Where does J.O. rank among the game’s elite?For the last decade or so, the power forward position has been the most talent-heavy of any in the NBA. If you need proof, just take a look at the annual list of All-Star Game snubs. Every year, some arguably deserving PF or two gets left off the rosters, and ever year you can’t really say he was flat-out dissed because the guys who do make the ASG have such impressive resumes. So who is the cream of the crop of today’s group of power forwards?
10. Antawn Jamison — We said it going into this year’s playoffs, when Antawn was the last man standing of the Arenas/Butler/Jamison “Big Three” in D.C.: As the focal point of an offense, Jamison could put up Kobe-like numbers. He did just that in Washington’s first-round loss to the Cavs, going for 32 points per game along with 9.8 rebounds.
9. Pau Gasol — By the time Pau (20.8 ppg, 9.8 rpg) came back from last summer’s foot injury, the Grizzlies’ season was basically over. Remember, though, this is the same guy who led Memphis to the playoffs in ‘06. You can also argue that he’s technically the Best Player in the World. Spain is the reigning World Champions, and Pau was MVP of the tournament.
8. Chris Bosh — Carved from the new mold of power forwards that can play inside-out, CB4 has forced his way into that Class of ‘03 LeBron/’Melo/Wade group. This season he put up 22.6 points and 10.7 boards a night, bringing the Raptors back to the playoffs for the first time since the “Vinsanity” era.
7. Zach Randolph — One of the League’s few consistent 20-10 guys (23 and 10 to be exact), Z-Bo is the definition of that All-Star point in the intro. He’s never made an All-Star team despite putting up monster numbers every night. He’s been given a rep as a bad boy off the court, but who wouldn’t want an interior scoring machine like this?
6. Jermaine O’Neal — Another 20-10 type of guy (19.4 ppg, 9.6 rpg) who has been slowed by injuries, what puts J.O. over a lot of PFs in the League is that he does it on the defensive end as well. His 2.6 blocks a night ranked third in the League. The question is, where will he end up next year: Indiana, New York or L.A.?
5. Elton Brand — Last year was Brand’s breakout into the mainstream, but the Clippers missing the playoffs this year put him back in the shadows. Last year he was getting MVP talk for putting up basically the same numbers he puts up every year, including this season (20.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.2 bpg).
4. Carlos Boozer — Since being picked in the second round of the ‘02 Draft, Boozer has wreaked havoc on all the teams that passed on him. He single-handedly held down the post for the Jazz, putting up 20.9 points and 11.7 boards this past season.
3. Dirk Nowitzki — Forget about the Mavs’ playoff collapse for now; the reigning MVP is still one of the game’s elite players. Considered soft for much of his career, he still manages to pull down 8.9 boards a night to go with 24.6 points.
2. Kevin Garnett — Arguably the most complete player in the game and someone that’s impossible to root against. KG (22.4 ppg, 12.8 rpg, 4.1 apg, 1.7 bpg, 1.2 spg) is a ballplayer’s ballplayer.
1. Tim Duncan — Not just the best power forward in the League today, it’s hard to argue that Duncan isn’t the best of all-time. He’s had the Spurs at or near the top of the League ever since he was a rookie, killing teams with the same fundamentals and defense since Day One. He’s a lock for 20 and 10 averages every year, and a lock to be one of the most hated players in the League with his anti-new age game. The biggest thing that gets him the No. 1 spot here, though, is that he’s got three rings and a fourth on the way.
Honorable Mentions: Nene, Rasheed Wallace, Al Jefferson, David Lee
Related posts:
June 14th, 2007 at 11:40 am
Tunez says:
Great list, but I have to disagree on Jermaine O’Neal or Zach Randolph being ahead of Chris Bosh. There is no way either of these players are as versatile as CB4. Not to mention at this point in JO’s career it’s obvious dude has reached his ceiling, while Bosh is only going to get better. In all fairness this list probably wasn’t decided on potential but the fact is there ain’t many, if any, PF’s who can play the position like Bosh can right now.
June 14th, 2007 at 11:54 am
pdp says:
No PF in the league can guard Chris Bosh one on one. His first step is beyond that of anyone on that list. He should be ranked after Boozer IMO.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Kyle says:
Valid points guys, but can Bosh guard anyone of those guys ahead of him? (Jermaine O’Neal, Zach Randolph). Also, Zach Randolph is a beast, he can also hit the jumper. The man can score just about whenever he wants to, the problem is that playing out there in Portland he gets no TV time.
JO probably has peaked, but I like the way he plays both sides of the ball.
June 14th, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Joey D says:
C’mon. Zach ahead of Sheed? Do you even bother looking at the other end of the floor?
June 14th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
Kyle says:
Joey D, your boy Sheed averaged 12pts 7rbs. in the regular season while shooting a pedestrian 42%. And he could lose the game for you by getting tech late in the 4th.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:06 pm
dank says:
alright kyle, you made really good statements for sheed not being in there, and CB4 not being able to lock down the guys ahead of him (its cus he’s skinny as hell tho) but Dirk shouldnt even be in the top 30 forwards in the league…
oh wait, he was the MVP. I remember when they gave him the trophy…at the press conference… after being elminated…by the 8 seed…and scoring 8 points in the elimination game…SO MVP WORTHY. good job dirk. 25 points, 9 boards a game in the regular season…and in the playoffs, 1 block in a 6 game series plus like, wat, 16 points a game? killer game he has.
YOU’RE KILLING ME KYLE. the rest of your list is real legit though. obviously someone at Dime is doing their homework.
June 14th, 2007 at 3:07 pm
Arjun says:
This list is bogus, stats don’t make the baller. While I don’t like Sheed, the arguement can be made that he’s more effective than Randolf because all randolf cares about is getting his. Has he ever averaged even 1 block per season? How many dimes does he drop? He’s nothing but a selfish 1 dimensional player. While Boozer is a powerful offensive force, the knock on him has always been his defensive shortcomings. For that reason I feel it’s ridiculous to rank him above Brand strictly because his stats were slightly better offensively this season. Take a look at Brand’s Defensive line, then go back to last year and check his PPG. Just because he doesn’t hoist shots like crazy doesn’t make him a lesser player. Amongst these players, the list should be:
10: Randolf
9: Jamison
8: Boozer
7: Jermaine
6: Gasol (Shoots well over 50%, Jermaine is in the 40’s)
5: CB4
4: Elton Brand (lock for 20 & 10 every year in the league)
3: Dirk
2: KG
1: Duncan
Anybody writing for a magazine should at least understand the game of basketball instead of just looking at the #’s.
Enough Said.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:13 pm
Kyle says:
Arjun,
1. stats don’t tell the complete story but anyone after the top 3 or 4 has an argument for being higher.
2. Sheed is a cancer to a team and he looks for his teammates so much he averaged 1.7 assts last season to Zach Randolph’s 2.2. In fact Sheed cares about his teammates so much that he gets techs late in games and help them lose. Randolph may not be the best as far as shot blocking but he cleans the glass. So what was your argument about Sheed being a more effective teammate again?
3a. Elton Brand is ranked 5th and Boozer is 4th. Is there really that big a difference. Either way you flip them someone is gonna have a gripe. Man you sound like one of those customers that beef about how many soy sauce packets you get when you order chinese.
3b. you’ve never had a basketball related convo with me, so you cannot make a proper assessment on my basketball knowledge. take dat, take dat.
June 14th, 2007 at 4:54 pm
Arjun says:
Ok Kyle, I respect what you’re saying, lets make this the first of many basketball related convos, so that I can make better assessments about your opinions in the future. I wholeheartedly agree with your Sheed assessment, because like I said, I don’t like the guy at all, I’m simply making the arguement that he may be a better PF than Randolph because somebody else brought up Sheed’s name. Randolph may drop more dimes, however he controls the rock 50% of the time when his team has the ball, where as Sheed is integrated into a well rounded offense. Sheed clearly has a much greater impact on the defensive end of the floor, and that is the point that I was trying to stress when I disagreed with your rankings. I understand that Z-Bo is a small market baller, but I watch mad portland games because I had Roy and Aldridge on my fantasy team (props to NBA League Pass for making it easy to follow your ballers). From watching Randolph play I feel he slows down the game and renders his teamates less effective. Clearly Portland agrees, that’s why they’re willing to do anything to get out of his contract and give the youngsters a chance to shine. How about the fact that the Blazers were 7-7 without him in the lineup last season? Or the fact that he took 3 games off for bereavement leave when his GIRLFRIEND’S Cousin died, and was spotted going to strip clubs during that stretch. He epitomizes the selfish player. My gripe between Brand and Boozer was simply because I view Brand as a better player than Boozer across the board. Both have very solid shooting touch and post moves, however Brand is clearly the better passer and defender. In any case, to each his own.
Oh, and by the way, I don’t like Soy Sauce anyway.
June 14th, 2007 at 9:58 pm
Amar says:
‘Sup Arjun . . .
Boozer isn’t just posting better stats than Brand on offense, he’s killing him. Boozer had 41 (or whatever) against Yao Ming and Jeff Van Gundy’s defense . . . in his first playoff series ever.
Also did anyone see Boozer’s block on Duncan? Boozer is in a situation where he can shine, unlike in Cleveland. Because of this, his stats are going up be up. I agree though that Boozer needs to work on his man-to-man defense.
Additionally, I think that CB4 should be a bit higher, but I happen to catch a lot of his games, so I see that he shoots a great ft%, has good post moves, is left handed (so that helps with shot blocking), has a smooth shot, with range to the three point line, has hit game winners over c-webb, made crazy buzzer beaters, plays with heart and plays with a KG like passion for the game.
Z-Bo doesn’t play with heart or passion. He has consistent stats, but has he ever been to the playoffs?
June 14th, 2007 at 10:44 pm
Arjun says:
Yo Amar,
I’m not trying to disrespect Boozer’s game, I’m just trying to illustrate the differences between him and brand and why brand is superior. Boozer’s a great scorer who has that ill rainbow jumper. But understand this, what he did this year was a product of the offense running through him alot as he filled the Malone role to Deron’s Stockton. He still barely outperformed Brand offensively even while the Clippers had a disfunctional offensive season and had to resort to starting Jason Hart. Brand averaged around 25 last year, and dropped over 40 numerous times. He can go out and block 7 or 8 shots on any given night, and you can’t question his hustle. The same can’t be said for Boozer, who relies on AK’s help D way too regularly. If Boozer could hold it down in the post instead of being a trap door then the Jazz might be in the finals. Answer me this, if the two traded spots which team do you think would improve?
June 15th, 2007 at 12:20 am
biglurcg says:
al jefferson has to be on this list
jamison is more true foward instead of power
z-bo will mugg you
soutimire
June 15th, 2007 at 1:54 am
Frosty says:
So…which Sun counts as PF? Marion? Or Stoudemire? Either (or both) are worthy of this list
June 15th, 2007 at 4:01 am
Arjun says:
al jeff and stoudemire should be on
June 15th, 2007 at 4:07 am
G says:
Disregarding the slight age factor I would take Brand over Boozer any day. Despite Boozer’s monster numbers against some very good teams I think Brand has a more complete offensive game. Plus Brands defense is much more solid, with a consistent 2+ Blks a game every season
June 15th, 2007 at 8:21 am
bucketz says:
yeaaaah david lee honorable mention…honestly i dont want jermaine o’neal in ny…i jus dont like him and he doesnt seem like a knick…well take kobe tho
June 15th, 2007 at 8:35 am
Kyle says:
Stoudamire is considered a C because that’s what he played in the All-star game.
June 15th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Adam says:
Ummm…SHAWN MARION?! He’s not the pure PF type, but he’s been basically playing that position for the past 2 seasons so he belongs on this list, especially if you consider Jamison on this list here. In that case, he is “ranked” behind Dirk. No player after Dirk provides all the intangibles that Matrix provides, or comes close to filling up the stat sheet. Boozer, Z-Bo, Brand (Although he plays D), all they are completely 2-dimensional, but as far as that goes, they are obviously stellar 2-dimensional guys.
June 15th, 2007 at 9:55 am
smity says:
Sheed isnt relevant enough to be included in the top 10 anymore? He passes the ball and is good at doing so (unlike z-bo, boozer, dirk), blocks shots and plays defense (unlike a host of people on this list like Dirk, Boozer, Randolph, etc.) and commands double teams when he’s committed to scoring (like everyone on this list except for Bosh, Pau, Boozer, Randolph and Jamison and was an invaluable component on a championship team (one of the best teams in the league in the last 5 years) (unlike 2-10 on this list) he could certainly be included in Jamison’s spot (who is arguably more of a small forward) Honorable mentions of Nene, David Lee and Al Jefferson????? none of whom are in the same class as Rasheed. David West, Haslem, McDyess, should be mentioned if those guys are…but he also frustratingly flips out more than anyone on this list as well. you all should do a top 10 cry baby’s list…
June 15th, 2007 at 10:25 am
Austin Burton says:
Marion was on the Top 10 Small Forwards list. Ranked #4
June 15th, 2007 at 10:30 am
bigjdunkin says:
Yo my beef is that dirk has no post game a plays more like a guard or a power forward and i also think that despite the fact that duncan has four rings KG is a better player he just hasnt had the supporting cast around him(olawakandi and sczerbiak vs ginobili and robinson the general, not mad dog) give kg a true outside scorer and someone to have his back in the post and some decent role players, he could win u a championship almost single handedly within a year or two. If only the wolves hadnt been so selfish and lost those picks…..
June 15th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
Girlybballluver says:
1. Duncan is better than KG. He does absolutely everything that can be done in a basketball game. His teammates are better because of him, not the other way around (as implied above).
2. Dirk is purely a scorer. He is only a PF because he’s too tall to be a SG. He’s too prone to choking at the wrong times.
3. I could be bias, but I think stats shouldn’t be the only factors considered here. I would take Haslem over Randolph, and Gasol anyday. Haslem just isn’t the star of his team. He’s like there 4th option. But he does all those invaluable things in a game, that don’t show on the stat sheet. I love him!!!
Ok, ok, yea, that is just bias. I still don’t like Randolph at all though.
June 15th, 2007 at 3:04 pm
Amar says:
Arjun — solid post. I do think you are wrong about Boozer on the help D issue. And here is why . . . he never defends anybody. Okur defends the other teams’ best big, and Andrei comes over to help him. I’d like to defend Booz here, but he doesn’t even defend Oberto . . . sad.
One on One, or on nba 2k player abilities or whatever Brand should be better overall. This isn’t debatable.
What isn’t debatable either is the fact that boozer is playing with better team mates and a better system.
What is debatable is the bottom line though. We don’t put up hypothetical situations to see if ‘Nique would have been better if he played in Chicago instead of MJ . . . we have to look at what happens each season.
This season Boozer had a better season than Brand. Brand has a better career. If Brand was in Utah he probably would have had as good, if not better season than Boozer. But the issue is that brand is in LAC, and had a subpar season, Boozer is in SLC and had a career year, and was three wins away from the NBA Finals.
June 15th, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Eddie says:
So let me get this straight, CB4 is All-NBA Second team, but is number 8 on this list behind Boozer, Randolph, Brand & O’Neal. Yeah, that makes a lot of sense…
June 15th, 2007 at 10:33 pm
Jay Chang says:
i think rasheed should be on here not because of stats, but wat he does. when he starts hitting jumpshots, gettting rebounds, and blocks shots, the pistons are unstoppable. hes like there x factor. Dirk may get 9 rebounds a game but hes also 7 feet tall. so i dont think he could really be considered a pf. he has the size for it, but doesnt play like one, like antawn jamison. if THEY were considered true pf’s then shawn marion should be on this list too.
June 16th, 2007 at 2:04 am
Ian says:
kg better player than duncan?????
so that means kg that cant get to the playoffs is the best power foward ever???
please go watch a game
kg is overrated and you know when kg will win
when he has a player better than him on his team
hes someones pippen
Duncan can play with any 4 guys and make the playoffs
on brand hes way better than boozer and i rather have him on my team than dirk
if marion were to be ranked as a power foward he shouldnt be top ten unless is fantasy basketball we are talkin about
June 17th, 2007 at 6:51 am
vince says:
boozer >> brand?
come on… defense has to account for something.
June 17th, 2007 at 7:57 pm
bigdre says:
kg is definitely a better all-around player. but td is a better pf. he’s got one helluva post game and he anchors the d. nuf said.
July 9th, 2007 at 9:53 pm
Keon Clark says:
CB4 is the top power foward in the east, hands down. Regardless of what y’all think, CB4 is ungaurdable!!..Raptors were the division champs, the number three seed and won twenty more games then the year b4!…chicago and cleveland and detroit have no power fowards with stats like CB4. Which by the way are identical to KG, but with a better record and team. So he should by all means be up there with KG. And that BS about him not being able to defend O’neal or Z-Bo, thats bullocks..he not only shut down KG, Z-Bo and Duncan, include the mulitiple blocks on Dirk and all..just watch a raptor game once in a while b4 you start blogging!!
peas&luv
July 11th, 2007 at 7:16 pm
death says:
you must be retarded to rank bosh so low,Zach Randolph ahead of bosh that is just too funny, i’m pretty sure everyone is gonna smack you for that.
July 12th, 2007 at 9:16 am
Jeff says:
I’m kind of dissappointed Kyle hasn’t replied to argun’s post. Cause that was a solid post. But Kyle being a professional writer should have more justification for his rankings, and in end, should defend them too.
I’m also a little dissappointed with Chris Bosh’s ranking as well.
July 12th, 2007 at 10:16 pm
Daymon says:
I find it sad how CB4 is ranked so low. He should be ranked at least 4th. Ahead of Dirk really. Bosh can defend and attack, and like someone else said, Dirk is only there on the offensive side. Not to mention how bad Dirk is at clutch.
July 23rd, 2007 at 2:56 am
Colin says:
I also think that CB4 deserves a higher ranking. He up there with Brand, KG and Boozer. Duncan is the only player on the list that I would rather have on my team than Bosh.
July 30th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
DP says:
Um yeah, like da list, just wanta let U kno dat eventually David West is gonna be on da list and I think he at least deserves to be on da honorable mentions part, over david lee
August 16th, 2007 at 2:02 pm
matt says:
g can shut his trap. boozer is better than brand cause he averages more points, better rebounds, more assists, and he’s so young in his career. his field goal% is higher and he can use both hands to shoot, dunk, whatever. Just because brand gets 1.74 more blocks than boozer a game doesn’t make him a better player
January 21st, 2008 at 7:10 pm
Keith says:
Kg is the best PF in the league, but u have to give credit to J.O. His team was the best team like 2 or 3 years ago and they have gotten in to trouble, artest jackson and harrington hav gotten traded and miller retired. J.O. has also battled injury and still has putten up some double doubles this year. J.O. was the best PF 2 or 3 years ago but injury slowed him down. So im saying J.O. would b the best and his team would b the best in the nba…..but J.O. has suffered from injury…….and after that brawl in detroit the Indiana Pacers have just gone downhill. And they traded away Harrington Artest Jackson and miller retired …..so J.O. was the best PF 2 or # years ago……..Everyone has 2 admit tht …… and J.O. wil b one of the best PF’s nxt year in the 08-09 season and the pacers wil b about the 5th, 4th , or 3rd best team in the eastern conference……..but KG is the best as of right now 08 season……But if J.O. gets healthy ……..out goes kj and his celtics and in comes the indiana pacers and Jermaine o’neal.
January 21st, 2008 at 7:13 pm
Keith says:
Also, i think rasheed wallace should b on this list at least he shouold b 6 or 7th…. and chris bosh should b higher and tim duncan isnt a center anymore…..and he stinks anyway and he is two tall and slow!
February 24th, 2008 at 9:57 am
Lamar7Odom says:
Where is Lamar Odom? He is a PF, but they put him on the list of SF-s!!!!
Lamar is one of the best Power Forwards!!! Can you find one more 6.10 PF that can handle the ball and pass like point guard, can shoot the ball like shooting guard, can rebound and do spin moves like power forward and center??? No you cant and thats why Lamar is the best…..
April 26th, 2008 at 7:51 pm
Julian says:
I think it goes
10.jermaine oneal
9. pau gasol
8. Antawin Jamison
7. Elton Brand
6. Chris Bosh/Boozer
5. Carlos Boozer/Bosh (to close to call)
4. Amare Stoudimire
3. Dirk Nowitiki
2. Kevin Garnett
1. Tim Duncan
April 26th, 2008 at 7:53 pm
Julian says:
edit make rasheed 10 over oneal
June 15th, 2008 at 4:10 am
Peter says:
Gasol is a CENTER !!!!!!!