HoopsHype recently created a list of the top-30 shooting guards in the NBA, and no Indiana Pacers players were ranked on the list.
The order, which was created by author Frank Urbina, intends to predict who the best 30 shooting guards will be in the 2024-25 NBA season, so growth and decline are baked into the decisions. Still, nobody from Indiana’s roster made the cut.
The team’s starting shooting guard, Andrew Nembhard, has lead ball handler skills. He was included on the point guard ranking, taking the 30th spot in Urbina’s list. He and Tyrese Haliburton were both mentioned in that exercise.
This time, no members of the blue and gold were selected. Bennedict Mathurin and Ben Sheppard could likely be described as shooting guards, but neither was deemed to be in the league’s top-30 at the position.
The last five players ranked were Shaedon Sharpe, former Pacers guard Buddy Hield, Bogdan Bogdanovic, Grayson Allen, and Normal Powell.
Mathurin, in particular, seems like a strong candidate to be on that ranking. He’s averaged 15.8 points per game during his career and is effective at drawing fouls at a young age. He’s only 22 and should get better next season — something he knows is needed.
The Arizona product is extremely talented, he’s just struggled to perfectly fit in with the blue and gold. He and the team hope to keep improving in that area during his third season.
The entire opinion list of the league’s top-30 off-ball guards can be found here.