LeBron James is the Best Small Forward in the NBA and It's Not Even Close

LeBron James is the best small froward in the NBA and it's not even close. In fact, he's the best player in the NBA and it's not even close. However, that's not enough to keep some people from arguing otherwise. 

It's crazy that some people get paid to do what they do for a living in spite of how poorly they do their job. I'm talking about Skip Bayless here, not LeBron James. Bayless wants to argue that Kevin Durant is a better small forward and all-around player than James. This was at least the second time in the last three months he's taken this inane position. 

That's like arguing that the sun is made out of pudding. If you want to argue that Durant is a better scorer than James, you have a good debate, but if you're arguing that Durant is a better all-around player, then you've just crossed that line that separates controversial and downright stupid. 

If you want to argue that some players who have won rings, like Kobe Bryant or Dirk Nowitzki, get the nod over James, you have an argument. I don't agree with the argument, but at least you have one. So for the purpose of this article, I'm just going to argue he's the best small forward. 

Durant, in case you aren't aware, hasn't won the title yet. So all the inevitable chitter-chatter about fourth-quarter meltdowns in the finals is a non-issue here. At least James has been in the fourth quarter of the finals, twice. 

Yes, Durant is still young, and no, it's not his fault he's not gotten there yet. But he hasn't, so it's not an argument in his favor. 

The question here is who is the best all-around player. Let's take a look at the stats over the last two years plus this year's barely started season. 

Player	Pts	Reb	Ast	FGP	Stl	Blk	PER	WS
LeBron James	28.3	7.4	7.2	.508	1.6	0.8	29.4	35.1
Kevin Durant	29.0	7.2	2.8	.472	1.2	1.0	25.1	29.1

If we're being even remotely honest here, there's no comparison. There are a few categories where they are fairly even—scoring, rebounding and blocks—but James is head and shoulders over Durant. Especially when you get to the overall metrics, there's not a conversation.

On scoring they are roughly even, only separated by 0.7 points per game with the edge going to Durant, though James has a 3.4 percent better shooting percentage. Durant has an .2 edge in blocks per game, but James has the .4 edge in steals per game. 

There are going to be those who talk about how much more "complete" that Durant is (though it's a bit of a stretch too as James is far better at getting to the rim). But this is one of the most ludicrous arguments in basketball. The fact is once the points are on the board, it doesn't matter how they got there.

So you can equivocate all you want about who is the "better" scorer, but according to the stats, James is just as proficient and that's what matters. He does just as good of a job of putting points on the board, though he does so creating more opportunities for his teammates as well. 

Where there's a major difference though is that James, while giving up nothing substantial in the scoring department, is in a different universe as a facilitator. If we're talking about "all-around player" then this has to be a part of it. 

If you're looking at the offense generated by both players, James accounts for 43.1 points per game. Durant accounts for 34.6. That's roughly 25 percent more offense that James accounts for. 

Look, this is not  a slam on Durant. In fact, he's got the second most win shares over the last two plus years of any player in the NBA. In spite of that, he's not even close to James. James has 20 percent more!

Look, I know that things like Win Shares and PER aren't the end-all and be-all of stats, but they are metrics which take a large number of things into account. If they were even within 10 percent of each other, it would be worth considering, but it's double that. 

This isn't even close. On top of that we haven't even talked about the other end of the floor. So far all we've looked at is the offensive end. When we look at the defensive end, the comparison is laughable. Let's look at last year's defensive stats.  

Player	OPER	PPP	ISO	DRTG	DWS
LeBron James	10.9	0.76	0.74	102	5.3
Kevin Durant	11.7	0.86	0.78	107	3.3

These numbers aren't even comparable. James is head and shoulders above Durant. He's been first team All-Defense the last three years for a reason. He's the best wing defender and the best help defender in the NBA. 

James is head and shoulders above Durant defensively. 

Yet there will still be those that insist on arguing, pointing to the "fact" that Durant is better in the clutch. Here's the problem with that. He isn't. 

According to 82games, while Durant averaged 44.2 points, 11.6 boards and 2.3 dimes per 48 minutes of clutch time (score within five points and five minutes or less left in the game), James averaged 45.1, 11.2 and 4.9. That's 58.1 total stats for Durant compared to 61.2 for James, who also had a higher field goal percentage, and, legitimately surprisingly, a better free-throw percentage as well. 

Ah but who would you rather have take the shot with the game on the line the apologist asks, pointing to last night's thrilling game winner, the third of Durant's young career. 

James has made at least 18 if you add the one he made last year to this list. 

So let's recount. James is at least as proficient a scorer. He's a more complete offensive player. He's a vastly superior defender. He's better in the clutch. So yes, James is the better small forward, and it's not hyperbole to say it's not even close.