ESPN has once again run out of story ideas, and they have resorted to play the reliable "let's make a list of great NBA shooting guards/players/competitors/gamblers/personalities/assholes and pretend Jordan is not a lock for the top spot" card.
The results are a trifle baffling to me. George Gervin is the 4th best shooting guard of all time? Really? He's famous for two things: the finger roll and never, ever, EVER playing defense.
More than any other position, a discussion of shooting guards rarely, if ever, involves defense. For instance, the nearly insufferable duo of Mark Jackson and Jeff Van Gundy got into a Manu Ginobili vs. Tracy McGrady debate during the recent Spurs vs. Suns telecast. Defense was not mentioned a single time. It's half the game last time I checked; seems to warrant mentioning.
According to ESPN's panel of experts*, Tracy McGrady is the 17th best shooting guard of all time, two spots ahead of Manu. 20th on the list is nancy boy Ray Allen. Yes, thank you, can I have some more.
*Sports is the only field where participation qualifies you as an expert. Botanical experts are people who study plant life, academics with botany PhDs. Your grandma, despite the beauty of her gardenias, is not an expert.