The 2015-16 NBA season should be a fantastic one. Last season was incredible, and this season will be just like it but with new exciting rookies and star players like Kevin Durant, Paul George, and Chris Bosh (hopefully) returning to full health. Heading into the season, I’m going to rank the top 5 players by position, doing a position every other week. This week: Top 5 NBA Small forwards
Top 5 Small Forwards in the NBA
1. LeBron James
Stats Last Season: 25.3 points, 7.4 assists, 6.0 rebounds, 1.6 steals, 0.7 blocks
Shooting percentages last season: .488/.354/.710
The King still sits on his throne, although I have a feeling we’ll be crowning somebody one of these years. LeBron is one of the greatest to ever play, and even now he’s the best player in the world, but he’s not getting any younger, and nobody, not even LeBron, is immune to age and wear-and-tear. He’ll still probably be the best in the league for a good 2 or 3 more years, but there are some other phenomenal small forwards in the league
2. Kevin Durant
Stats Last Season: 25.4 points, 4.1 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 0.9 blocks
Shooting percentages last season: .510/.403/.854
Kevin Durant’s 2014-15 season was hampered by injury(played just 27 games), but assuming that he comes back healthy — and it’s looking like he will — he’ll be among the best players in the league. In 2013-14 he had a season for the ages: 32 points, 7.4 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game while shooting a .503/.391/.873 slashline and winning the MVP award. Those are incredible numbers, and he could come back this year and take home MVP again. He certainly has the confidence.
3. Paul George
Stats Last Season: 8.8 points, 1.0 assists, 3.7 rebounds, 0.8 steals, 0.2 blocks
Shooting percentages last season: .367/.409/.727
Like Durant, Paul George is a player that will be coming back from an injury, and will need to prove that he’s still at superstar level. Last season, obviously, George didn’t play much(6 games, 15.2 minutes per game). However, when healthy he’s absolutely a force to be reckoned with. In 2013-14 George put up 21.7 points. 6.8 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game. Paul George is unique in that he can do it all at an extremely high level, and he has a chance to be a truly great player.
4. Carmelo Anthony
Stats Last Season: 24.2 points, 3.1 assists, 6.6 rebounds, 1.0 steals, 0.4 blocks
Shooting percentages last season: .444/.341/.797
Carmelo Anthony sat out most of last season with “Terrible-Team-Disorder,” but the future’s looking a little brighter in New York with Kristaps Porzingis, Robin Lopez, Arron Afflalo, and Jerian Grant on board. The team will still likely struggle though. Regardless of where his team’s at, Carmelo is one of the best scorers in the league. In fact, until Kevin Durant came around, Melo was regarded as the best scorer out there.
5. Kawhi Leonard
Stats Last Season: 16.5 points, 2.5 assists, 7.2 rebounds, 2.5 steals, 0.8 blocks
Shooting percentages last season: .479/.349/.802
Man, this position is stacked. Kawhi Leonard is still just 24 years old, but he’s already won the Finals MVP and Defensive Player of the Year awards. That’s a pretty impressive resume for a guy his age. Kawhi is a beast defensively, and he fits in very nicely in Popovich’s system. Leonard is also steadily improving on offense. Kawhi Leonard’s ceiling is absurdly high. There’s no limit to what he can achieve throughout his career.
For our list of top 5 point guards click here.
For our list of top 5 shooting guards click here.
