The Bounce: Where does Jalen Brunson rank among the NBA’s top 40 lead guards?
The Bounce Newsletter 
| This is The Athletic’s daily NBA newsletter. Sign up here to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.
On this date in 1965, Bill Russell completed one of the most competitive and petty deals in NBA history. Wilt Chamberlain had just signed a $100,000 contract, making him the highest- paid player in basketball. The Celtics had offered Russell $75,000, and he threatened to retire unless he was paid $1 more than Wilt. So the Celtics signed him for $100,001. Incredible!
Position rankings
Top 40 lead guards for 2026-27
We are ranking the top 40 at every position in today’s positionless NBA. On Friday, we went over the top 40 big men in the NBA. In an unprecedented turn of events, nobody disagreed with the rankings. I also did not read any comments or social media replies.
Today, we move on to lead guards! It’s a bit of a broader term than the traditional “point guard” label.
Positions can be arbitrary, and we may disagree on the idea of who is a lead guard and who isn’t. But I feel pretty solid that anybody left off this list is either 1) not in the top 40 of lead guards or 2) placed correctly on the off-guard/shooting guard list we’ll see later this week (i.e., Donovan Mitchell). Like the big men on Friday, this list is divided into seven different tiers.
Let’s get to it!
There isn’t much change since last year, with SGA and Luka still at the top of the list. But Brunson does make it over Curry for the third spot on the list. Maybe Curry is still technically better and the shooting is always going to be a threat in a way others can’t replicate. However, Brunson just led his team to the title and proved that he’s in the conversation with the elite of the elite.
As for Tier 2:
- I’m sticking with Haliburton in the fifth spot because I believe he’ll bounce (AH! I said it!) back from his torn right Achilles tendon. But it might take some time for that this season.
- Cunningham could easily be higher and has ascended into a great spot in NBA discussions.
- I’m assuming Kyrie will bounce back from the ACL injury with all of that time away.
- Maxey could easily be sixth behind Cunningham with the returning injured guards ahead of him dropping back a couple spots.
- Young and Ball definitely are in some “prove it” seasons. Ball did help the Hornets finally win some games again, but he’ll have a much different role in Minnesota. Young needs to play like a star in Washington.
Would I have felt differently about dropping Harden and Fox down a spot each if they’d had better playoff performances (especially lasting impressions)? It’s possible! Fox really struggled against the Knicks in the finals. Harden played poorly in key moments again. Maybe they can return to a much more productive and impactful consistency across the board. Especially Fox.
- I’m interested in seeing how Garland plays a full season in Los Angeles. Tyronn Lue wanted to increase the tempo, but Garland has to improve.
- Murray made his first All-Star Game — and then was decimated by Jaden McDaniels in the playoffs. His massive extension kicks in, so he has to produce.
- Morant falls tremendously and probably could have fallen even more. But the Blazers rolled the dice on him, and he should be able to return to a star level. He’s only 27.
- Holiday is still one of the best guards on both ends of the floor and could be a massive trade-deadline piece.
- Harper has risen a lot already, and his play in the postseason could have him much closer to the top 10 if he does it again.
- Herro has a big season in Milwaukee coming up, and his numbers will need to lead to wins.
- VanVleet’s return could be the key to Houston’s success.
- Wallace will be gunning for a new contract if the Thunder can’t agree on a big extension for him before the season starts
From Tiers 5 and 6, my guess is White, George and Pritchard have the best chances of making their rankings look way too low. I say that because I have no idea what to expect from a 36-year-old Lillard coming off an Achilles injury. I want Anthony Black to be the guy who is ranked way too low, because it would mean he makes a massive leap.
From Tier 7, I’m most nervous about Mitchell’s ranking. He’s really learned to shoot the ball in his time with Miami. We just need to see a bigger volume.
- Should we be worried at all about Acuff’s poor summer league efficiency?
- Is Henderson ever going to be healthy enough to figure it out? And do the Blazers have too many lead guards now for that to happen?
- The lead guard I will probably most regret not having in the top 40 is Scotty Pippen Jr., with Ryan Nembhard or Tre Jones a close second.
Players dropped from last year’s top 40: Derrick White (17th, moved to shooting guards), Chris Paul (19th), Mike Conley (22nd), Tyus Jones (30th), Russell Westbrook (31st), D’Angelo Russell (35th), Jaden Ivey (40th)
The last 24
📈 Power Rankings! Law Murray knows where the best in the league are. The Knicks are at the top, while the Nuggets are out of the top 10.
🩼 Bad injury. Blazers wing Shaedon Sharpe is out with a torn meniscus. He’s expected to miss six months.
🐺 New boss in town. The Wolves have already had their controlling interest sold. Marc Stad is the new governor.
🧑⚖️ Will it work? Jeanie Buss is trying to stop her siblings from selling their Lakers stake. Legal experts weigh in on it.
Miami’s splash
Will Klay help Heat contend in the East?
After the Dallas Mavericks bought out Klay Thompson’s remaining contract, he quickly found his new home with Miami. The Heat had an idea that this could be accomplished for much of the summer, as they began to build a roster around Giannis Antetokounmpo and Bam Adebayo.
It’s funny that Klay’s downturn as a shooter is still better than most marksmen can ever dream of. Before missing back-to-back seasons with ACL and Achilles tears, Thompson was good for 41.9 percent on seven 3-point attempts per game. He was also a tremendous defender. Since the injuries, he’s only shooting 39.3 percent on 8.8 attempts per game. However, the defensive capabilities just aren’t there for the 36-year-old former Warriors star.
Maybe he’s not the Klay he used to be, but I’m not sure he’ll need that in Miami. The Heat brought in Tim Hardaway Jr. and Thompson to spread the floor for their two big men. From 2019-2023, the Heat were top 10 in 3-point volume while building the team around Jimmy Butler and Adebayo. If Erik Spoelstra could make Duncan Robinson work in a defensive scheme as a guy who mostly just shoots 3-pointers, then Klay will absolutely be a weapon. He just needs to be healthy. He’ll also be a better defender than Robinson ever was.
The Heat also pursued DeMar DeRozan, who signed with the Nuggets. DeRozan would have given the Heat another creator, especially at the end of a shot clock. For now, that responsibility will lie at the feet of Giannis (who’s not a jump shooter), Adebayo or Mitchell. DeRozan was not going to give the Heat any 3-point shooting, and that spacing will be integral to their offense’s success.
Klay is not the Klay of old, but he’s still someone defenses will be terrified to leave open. That’s exactly what the Heat need around their big men
Tradeback Tuesday
That time OKC traded Westbrook
With Russell Westbrook retiring earlier this month, I remembered when he was traded from Oklahoma City in 2019. On paper, it seemed like a very simple deal between the Houston Rockets and Thunder. After being the guy who stayed and shoved it in the face of Kevin Durant by doing so, Westbrook finally moved on — three years after Durant left to sign with the 73-win Golden State Warriors.
The Thunder didn’t exactly get a massive haul for Westbrook. OKC received a 34-year-old Chris Paul, along with two first-round pick swaps, and first-round picks in 2024 and 2026. The pick swaps were in 2021 and 2025. The Thunder did not exercise either swap because they had a worse pick in 2021, and some wheeling and dealing left the 2025 pick as a swap between Houston and Brooklyn.
As for the first-round picks, the 2024 first became Nikola Topić, who has played in 10 games for OKC. The 2026 first was swapped for Jared McCain before last season’s trade deadline. The Thunder would flip CP3 after a very fruitful year, before OKC decided to tank in the hopes of cashing in on some premium, young prospects (which it did). Paul was sent to Phoenix for Ricky Rubio, Kelly Oubre Jr., Ty Jerome, Jalen Lecque and the draft pick that became Peyton Watson.
- The Thunder flipped Rubio with the draft rights to Jaden McDaniels for Aleksej Pokusevski (yikes!).
- They moved Oubre for a first and a second.
- The pick that turned into Watson was moved for a future first and the right to waive JaMychal Green.
As for Westbrook, his career became a pretty bizarre existence. He played the pandemic-truncated 2019-20 season in Houston, averaging 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and seven assists next to James Harden. The Rockets went 44-28 and were knocked out in the second round of the playoffs, but the Westbrook experiment next to Harden was done.
Houston flipped Westbrook to the Wizards for John Wall and a protected first that became two second-rounders. The Rockets also punted on Harden shortly after because he wanted out. From there, Westbrook never recaptured his MVP-level impact, but he did average a triple-double (22.2 points, 11.7 rebounds, 11.5 assists) in his one year with the Wizards. From then on, Westbrook was just a role player for the Lakers, Clippers, Nuggets and Kings.
It was the right time for the Thunder to move on from Westbrook in 2019. It just was never the right situation for Westbrook. His home was truly OKC all along.
Time capsule: What’s next for the Thunder after the Westbrook trade?