The shooting guard, or the 2, is historically a team's primary scorer. Height ranges from 6'3" to 6'9". They combine shot creation, mid-range and three-point shooting, and often a defensive role on the opposing team's best perimeter player.
Archetypes vary enormously. The pure shooter (Klay Thompson, Ray Allen) plays a lot off-ball and lives on catch-and-shoot. The combo guard (James Harden, Dwyane Wade) handles the ball as much as the point guard and creates their own shot. The 3&D (Bruce Bowen, Danny Green) specializes in open shooting and defense.
Michael Jordan is the absolute benchmark. After him, Kobe Bryant, Dwyane Wade, Tracy McGrady, and James Harden defined different versions of the role. Today, the best 2s are high-volume scorers capable of creating in iso and pick-and-roll.
A good shooting guard moves well off the ball, reads off-ball screens, and alternates between creation and finishing. Defensively, they usually draw the opposing perimeter scorer.
Real example
A shooting guard curls off a pin-down screen to get open and receives a catch-and-shoot three-point feed.
Related terms
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