#small forwards

[sportsamarath]

Top 10 Best Small Forwards in NBA History

Ranking of the Small Forwards in NBA history considers a combination of peak performance and career value. The following list highlights the best small forwards in NBA history, based on their achievements, skills, and impact on the game. Here are the top 10 small forwards in NBA history, as ranked by ESPN. List of Best Small Forwards in NBA History 10. James Worthy James Worthy was a key…

Top 10 Best Small Forwards in NBA History

[allathlete]

Scottie Pippen LeBron James Tracy McGrady Larry Bird Magic Johnson Kevin Durant Kawhi Leonard Dominique Wilkins Giannis Antetokounmpo Grant Hill* Notables: Paul George, Jamal Mashburn, Lamar Odom, Detlef Schrempf, Ron Artest, Andre Iguodala

Top Small Forwards

*Could  only imagine his prime

[hoopslab]

Top 10 SFs, PFs & Cs in NBA History (Rotowire)

(Published on Rotowire.com on 2/10/16)

This is the second part of last week’s article when we looked closer at ESPN’s top-10 point guard and shooting guard rankings, comparing them with another set of rankings from a group that I participated in on RealGM, and also linking to a TYT Sports video Jason Rubin and I debating the rankings. This week I’ll provide the same type of information for the small forwards, power forwards and centers.

Small Forwards ESPN Top-10: LeBron James, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Kevin Durant, Elgin Baylor, Scottie Pippen, John Havlicek, Rick Barry, James Worthy, Dominique Wilkins RealGM Player Comparison Forum Top-10 (2014): LeBron James, Larry Bird, Julius Erving, Scottie Pippen, Rick Barry, John Havlicek, Elgin Baylor, Kevin Durant, Paul Pierce, Adrian Dantley

TYTSports Top-10 Greatest Small Forwards of All Time (Andre’ Snellings and Jason Rubin).

There is a lot of similarity between these two lists, with the biggest initial difference being the placement of Kevin Durant. This is very similar to the question I addressed last week of where to put Stephen Curry among the point guards. Durant’s been in the NBA a little longer than Curry, but he’s still a young player with a much shorter resume than the legends that he’s up against. If he retired today, would Durant really be the fourth-best small forward of all-time? I’m not sure about that. Durant is a monster, and by the time he’s done I could see him as high as fourth, but for now I’d still take several of the veterans before him.

Other than that, our list had Pierce and Dantley instead of Worthy and 'Nique. I think a good debate could be had on the merits of any of the four over the others, so I don’t see much controversy there. But it is interesting that the RealGM group chose two players whose games weren’t so aesthetically pleasing but had really good analytics, whereas the ESPN group went with glamour players from the Golden '80s who got a lot of TV time. It could be an indication that the RealGM group was doing a bit more research, while the ESPN group was going more off impressions.

Power Forwards ESPN:

Tim Duncan, Karl Malone, Dirk Nowitzki, Charles Barkley,Kevin Garnett, Kevin McHale, Bob Pettit, Elvin Hayes,Pau Gasol, Dennis Rodman

RealGM Forum (2014):

Tim Duncan,Kevin Garnett, Dirk Nowitzki, Karl Malone, Charles Barkley, Bob Pettit, Kevin McHale, Dolph Schayes,Pau Gasol, Elvin Hayes

TYTSports Top-10 Greatest Power Forwards of All Time (Andre’ Snellings and Jason Rubin).

This is the position where there is the most divergence at the top. There is a clear separation between the top-5 historical power forwards and all of the rest, but in the ESPN group The Mailman was ranked second whereas in the RealGM group it was The Big Ticket. Again, I think this is one that comes primarily down to the difference in approaches. The RealGM group went hard core into the analytics, really trying to tease out which players were making the largest impact on the court outside of the accolades and hype. With a deep-dive approach that really looks at the whole game, it’s really hard to justify ranking Garnett as low as the ESPN group did. He very arguably had the biggest impact of any power forward, but even if Duncan’s consistent excellence earns him the No. 1 slot then Garnett isn’t far behind. Malone, Nowitzki and Barkley were all historic players as well, but none of them had games as complete or impacts as deep as Duncan and Garnett.

In the second half of the top-10, the RealGM group seemed a bit higher on the super-old school players, with Pettit a couple of slots higher and Schayes earning the nod over Dennis Rodman. Meanwhile, both groups agreed that Pau Gasol, often somewhat unheralded in his own time, is clearly one of the top-10 power forwards that have ever played.

Centers ESPN:

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Russell, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, Moses Malone, David Robinson, Patrick Ewing, George Mikan, Bill Walton

RealGM Forum (2014):

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Shaquille O’Neal, Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson, Moses Malone, Patrick Ewing, George Mikan, Artis Gilmore

TYTSports Top-10 Greatest Centers of All Time (Andre’ Snellings and Jason Rubin).

Now, the big boys. More so than any other position, center is the one littered with the most greats. At least half of the names on the top-10 centers list generally find themselves on most all-time top-10 lists from all positions. Both lists have the same five players at the top, with the only difference being the order of Russell and Wilt at two and three. Personally, I have Russell in the top spot among centers and maybe No.1 all-time overall. His in-era impact is unmatched by any player in history, and he was an absurdly athletic beast with a ridiculous basketball IQ, which convinces me that his impact would translate across eras. But nevertheless, the tops of both lists are pretty solid.

The second half of both lists is also similar. The ESPN list has Mr. Fo Fo Fo, Moses Malone, at six while RealGM had him at seven. This small difference again likely arises from analytics, which paint Robinson in a friendlier light than Moses. The RealGM list then has Gilmore rounding out the top-10, while ESPN goes with the Big Redhead, Bill Walton. Walton, at his best, was better than Gilmore. Heck, it can be (strongly) argued that Walton at his best might have been better than Kareem (ask me about that some time). But Walton was only at his best for one semi-healthy season, and he was never able to replicate it. I’m glad that he got the shoutout, but it’s really hard to rank one season, no matter how great, as one of the top-10 center contributions of all-time.

Once again, let me know below if you strongly agree or disagree with any aspect of any of these rankings or my comments, as this whole process is just one big barbershop conversation….which you all know is right up my alley!

[mainestoryhoops]

THE ELEMENTS OF MY GAME: 

Top 10 NBA Small Forwards #LearningTheGame

[fuckyeanba]

ESPN has been going position by position in the NBA and listing the best current player at each position, the most underrated player, the most overrated player, and the best player at that position all time.  Today focuses on small forwards, and their overrated opinion isn't shocking, but it is wrong. Defense is important, but 'Melo is so good on offense, you have to overlook his defensive liabilities when placing him within the context of players at his position.

At least, that's what I'm telling myself if the NBA actually ends this lockout and Melo goes to work for my Knicks.

3. Who's the most overrated small forward in the NBA

Isaac Ramirez, via Twitter: Carmelo Anthony. He terrible on defense and doesn't play hard all the time. He's not nearly as efficient as Durant, and is much worse on defense, but there are still people who rank him as No. 2 among SFs.

Tim Donahue, Eight Points, Nine Seconds: This is difficult, but it's probably Carmelo Anthony. He's a great scorer, and one of the best late-game options in the league, but too many people reflexively put him top 5-10 in the league, when top 20-25 is more accurate. And, yes, there is that big of a gap between top 5 and top 25.

Patrick Hayes, Piston Powered: I don't want to pile on Carmelo Anthony, a player I generally love to watch work on offense. But the problem is, to this point of his career, 'Melo impacts the game only at one end. That puts him a notch below superstars like James, Wade and Bryant, who all became great defensive players as well as offensive forces.

Brendan Jackson, Celtics Hub: Somewhere between Los Angeles and Houston, Trevor Ariza was made to be a "go-to" small forward. While his contributions on the defensive end are well documented, his offensive numbers are nowhere near good enough to be a third banana on a playoff team.

Kyle Weidie, Truth About It: When George Karl questions your defensive focus, I imagine, despite all the supreme clientele scoring ability (as perhaps the most complete bucket-dropper in the NBA), your DNA for winning basketball is not wired like the Kobes and Jordans of history. Being in N.Y. will only increase Carmelo Anthony's overrated hype.

[ESPN; pic via flickr]

[fuckyeahkd-blog]

Guess who's #1!!