Getting ready for his first season with Boston, Walker made each of the last three All-Star Games as a member of the Hornets. Smart made the All-Defensive First Team in 2018-19.

Dragic is getting older (now 33), and missed 46 games last season, but he was an All-Star in 2017-18. Butler has been a four-time All-Defensive member and averaged more than 20 points a contest four straight seasons until dropping to 18.7 in 2018-19 playing mostly with a stacked 76ers team.

Brogdon was one of the most-efficient shooters in 2018-19 with a 50.5 field goal percentage, 42.6 three-point percentage, and a NBA-leading 92.8 free throw percentage. Oladipo, an All-Star the last two seasons, hopes to return in December or January from a ruptured quad tendon.

Never a great outside shooter, Rubio did post his two best field goal percentages in his two most recent years with the Jazz. Booker was seventh in the league averaging 26.6 points a game in 2018-19.

Ball has proven to be one of the better defensive point guards, but he has missed 65 games over two years and has well-documented shooting woes. Arguably one of the most underrated players, Holiday has been named to an All-Defensive Team two straight seasons.

Whether Paul remains with the Thunder all season remains to be seen, but he has shown signs of declining at the age of 34. Gilgeous-Alexander was named to the All-Rookie Second Team while with the Clippers in 2018-19.

Starting the last six games for the Grizzlies, Wright averaged 17.5 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. It was a remarkable season for Doncic as he won Rookie of the Year and recorded eight triple-doubles.

Smith was a productive reserve with the Pistons last season, but now sits on the lower tier of starting point guards for this season. Beal made the last two All-Star teams, led the league in minutes in 2018-19, and finished 11th with a 25.6 scoring average.

Young was the runner-up for Rookie of the Year in 2018-19 and averaged 24.7 points with 9.2 assists in 23 games after the All-Star break. Huerter started 59 games as a rookie last season and was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.

Now 33 years old, Lowry has seen his scoring decrease a bit from prior seasons, but he has still been named an All-Star five straight seasons. Powell is expected to move into the starting lineup after making just 63 starts in his first four seasons.

Bledsoe is coming off a season in which his 48.4 field goal percentage was a career-best. Matthews isn’t quite as productive as he was earlier in his career, but he still remains a threat from behind the arc.

While he missed all of last season with a torn ACL, Murray was an All-Defensive Second Team member in 2017-18. White also proved to be a solid defender while nearly averaging 10 points an outing last season.

Much of Beverley’s worth comes at the defensive end where he is seen as a pest by opposing players. Shamet shot 42.2 percent from deep and was an All-Rookie Second Team member in 2018-19.

The ninth overall pick in 2017, Smith Jr. posted averages of 14.7 points and 5.4 assists in 21 games with the Knicks last season. The third overall pick in last June’s draft, Barrett was a consensus All-American in his one year at Duke.

With John Wall out, Satoransky averaged 10.7 points and 6.2 assists in his 54 starts with Washington last season. LaVine’s 23.7 scoring average was 16th-best in the NBA in 2018-19.

After sitting behind Kyrie Irving, on the depth chart in Boston, Rozier will get his first opportunity to be a full-time starter after signing a large deal with the Hornets. While Batum still possesses an all-around game, he isn’t nearly as productive as he was in past seasons.

The second overall pick in the 2019 draft, Morant led the nation averaging 10 assists per game last season as a sophomore at Murray State. While he played just 18 games last season, Brooks averaged 11 points per game as a rookie in 2017-18.

Teague has seen a decrease in scoring average each of the last five seasons including his 12.1 points per game in 2018-19 (did average a career-best 8.2 assists). Okogie started 52 games as a rookie last season finishing with a 7.7 scoring average.

Garland played just five games for Vanderbilt before being injured, but he was still selected fifth overall. Starting 72 games in 2018-19, Sexton was named to the All-Rookie Second Team.

While Augustin won’t put together outstanding numbers, he is a very good shooter from three-point range. Fournier showed more playmaking skills last season although his accuracy from deep took a hit.

Jackson has mostly been a below-average starting point guard with Detroit, and he could eventually see Derrick Rose take his spot in the lineup. A second round pick in 2018, Brown started 56 games as a rookie and received minutes mostly due to his defense.