The Passing Of The Torch

Last season saw the official passing of the torch amongst NBA point guards. Players like Chris Paul and Deron Williams cemented their place, not merely among the elite point guards, but as the elite point guards. They passed stalwarts like Steve Nash and Jason Kidd. Instead of Nash vs Kidd debates, the focal point has shifted to CP3 and D-Will.

With Derrick Rose pretty much living up to the hype, Nash and Kidd might fall even further. This season, which other position will see the young guns overtaking their older counterparts in the All-NBA and best PG/C/PF/SF/SG discussions? For the purpose of this discussion, the old faithfuls are those with at least 10 seasons under their well-worn belts and the young ones are those who have clocked 5 seasons or less. Hence young studs like Amare Stoudamire, Carlos Boozer and Tony Parker are excluded from this discussion although they have not reached their prime, scary as it sounds. Without further preamble, here they are:

Power Forwards:

The Past

For the past decade, talks of the premier PF have revolved around the trio of seven-footers. There are the two who can post up and provide the interior power in Kevin Garnett and Tim Duncan. And one who can shoot the lights out on any given night in Dirk Nowitzki. Duncan, in particular, will go down in history as one of the best if not the best power forward ever. The other two are on ESPN's top 10 PFs list and don't look like losing their place any time soon.

The Future

David West, LaMarcus Aldridge, Josh Smith, Al Jefferson (once Kevin Love develops into a worthy starter) and of course Chris Bosh. Don't forget that Michael Beasley guy also.

The Present

The young stallions are raring to challenge the thrones of the old guards but don't count the threesome relinquishing their thrones this season. Bosh and LA are the real deal though and at least KG, Dirk and Duncan will be looking over their shoulders, watching the gap narrow.

Advantage: The old guards

Centres:

The Past

Ever since The Admiral retired, the dominant big man has been Shaq, until Yao Ming came over 6 seasons ago. Other than them, there has been a dearth of 'conventional' centres with undersized (if you consider 6-10 undersized) but aggressive defense oriented centres like Ben Wallace and Marcus Camby clogging up the paint although they have now moved over to the 4.

The Future

Dwight Howard, Andrew Bynum and Greg Oden.

The Present

Dwight Howard is the present. Although he can still grow his game, he is THE man (sorry Big Dog, you are not getting fed) in the paint. Bynum is looking like a monster inside and should live up to the hype. I hope Oden comes back healthy to silence the Sam Bowie comparisons though.

Advantage: The young guns

Shooting Guards:

The Past

Ever since his Air-ness left windy city, there have been no shortage of pretenders to his throne although other than arguably Kobe (at least he comes remotely close) none of them are even within a whiff of him. Still, the past decade has seen a glut of great shooting guards like Kobe, T-Mac, Allen Iverson, Ray Allen, Rip, and Vinsanity (Manu at the ripe old age of 31 has only played 6 seasons) filling up the stat sheets.

The Future

Dwyane Wade, Brandon Roy, Kevin Martin, Jason Richardson, Andre Iguodala and as it is shaping up, OJ Mayo.

The Present

Roy is a great young player, make no mistake. Vince and Ray Allen are past their prime as well. But as Kobe proved in his decimation of Roy and the Blazers, he is still the BEST shooting guard in the league, by a mile. Breathing down his neck from a distance are Wade, T-Mac and A.I.(Iverson) while Roy and the other AI (Iguodala) are way behind. Wade had a great Olympics but come crunch time, it was still Kobe's team. All shooting guards fall in behind Kobe.

Advantage: The old guards by a mile

Small Forwards:

The Past

Ever since the names Lebron and to a lesser extent Melo popped up in the league, the future is NOW. They have been the best offensive 3s around and perennial contenders for the scoring title. As LBJ and Melo continue to mature, the gulf widens. Among the top SFs only Paul Pierce has been around for more than 10 seasons (Odom and Artest barely making it with 9) although defensive specialist Bruce Bowen and Shane Battier (9 seasons as well) do warrant a mention.

The Future

Kevin Durant, Rudy Gay, Gerald Wallace and Danny Granger.

The Present

LBJ and Melo will be the best in this position for a long long time. Paul Pierce is a great player but he is not even the best player in his position nor his team, let alone the league. With stat stuffers like Durant and Gay coming into their own, this position has no shortage of All-Stars for the next decade.

Advantage: No contest here, the young ones have already won a couple of seasons ago