Dion Waiters is enjoying the spoils of a freshly minted contract extension with the Miami Heat. With the MLB All-Star festivities taking place in his city, that also means media appearances aplenty. On Monday, he spent some time chatting with Colin Cowherd on "The Herd." At one point, the conversation turned to top shooting guards in the league, a discussion Waiters had quite the cocksure opinion about.
Waiters gives his top five
When making lists like this, it's always interesting to get the perspective of a player. Fans have one viewpoint and are passionate about the subject, but players are coming from a much more intimate vantage point.
Waiters may be coming from a different perspective from fellow players, though. The Heat guard is brash and loves to talk a big game. He and Dwyane Wade also seem to have a social media respect that the fans dig.
Wade wound up finishing third on the unofficial shooting guard rankings. Above him at the second spot is Golden State Warriors champion Klay Thompson. The top spot belong to Houston Rockets guard James Harden, who may be deserving of the honor as he just became the highest-paid player in NBA history (but who may also not be deserving because he played point guard last year). Coming in at fifth was Toronto Raptor DeMar DeRozan. Fear not, because the fourth spot belongs to none other than Waiters himself.
Top 5 shooting guards according to @dionwaiters3 pic.twitter.com/x2FhJcMtQr
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) July 10, 2017
What the list should really look like
Waiters' exercise is fun and Heat fans will be glad to know that they have one of the top five shooting guards (and a confident man) on their roster for the next four years.
There is a way to take some of the fun out of this, though. A look at ESPN's Real Plus-Minus Wins metric can give a better indication as to who actually had the best five seasons in the NBA at the position. Needless to say, but the list looks drastically different from the one Waiters provided.
James Harden qualifies as a shooting guard, but doesn't top the list due to his defensive liabilities.
Instead, he is surpassed by new Minnesota Timberwolves guard Jimmy Butler. Thompson comes in at third, while Bradley Beal of the Washington Wizards and CJ McCollum of the Portland Trail Blazers round out the top five. DeRozan's porous defense lands him all the way at No. 11. Waiters doesn't appear until No. 32 on the list, well behind Heat teammate Tyler Johnson. Meanwhile, Wade appears two slots lower on the list - Waiters is not going to like it.
