Power forwards are the enforcers of the NBA. They usually play the opposite side of the paint of the centers, but are also known to be quite versatile. The best big men in the league average about twenty points and ten rebounds.
The debate about the top five power forwards is one of the most argued, right up there with the LeBron verses Kobe topic. While there is no real right and wrong when comparing elite players, there seems to be a core group of players who seem to make the best case for the top five power forwards.
5. Chris Bosh
Chris Bosh, the face of the Toronto Raptors, is known for his small forward like versatility. He is a prototypical power forward rebounder averaging between 7.4 and 10.7 rebounds throughout his five-year career thus far. Chris Bosh is a potent scorer with superior athleticism and ball handling for a big man.
He can take it to the rack and play the perimeter very well against other bigs, and has a repertoire of reliable moves in the low post. Chris Bosh is known to be unselfish and passes well out of double teams. Only twenty-four years old, Chris Bosh has yet to peak, and he's already a solid twenty-and-ten player who's best years are yet to come. Though not a superior interior defender like some other elite power forwards, Bosh is an above average defender who can block shots should the occasion arise.
Career Averages: 19 points, nine rebounds, two assists, and one block.
4. Amare Stoudemire
Amare Stoudemire is a monster. He is a beast on the offensive end of the floor. His knee injury did not seem to slow him down in slightest, and actually helped him develop a very dependable mid-range jumper to complement his torrid inside game.
Amare is a slam dunk artist able to get to the rim and finish with a ferocity not seen since Vince Carter's Raptor days. Though not known for his fundamental low post moves, Amare is a dominant scorer with a skill set that is very similar to Lebron James.
Amare put up huge numbers while playing out of position as a center, but with the addition of Shaquille O'Neal, Amare averaged a tremendous 29 points and nine rebounds for the remainder of the season. When Amare plays power forward for the full duration of a season, he is one of the most dominating players in the NBA.
Career Averages: 21 points, nine rebounds, one assist, one steal, and 1.6 blocks.
3. Dirk Nowitzki
Dirk Nowitzki, alongside underachiever Rasheed Wallace, has the most versatile skill set for a power forward. He is one of the best shooters in the NBA, surprising considering power forwards are supposed to be bullies in the paint rather than sharp-shooters on the perimeter.
Don't take his shooting to mean he is one dimensional, like Andrea Bargnani. Dirk Nowitzki can play the low post just as well as other solid power forwards in the NBA. With a turn around fade-away jump shot that is almost impossible to stop, Dirk can go from premier shooter to dependable post player any possession.
Though not known as a top interior defender, he makes up for it by being a low turnover, offensive nightmare. With a career average of 1.9 turnovers, Dirk Nowitzki is one of the most efficient players in the NBA. Want proof? His spectacular play won him the 2006/2007 MVP through his stellar contributions to the 67-win Dallas Maverick squad.
Career Averages: 22 points, 8.6 rebounds, .379 3P%, .870FT%, .471FG%
2. Kevin Garnett
Kevin Garnett is one of the most emotional and intense players in the NBA. He is one of the best interior defenders in the league. He is a horse that plays with 100% effort every game. KG has one of the best and most efficient mid-range jump shots in the NBA and is a terror on the low block. His variation of the "Dream Shake" is but a few of the moves he employs in the post.
Garnett can run the floor and finish with ferocity. He can play like a small forward and drive in and finish, or he can play like a five and terrorize opponents in the paint on both ends of the floor, though he feels just right setting up on the outside for one of his money mid-range J's. On top of that, Kevin Garnett is possibly the best passing power forward in the NBA today, with a career assist average that rivals those of elite shooting guards and small forwards. When Kevin Garnett is on his game he is impossible to guard.
Career Averages: 20 points, 11 rebounds, 4.4 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.6 blocks.
1. Tim Duncan
Move over Sasha, Tim Duncan is the real "Machine". This man is a twenty-and-ten given, averaging that amount since his rookie season. The only two seasons he did not average twenty-and-ten ('05-'06 eighteen and eleven and '07-'08) sandwiches another twenty-and-ten year, meaning Tim Duncan is barely slowing down despite his age.
This man is the prototypical power forward, a player after which all power forwards should model their game. An above average but not spectacular athlete, Tim Duncan gets it done by being the most fundamentally polished player in the NBA. His post game is one of, if not the best and most effective, the largest offensive repertoires in the entire league. He is an enforcer down low and is one of the best defensive big men. He is an exceptional rebounder and fearsome shot blocker.
Tim Duncan has a trusty bank shot from mid-range that is almost as consistent as KG's jumper, and if left open can shoot the three. An All-Star game staple, Tim Duncan is a role model to fans, players, and teammates because of his soft-spoken, lead-by-example attitude.
Tim Duncan is, and will be, the most dominant power forward for at least a few more years. And even when he declines, he'll still be one of the more productive big's in the league until his retirement, because with practice, athleticism may fade, but fundamentals never do.
Career Averages: 22 points, 12 rebounds, three assists, 2.4 blocks.
Hardest Omission from the List: Elton Brand
Like Tim Duncan, Elton Brand has been a twenty and ten player since his rookie season and has been for the majority of his nine-year career. He was the face of the Clippers and a selfless player who plays with his heart ripped out and placed on center court.
Like Charles Barkley, the fact that he puts up monstrous numbers despite his small stature makes him a worthy addition to any top five list. I feel that he and Chris Bosh are interchangeable in this list. Chris Bosh does not average as much statistically because he rose from role player to superstar, boosting his career averages every year while Elton Brand came in as one of the best forwards in the league right from the start.
Elton Brand has already peaked, in my opinion, while Chris is still on the rise. If the debate is on impact, the highest win total for both players' teams with them as the foundation is forty-seven.
Career Averages: 20 points, 10 rebounds, 2.7 assists, two blocks.
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2 months ago
1. Tim Duncan no doubt about him being number 1. He does everything well defensively and offensively.
2. Kevin Garnett more athletic then Duncan and has a tendency to fall in love with his jumper rather than attack the basket. Has lead the league in rebounding as well.
3. Al Jefferson Just coming into his own. Averaged 21 and 11 last year.
4. Chris Bosh Averaged 22 and 9 last year and still developing with Jermaine O'Neal on the team he's going to see a lot of single coverage and his scoring is going to go up. Rebounding should be about the same.
5. Elton Brand wow you think he's peaked. He's still young he's always been solid game in and game out he's tough he maybe a little short for the position but he's a big man who does everything well. I do not believe that Brand has peaked. He had one freak injury and people are writing him off already it's sad. Brand is an amazing talent.
The reason why I do not have Amare or Dirk in this group is because Amare picks up way too many cheap fouls and has to sit on the bench way too often. He should be avearging 20 and 10 and he's yet to do it and I don't agree with him trying to increase his range to the 3 point line. He needs to work on his foot work and not picking up the cheap fouls that he runs into. He averaged nearly 4 fouls a game last year and played 33 minutes a game. Duncan averaged 34 minutes, averaged 36 minutes, Garnett 33 minutes per game, Jefferson 36 minutes, Bosh averaged 36 minutes, and Brand averaged 34.2 minutes per game in the 8 games he played. Don't get me wrong Dirk is a great player but he is not in the top 5 power forwards his problem is he's way too soft. If Stephen Jackson and a bunch of smaller players can cause you fits in the playoffs then there's a problem and that is what exactly happened when Golden State knocked the number 1 seeded Mavs out of the first round.
2 months ago
"""If Stephen Jackson and a bunch of smaller players can cause you fits in the playoffs then there's a problem and that is what exactly happened when Golden State knocked the number 1 seeded Mavs out of the first round."""
Dirk is better than Garnett. He got to the NBA finals without another all-star calibre player on his team and he did it before Garnett and Dirk is yougner than Garnett on top of it.
Dirk does something that KG doesn't.. Dirk changes the game. He is a total mismatch at his position. KG's own coach, flip Saunders, said Dikr was the toughest player for his team to defend at that time.. not shaq.. not Kobe. and these guys wer ei their primes at the time and Dirk was still getting better. But Dirk being such a huge mismatch at his position forces teams to defend him with smaller players. This creates mismatches all over the court. This is why Dirk is so much better than KG. Dirk makes the players around him much better than KG ever could.
As for the Warriors beating the Mavs, that is a problem with how that tema was built and coached. Not Dirk. That's why Avery Johnson is unemployed right now and can't even get a job interview.
If Dirk was soft, the Warriors wouldn't have been doubling and tripling him taking the ball out of his hands daring the rest of Dirk's teammates to beat them. That, in fact, illustates how incredibly valauble Dirk is. Not only is Dirk the second best power forward in the league.. he is arguably the second best player in the league behind Duncan.
from 2 months ago
Dirk had a good team around him, more than Garnett could say. Throw in Garnett in Dallas' team instead of Dirk, they likely would've gotten to the Finals as well, his defense, shooting ability, and post game along with his intensity and passion to win make him better than Dirk in my opinion. You're right with Dirk being a huge mismatch on offense, but on defense KG is much better than him, KG's a big mismatch as well with his inside-out capabilities, and he's got great passing skills for a big man. If you're building a team around either player, the obvious choice IMO would be Garnett, you'd be getting great contribution on BOTH sides of the ball, whereas with Dirk you're getting a great offensive player but an average defender. Dirk's a great player, don't get me wrong, but Garnett's offense is very good as well, not to the extent of Dirk's, but combine that with his great defense and that makes him more valuable than Dirk, at least to me.
2 months ago
tim duncan and amare stoudemire are both centers, and elton brand as your #1 guy, come on i smell a biased article
from 2 months ago
elton brand isn't my number one guy, he was in the hardest omission category
2 months ago
Dirk is nowhere near Kevin Garnett are you kidding me? Jerry Stackhouse is a two time all-star, but took a backseat to go off the bench, Josh Howard has been an all-star. They had Devin Harris who was just starting to show his true talent. Sorry, but your argument holds no ground that Dirk took a team with no all-star caliber players to the Finals. He had solid players around him.
Kevin Garnett is the total mismatch. Garnett is 6'11 lengthy a great rebounder, passer, and low post game. Sure he doesn't shoot 3's but he's got a deadly 15 foot jumper. Dirk maybe tougher to defend because he's 7'0 and shoots 3's so you don't see many big men on the perimeter trying to block a 3 pointer by a power forward you see anyone from a point guard to a small forward out there. So that's why Flip Saunders would say that. It's not like KG hasn't taken a team to the playoffs he has and he had pretty much similar talent that the Mavs had when they went to the finals. KG, Sam Cassell, and Latrell Sprewell. In Garnett's second year he took a team with Tom Gugliotta and Stephon Marbury to the playoffs. KG was 20 when he lead the T-Wolves to the playoffs and it took Dirk until he was 22 to get into the playoffs.
KG has 7 defensive first teams under his belt and how many does Dirk have? A big fat 0! Dirk is nowhere near the player that Garnett is even now. KG has a career high in rebounds of 13.9 per game in a season and career wise he's at 11.2 rebounds per game, Dirk has never averaged double figures in rebounds. KG has averaged 20.4 points per game for his career with a career high of 24.2 points per game as his single season high. While Dirk has averaged 22.4 points per game for his career with a career high of 26.1 points per game as his single season high. Only 2 more poinst per game for Dirk in his career. KG's career high for assists in a season is 6 and career wise he's averaged 4.4 assists per game over his career. Dirk's career high for assists in a season is 3.5 and for a career he has averaged 2.7 assits per game for his career.
KG's career high in blocks in a season is 2.2 as a single season high and for his career has averaged 1.7 blocks per game over his career. Dirk's career high in blocks per game is at 1.4 for his career he's averaged 1 block per game. KG's single season high for steals is 1.7 and for his career he has averaged 1.4 for Dirk his single season high for steals is at 1.3 steals per game and for his career he's averaged .9 steals per game.
Golden State in that playoff series against him held him to his lowest field goal percentage he's had in the playoffs. Including Dirk the Mavs had 5 players averaging double figures. Dirk got frustrated and never got his head into the series. The Warriors attacked his weaknesses and that's why the Mavs failed. They weren't double or triple teaming until after he took his dribbles and it was stopped because well the Warriors knew he isn't much of a passer. If that was KG the Warriors would have been in a lot of trouble because well we all know that KG has excellent court vision while Dirk does not.
Sorry, but I just owned you. You're actually trying to say that Dirk is better than KG is laughable!
By the way Josh Stoudemire's true position is Power Forward and so is Duncan's.
from 2 months ago
Steven, do you mean Amare Stoudemire or Josh Smith (last line, probably Stoudemire)?
2 months ago
Steven, you have no clue what you are talking about.. Dirk's not a good passer? Then why did his teammates have open shot after open shot Dirk created for them they missed? Of course they doubled him off the dribble. Because they put a smaller player on him. If Dirk had teammates and a coach that could punish the Warriors for tripling him on the low block Dirk wouldn't have been forced to try to take a guard off the dribble on the perimeter. That is why Avery is at home watching basketball instructional videos right now trying to get a clue before his next job.
You claim Josh Howard and Stackhouse are all-stars.. you just owned yourself. The only reason Josh Howard even sniffed the all-star game is because of Dirk and how he makes the players around him so much better. Something KG can't do. Yes there are some things KG can do better than Dirk. But all of them combined don't come close to the havoc Dirk creates for teams defensively. As KG's own coach admitted. And flip had KG, who should match up with Dirk better than anyone. And even he can''t guard Dirk remotely. Dirk even torched KG in a playoff series when he was still developing and with KG in his prime.
And Dirk is highly underrated defensively as well. Dirk may not be able to shut 7 footers down but he is incredibly agile for his size. He can guard both bigs and smalls very well. That versatility is incredibly valauble on the defenisve end.. which is why Dirk got to the Finals before KG and Dirk is 2 years younger and Dirk did it without another superstar on his team.. And if KG had met Pat Riley, Shaq and Wade in the Finals, like Dirk did, KG wouldn't have a ring either. But instead he met another one man team in Kobe's Lakers like Dirk with his one man tema on the Mavs.. and Kobe had more talent than Dirk! Pau Gasol and Lamar odom? Versus Erick Dampier and Josh Howard?
Look at that Finals the Celts won. KG wasn't even the MVP.. so are we to believe both KG and Paul Pierce are better than Dirk? Dirk has never played with players as good as Paul Pierce and Ray Allen who complement KG perfectly the way those players do. This is half the reason the Mavs lost to the Warriors.. because Dirk has always been surrounded by guards.. when Dirk's strength are his perimeter skills. This is why Dirk always has to be a facilitator. And then the ball is put in the hands of the Mavs role players to miss those shots. If the Mavs were built properly with their strength around dirk in the frontcourt this wouldn't be the case.
As for KG's defense.. even Pau Gasol was domnating KG.. on the block! The celts couldn't even keep KG on him.. they had to put other Celts bigmen on him every single game!
The bottom line is that KG is completely overrated and Dirk is completely underrated.. People don't understand how Dirk impacts the game because of his freakish abilities and people don't understand how mediocre KG is because of his freakish histrionics.. I have always said if you switched the covers on Dirk and KG you would have a much more accurate representation..
Oh.. and Dirk is much much more than a 3 point shooter. He has the total package offensively. He can hit every kind of shot from everywhere. He is arguably the best shooter in the league and that is on top of being over 7 feet tall. But that's not even what makes him so special.. it's his ability to take 7 footers off the dribble. KG can't compete with Dirk there. This is why teams are forced to put guys like Stephen Jackson on Dirk.. which creates mismatches all over the court when the big who is supposed to be guarding Dirk is on some guard somewhere else. This is why Dirk's teammates look so good.. and when they can't even take advantage of the mismatches Dirk creates it makes Dirk look so bad because he is forced to be a facilitator.
But Dirk could very easily be the biggest mismatch in the NBA at his position. Guards can guard Kobe much better than 7 footers can guard Dirk. This is why Dirk is on the block drawing doubles and triples so much while Kobe is shooting(and missing) 3 pointers from halfcourt.
2 months ago
I you should switch bosh with amare for 4th place.
Bosh and amare are about equal scorers even though amare averaged 3 ppg more bosh was double and tripled team every game while amare had shaq, nash, and raja bell on his team he was hardly double teamed. Bosh in my opinion is a much better defender and I think they are about the same as rebounding goes.
2 months ago
Think about Boozer
2 months ago
1: KG, he is the defensive player of the year, led his team to the finals, has led the league in rebounding numerous times, is athletic, has a jumper, and can score at will.
2: Tim Duncan, he is the same as KG except not the defensive player of the year, is less athletic, and can't score at will.
3: Amare, is one of the most athletic big men in the league and I think when healthy and not in foul trouble is one of the top three players in league, but he is always in foul trouble or hurt.
4: Chris Bosh, he is very young and will be moving up the list soon.
5: Dirk, if he wasn't 7 foot tall he wouldn't be considered a big man, he relys way to mmuch on his jump shot.
2 months ago
Dirk is not on this list. He gets shut down in the playoffs every year by a 6'7 defender. Thats pathetic. Give me brand.
2 months ago
Darrell you've got that right. Dirk doesn't come up in big games. Josh Howard against the Warriors was the only bright spot for the Mavs. Dirk is not known for his passing ability even he says that he's not that good at it. He just got his first triple double this year and he said that. So, yeah you're really not winning any points by saying he's a great passer.
2 months ago
Dirk gets shut down every year? He avg 26.8 ppg, 12 rpg, 4 apg this year in the playoffs. Dirk and Bass were the only ones that showed up this year. And for his career playoff avg is avg 25 and 11. Dirk has improved his passing game drastically. Sure, he wasn't a great passer in the past but he has developed his passing skills just recently. He faces double teams and triple teams all the time, wow the rest of the league must agree with yall. Dirk is clutch as well. But most people listen to the media and etc so now he was the image of a choker.
2 months ago
WA NOT AMARE STOUDAMIRE THE NBA's 1st Center
2 months ago
WAS NOT AMARE STOUDAMIRE THE NBA's 1st Center
2 months ago
I think that David West might have something to say about not at least being the 'first man out' and me personally, I'm taking Al Jefferson over Elton Brand right now, maybe even over Dirk. Nowitski's game is GREAT (for a SF) but he doesn't give you what a PF needs to give you.
2 months ago
judging from last season...i would take
al jefferson,
david west,
carlos boozer,
antawn jamison (could be considered a sf also though)
and lamarcus aldridge (maybe C)
over elton brand. and plus all the guys i just mentioned could be argued into the top 5.
2 months ago
1. is kg he might be pretty old but he was defenseve player of the year and the celtics were one of the only teams that was good with kg.
2. Dirk he can rebound he is not a great defender that is why he is not number 1 but his three point game is the best from a big man ever.
3. Chris Bosh because Timmy is pretty old and Chris Bosh gets double doubles every game and he still will with jermaine o neal.
4. Tim Duncan his 10 foot bank shot is amazing and his defense used to be better than kg's.
5.Antawn Jaimison the only reason him not amare is that amare gets hurt a lot. He rebounds Caron and Gilbert's misses and gets their passes also.
Hey this is better information than yalls and i am only 10 years old
2 months ago
any love for sheed?
from 2 months ago
He's a smart and efficient player (when he's not picking up technicals) but not one of the top PFs these days, in my opinion.
2 months ago
Wow, during the reading of this article, I realized that the power forward position is maybe the most stacked position in basketball. But the only thing I would switch with your list is switch Bosh and Amare. Other than that and a lack of a shoutout to David West, you have yourself a Pick of the Day article.
about 1 month ago
Tim Duncan absolutely does not belong in this list. He's been pulling a somewhat of a scam in the past couple of seasons - playing mainly as center (Tallest guy on the floor, the only one who plays back to basket, usually guards opponent center as well) but listing himself as forward for the sake of All-nba teams and Allstar selections. The last season the league even listed him as Center on the all star ballot but after some heavy pressure from Duncan and SA changed it back to forward so he'll have a better chance of making the Allstar. Nevertheless I think he's the best center in the game these days (yes, better than Dwight too).
There is a strong case against Amare being in the list also - until Shaq joined phoenix he's been playing center exclusively, and has even been listed as such. There's no way to know how healthy Shaq will be next season and how much time will Amare spend as power forward.
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