#2 Donovan Mitchell – Utah Jazz
2020-21 Stats: 26.4 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 5.2 APG, 1.0 STL, 43.8 FG%., 38.5 3P%
When you combine elite athleticism with high-level scoring, you get Donovan Mitchell, one of the most explosive scorers in the entire league. Mitchell has been an All-Star the last two years and through his first four seasons, the 25-year-old guard has a chance to become a real MVP-like candidate in Utah.
The Jazz finished with the best record in the NBA last season, claiming the 1-seed in the Western Conference in the process, and Mitchell was a large part of their success. Four times last season, Donovan Mitchell scored 40+ points in a game and while the Jazz lost in the Western Conference Semifinals to the Los Angeles Clippers, Mitchell averaged 34.8 points per game in this series on a bad ankle.
Being the only All-Star scorer in Utah has put a lot of pressure on Donovan Mitchell to be great, resulting in some injuries late in the year last season, but with the additions of Rudy Gay, Eric Paschall, and Hassan Whiteside, three key talents that can pull their weight, Mitchell finally has some more help.
Getting another All-Star scorer could go a long way in making the Jazz a real title contender in the Western Conference, but seeing as Mitchell is still very young and still improving, this team is not going anywhere anytime soon.
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Donovan Mitchell has transcended himself from being a slept-on draft pick, to being a potential Rookie of the Year type player, to being a multi-time All-Star, to now being one of the young faces of the NBA in just four years. The future is very bright for “Spida” and for Utah to be great, he must be great, resulting in the 2021-22 season likely being Donovan Mitchell’s best year yet.
#1 Bradley Beal – Washington Wizards
2020-21 Stats: 31.3 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.4 APG, 1.2 STL, 48.5 FG%, 34.9 3P%
Coming up just short of beating Stephen Curry for the 2019-20 NBA Scoring Title, Bradley Beal finds himself as the top shooting guard in the league entering the 2021-22 season. As soon as he crosses halfcourt, Bradley Beal is a threat to score the ball and over the last few seasons, he has turned himself into arguably a Top-5 scorer in this league.
Washington may not be the best franchise in the NBA and it has been said that Beal has put up “empty stats” the last few seasons, but last year, he and Russell Westbrook were the only two reasons why the Wizards made the playoffs.
Beal scored 40+ points 8 times during the regular season, trailing only Stephen Curry by 3 games, and he even scored a career-high 60 points against the Philadelphia 76ers, the 2nd best-rated defense during the regular season, on January 6.
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Bradley Beal is a flamethrower on the offensive end of the floor and now without Westbrook next to him, Beal could even out-do his own scoring production from the 2020-21 season during the 2021-22 season. Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Allen Iverson, James Harden, and now Bradley Beal are the only five players to average 30-plus points in back-to-back seasons over the last 35 years, just further proving that he is one of the top offensive players in the league today.
Scoring is the name of the game in the NBA right now and Washington has one of the best pure scorers in the league, which is why Bradley Beal finds himself at the pinnacle of our Top-10 shooting guards entering the 2021-22 season list.
