I was thinking about the Golden State loss to Sacramento in the play-in the other night, just where does Steph rank today among his competitors at the guard position?
He has clearly declined. I wrote a little about what I saw. I'll re-post that comment in the first comment below.
So I see Steph's main competitors as:
PGs - Jalen Brunson, Tyrese Haliburton, De'Aaron Fox
SGs - SGA, Anthony Edwards, Devin Booker, Donovan Mitchell
Others
PGs - Trae Young, Kyrie Irving, Jamal Murray, Damian Lillard, Tyrese Maxey, Darius Garland, Ja Morant
SGs - James Harden, Desmond Bane, LaMelo Ball
So I would put at least 5 if not all 7 of those main competitors ahead of Steph at this point. I don't think any of the others measure up.
I did not include Luka Doncic as a guard. Your choice if you want to include him or not.
I feel like SGA & Anthony Edwards are certainly ahead of Steph. Just bigger and more dynamic. I am inclined to lean the same way with Devin Booker despite viewing him on a similar level as Steph but preferring Booker's superior size and versatility.
I do like Haliburton over Steph. I thought earlier on in the same that Haliburton had replaced Steph as the best PG in the league. Haliburton trailed off a bit since then. Still, I'd give him the nod. I love Haliburton's passing. I also wonder about Jalen Brunson. He has had such a dominant season. I have a tough time putting Steph ahead of him. Then there is Donovan Mitchell. A better one-on-one creator vs Steph the better off-ball creator. I am leaning Mitchell.
I was surprised watching that Kings game and not feeling like Steph was an advantage over D Fox. Now Steph had a bad game but I liked Fox to play him tough regardless. I feel those two are very close in ability now. Fox has improved considerably while Steph has declined.
So not only do I no longer see Steph as the best guard in the league, I do not see him as the 2nd or 3rd best either. Not even a top 5 guard in the league. Somewhere around 7th or 8th. A top 10 guard. If you include Luka Doncic as a guard, 8th or 9th among guards.