NBA Power Rankings: LeBron James and the Top 10 Small Forwards Playing Today
The small forward: arguably the most versatile and athletic player on an NBA team. The all-time greats include some of the greatest, most watchable players in the history of the game, such as Julius Erving (a.k.a. Dr. J), Dominique Wilkins, Rick Barry and Scottie Pippen. While maybe not as pretty, arguably the greatest to ever take the position is Larry Bird.
But who are the best playing today? In order to find out, I ran my formula through my magic Excel spreadsheet that I've used previously. However, as I'm willing to take criticism on the formula, I've been making tweaks to it as I go.
Some have felt that I'm putting too much emphasis on defense, so I've tweaked it to so that offense accounts for 60 percent and defense 40 percent of the score. I do want to maintain a significant reflection of defense in these rankings though.
The problem with a lot of these rankings is that they simply look at the offensive production of a player, and pay little to no regard to what happens on the other side of the ball. Truthfully, both matter. A stop can have the same effect on the game as a bucket.
The defensive rankings are based on averages as compared to the offensive production. In other words, the better they stop each other, the better they are ranked. Individual defense counts twice as much as team defense. The formula for rankings is listed below.
Pts+(2*Asts)+(1.05(RB+BLK+STL))-(1.05*(TO+MFG+(MFT/2)))+((AVG PER)+(AVG DRtg-DRtg)+((AVG oPER-OPer))*2)*8
10: Gerald Wallace
1 of 10
Offensive Score: 20.0 (10)
Defensive Score: 17.9 (12)
Total Score: 37.9
Gerald Wallace is a joy to watch play the game. There's little question that he's the most significant player in the Bobcats' brief team history. Will that history be coming to an end though? Word is that team owner Michael Jordan is looking to trade him. Could Wallace be destined for Cleveland? We will know soon enough.
9: Danny Granger
2 of 10
Offense: 20.8 (8)
Defense: 20.6 (10)
Total 41.4
The 2009 most improved player and All-Star probably garners more attention than he gets. There are two players in the NBA who have been averaging 25 points, five rebounds and two three-pointers per game since 2005. Only three players in the NBA have averaged more points and rebounds than Granger in the last three years—Carmelo Anthony, Dirk Nowitzki and LeBron James. Only seven have scored more than him. On a different team, he would probably get more notoriety.
8: Andrei Kirilenko
3 of 10
Offense: 17.8 (14)
Defense: 25.9 (6)
Total: 43.7
Can I just go on record as saying that AK-47 has one of the most awesome nicknames in the NBA right now? You want versatility? How about a 14-point, nine-assist, eight-rebound, seven-block, six-steal game? It happened on January 3, 2006, and remains the only 5x6 game in regulation in the history of the NBA. He remains the only small forward to have ever recorded double digit blocks in a game.
7: Luol Deng
4 of 10
Offense 18.9 (12)
Defense 27.5 (3)
Total 46.38
Luol Deng is the perfect player for his role on the Bulls, which is why it befuddles me why so many people are eager to trade him away. He's a defensive stopper, a high-character guy and capable of having a big offensive night when the Bulls need it. But he doesn't seek the limelight. It's not to say he's perfect. He probably could want the ball more in clutch situations, but overall his strengths outweigh his weaknesses.
6: Carmelo Anthony
5 of 10
Offense: 24.8 (4)
Defense: 22.0 (7)
Total: 46.9
In all the excitement of where and whether Anthony is going, one thing that gets lost is whether he's actually worth it. I'm not arguing that Anthony is not a good player, he is. But is he elite enough to bring anyone a championship? In his seven years in Denver, the team has made it out of the first round only once. His career averages of 24 points and six rebounds have only been achieved by 11 other players in NBA history though. Whether he is an elite player or just an elite player will be determined by what he does wherever he goes.
5: Kevin Durant
6 of 10
Offense: 28.3 (2)
Defense: 19.6 (11)
Total: 47.9
Unquestionably the league's leading scorer is one of the top offensive talents. However, his production on the other end of the court leaves something to be desired. The Thunder could be a future dynasty, but only if they improve on defense. If Durant elevates that part of his game to the level of his offense, they will follow.
4: Paul Pierce
7 of 10
Offense: 24.2 (5)
Defense: 25.9 (4)
Total: 50.0
When Paul Pierce recently passed the 20K mark in scoring, he more or less stamped his ticket into the Hall of Fame. It also marked the first time in the history of the game where four players who have passed that barrier have played together at the same time. The Lakers quartet of Karl Malone, Gary Payton, Kobe and Shaq included four players that either had, or would go on to score that many.
3: Andre Iguodala
8 of 10
Offense: 24.0 (6)
Defense: 26.9 (4)
Total 50.1
Iggy is another small forward on the trading block. He doesn't get as much attention, but if he goes to the right team, he might do more to put a team over the top than Anthony. He can probably be obtained for a cheaper price as well. Since his third year, he's one of 15 players to average 18 points to go with five boards and five dimes. Click here to see the impressive company that put him in.
2: Rudy Gay
9 of 10
Offense: 23.5 (7)
Defense: 28.1 (2)
Total: 51.6
When Memphis signed Rudy Gay to an $80 million contract, some people were trying to figure out what they were doing. Not that Chris Wallace is reading this slideshow, but if he were, he might feel a bit vindicated. Gay's defense is at least statistically better than he gets credit for. I'm not gong to lie. I haven't watched the Grizzlies play that much, so I'm not qualified to say how good it actually is, but his oPER is pretty impressive. At 10.1, it's the second best among small forwards in the NBA.
1: LeBron James
10 of 10
Offense 34.5 (1)
Defense 34.2 (10
Total: 68.8
Was there really any doubt who would be at the top of this list? While there are many who will contend that any future rings won't count because he signed with Miami, I say that's pure sophistry. There's no difference between going somewhere and having someone come to you, no matter how you try and parse it. If he wins three or four rings, he'll go down as the greatest small forward ever. If he wins five or more, he could go down as the greatest NBA player ever.
