NBA 2K23: Best Teams To Play For As A Shooting Guard (SG) in MyCareer

The shooting guard position has seen an incredible regression in importance with the emergence of positionless basketball. Many consider a two as the greatest player ever in Michael Jordan, after all. It does not mean you can no longer have a significant role in NBA 2K23. 

Shooting guards like DeMar DeRozan and Khris Middleton have moved up to Small Forward on a regular basis. It has opened up opportunities for point guards to move up or new shooting guards to shine. 

Some teams still need a shooting guard and are very open to taking an off-ball guard on their team. 

Which teams are the best for a SG in NBA 2K23?

The good thing about 2K is that you can pull off a Kobe Bryant-esque role if you choose. Some like playing James Harden that way. 

Hero ball isn’t sustainable the whole game, though, which only means you’ll need a good set of teammates to make you perform better. 

The best teams for a shooting guard in 2K23 are those that can add value to your player. Note that you will begin as a 60 OVR player.

Read below for the best teams for your shooting guard.

1. Dallas Mavericks

Lineup: Luka Dončić (95 OVR), Spencer Dinwiddie (80 OVR), Reggie Bullock (75 OVR), Dorian Finney-Smith (78 OVR), Christian Wood (84 OVR)

Luka Dončić needs help on offense. As much as most of the offense runs through him, he needs someone reliable to pass the ball to and to score when he hits the bench. 

Aside from the easy assist from Dončić, the bigs will be happy that they no longer need to stretch the floor. That opens a ton of opportunity for you on second chance points. A lineup of Dončić, you, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Dorian Finney-Smith and Christian Wood should provide some good offensive firepower.

The Mavs are a perfect scenario as teammates in NBA 2K23. Players will love your calls for passes off the ball. Drain easy threes and feed easy passes to your big men to rack up the assists.

2. Los Angeles Lakers

Lineup: Russel Westbrook (78 OVR), Patrick Beverly (78 OVR), LeBron James (96 OVR), Anthony Davis (90 OVR), Thomas Bryant (76 OVR)

Speaking of calls for passes, the Lakers are the perfect team for a shooting guard. 

Arguably the greatest player ever in LeBron James and a one of the better point guards of the 2010s in Russell Westbrook passing the ball to you every time you call for a pass should make for easy buckets with the defense collapsing on the two. A (virtually) healthy Anthony Davis should be great in developing good pick chemistry with you. Then again, James and Westbrook will dominate the ball, so it may be best to function as a sixth man or when one of them hits the bench. In this case, make yours a deadeye three-point shooter to hit those open shots after a slash-and-pass from either. 

Davis will be willing to pass the ball to you on an offensive rebound. You can even ask for the ball after his defensive rebound to initiate the fast break.

The bottom line here is that the team can be beneficial for another Bryant-type player on the roster, or even a Robert Horry-type.

3. Milwaukee Bucks

Lineup: Jrue Holiday (86 OVR), Wesley Matthews (72 OVR), Khris Middleton (86 OVR), Giannis Antetokounmpo (97 OVR), Brook Lopez (80 OVR)

This might come as a surprise, but Milwaukee is surprisingly one of the best for a shooting guard. 

All shooting guards on the team have slid up to small forward, thus opening a spot for you on the off-guard position. Being a two in Milwaukee should lead to early and ample playing time. 

Defenses automatically clog the lane whenever Giannis Antetokounmpo goes downhill. He’ll need a running partner as all small forwards, like Middleton, are already spotting up the three-point line. Your only real competition at the two will be Grayson Allen and longtime veteran Wesley Matthews. 

Surprisingly, an isolation-type shooting guard will work in Milwaukee because its roster is designed to give way to a player heating up. 

4. San Antonio Spurs

Lineup: Tre Jones (74 OVR), Devin Vassell (76 OVR), Doug McDermott (74 OVR), Keldon Johnson (82 OVR), Jakob Poeltl (78 OVR)

Gone are the days of Princeton offense in San Antonio. Greg Popovich has been looking for a resurrection of the Tim Duncan-Tony Parker-Manu Ginobili trio for the Spurs, the latter a new member of The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

Focusing on Ginobili here as your shooting guard prototype as the transition offensive piece for this once glorious team will be the best route. The team already has more than enough forwards to function. However, with the loss of Dejounte Murray, the bulk of the touches also left San Antonio, giving your shooting guard a chance to become a facilitator or scorer easily. 

Youngsters Tre Jones and Jeremy Sochan will be a good supporting cast. Both aren’t expected to play a lot of offense for the team this early in their careers. 

It only means you can utilize this team to facilitate the offensive sets for you. The entire lineup is also built to run in transition. 

5. Oklahoma City Thunder

Lineup: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (87 OVR), Josh Giddey (82 OVR), Luguentz Dort (77 OVR), Darius Bazley (76 OVR), Chet Holmgren

Speaking of transition offense, as much as Oklahoma City likes playing half court sets, the team is better off playing in transition. 

You have Josh Giddey, Aleksej Pokuševski, and rookie Chet Holmgren running down the floor after a defensive rebound. Holmgren may be injured in real life, but virtually in 2K23, he can enter the season at full health. All can be playmakers which only means they’ll need a receiver to convert on offense. Luckily, there’s some help on defense with players like Luguentz Dort (“Dorture Chamber”) and jack-of-all-trades Kenrich Williams. 

In cases where a half-court set is inevitable, the three core players won’t be as effective, which is why they’ll be able to give you enough space to operate on isolation and create offense for a team, particularly when Shai Gilgeous-Alexander sits.

6. Orlando Magic

Lineup: Cole Anthony (78 OVR), Jalen Suggs (75 OVR), Franz Wagner (80 OVR), Paolo Banchero (78 OVR), Wendell Carter, Jr. (83 OVR)

Don’t mind what Orlando is in real life. Considering the play style of the roster, there’s a lot the team can do for a shooting guard. 

Being a shooting guard in the Orlando Magic rotation will open up a lot of confidence for you to operate in the wing. You can utilize small forward Terrence Ross to spot up for three on a floppy play. The young team also includes top draft pick Paolo Banchero, Cole Anthony, and R.J. Hampton. Developing early pick-and-roll chemistry with Banchero is a great way to up that teammate grade and nab some easy assists.

There are also Mo Bamba and Wendell Carter Jr. to wipe up boards for you. The best thing you can do on a wing play is to call for a pick and make the offense run through you. 

7. Cleveland Cavaliers

Lineup: Darius Garland (87 OVR), Donovan Mitchell (88 OVR), Isaac Okoro (75 OVR), Evan Mobley (80 OVR, Jarrett Allen (85 OVR)

Even with the recent acquisition of Donovan Mitchell from Utah, the Cleveland roster could use a solid backup to him and starting point guard Darius Garland, being able to spell one of both when they sit. There’s also one area the backcourt sorely lacks, which is where you can come in: defense. Neither Garland nor Mitchell are known as good defensive players, so a 3-and-D type point guard could work well in Cleveland.

The good thing about the Cavs lineup is that there are a lot of people not playing their positions. It only means they’re comfortable adjusting to the position you play. 

A Jarrett Allen or Evan Mobley screen is a feasible play to execute as a shooting guard on the Cavs lineup. There’s little fear of the isolation as well as these two big men can clean up for you. Allen may become your failsafe on offense, and he’ll come through more often than not.

How to be a good shooting guard in NBA 2K23

One quality most shooting guards have is defense. They’re usually the one who either helps on the reach or in double teams. 

Lockdown defenders in NBA 2K do a good job covering the ballhandler. The current gen makes it easy for an assisting defender to poke in for a steal. 

On offense, transition is going to be your best chance of scoring in the current gen meta. Isolation is only good if you have the right playmaking badges to be an effective dribbler. 

The bottom line here is that the shooting guard position is one that most teams will be happy to have in NBA 2K23. It seems like all players have value to add to your player. 

Looking for the best team to play for?

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