As the NBA Season kicks off, we have begun to wrap up our rankings and positional debates for the start of the 2023-24 season. In order to bring these debates closer to their end, it is time to discuss the best power forwards in the NBA. After using our most accurate formula to crown the best point guards, shooting guards, and small forwards heading into the 2023-24 season, the four best power forwards in the NBA now get their time being brought through the process.
Based on our power forward rankings heading into 2023-24, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns are the top four players at power forward at the current moment. These four players will be ranked based on 10 different categories and receive points for where they fall in each debate. In the end, a winner will be crowned and although there may already be a clear answer in your mind, you never know what will happen using our most accurate formula.
It is time to decide who is the best power forward in the NBA right now between Giannis Antetokounmpo, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns.
Scoring
1. Kevin Durant – 4 Points
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 3 Points
2. Anthony Davis – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
The debate for power forwards gets underway with the scoring category. Even at 36 years old, Kevin Durant is still one of the best scorers in the NBA, dominating defenders at all three levels of offense. Not only is he one of the greatest mid-range shooters in NBA history but he also shoots great from three and finishes with both finesse and authority at the rim. In 2022-23, Durant averaged 29.9 points per game in one of the most efficient shooting seasons ever with 55/40/90 splits.
Giannis Antetokounmpo does most of his damage in the paint and on fast breaks considering the downhill style that has allowed him to become the most dominant force in the NBA today. In 2022-23, Antetokounmpo was the only player of these four to average at least 30.0 points per game, going for 31.1 points per game on 55.3% shooting from the field. Although it may not be as fluid or flashy, Giannis is the most abundant scorer among power forwards in the NBA.
Anthony Davis and Karl-Anthony Towns bring up the rear in this category taking home two and one point respectively. Davis was a more effective and versatile scorer in 2022-23 averaging 25.9 points per game on 56.3% shooting. Towns in the meantime battled injury for most of the season and averaged just 20.8 points per game. It is easy to see through these numbers why Durant and Antetokounmpo take home the most points in this category.
Shooting
1. Kevin Durant – 4 Points
2. Karl-Anthony Towns – 3 Points
3. Anthony Davis – 2 Points
4. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 1 Point
Kevin Durant gets this formula started off with two straight categories won, taking home four points for his selection as the best shooter among these four players. Coming off yet another season with elite efficiency averaging nearly 30.0 points per game, it is an easy choice for Durant to win this category. Overall, Durant shot 56.0% from the field last season, 40.4% from three, and 91.9% from the foul line.
Karl-Anthony Towns has put a good enough resume together over the last few years to be considered one of the best shooting big men in NBA history. In his career, Towns shoots 39.5% from three and 52.6% overall. Towns has four different seasons shooting over 40.0% from three and looks poised to tap even more into that part of his game for the 2023-24 season.
Anthony Davis is a decent mid-range shooter and three-point shooter as well. In 2022-23, Davis shot 44.2% from the 10-16-foot range on the court and 30.0% from three. With Davis coming in third, Giannis Antetokounmpo is left taking just one point for this category to nobody’s surprise. As dominant as Giannis is in the paint and in transition, he is almost a liability from further than 10 feet from the rim and still struggles mightily as a free throw shooter.
Athleticism
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 4 Points
2. Anthony Davis – 3 Points
3. Kevin Durant – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
They don’t call Giannis Antetokounmpo “The Greek Freak” for nothing. Giannis earned the nickname for the freak athleticism he has consistently shown on the basketball court. With a superhuman mix of size. Speed. Strength, and skill, Antetokounmpo is among the most athletic players in the NBA. His stamina is right up there with the best players in the game today as well with nobody able to match Giannis’ consistent effort. Anthony Davis is the second-most-athletic player among these four. His rim-rocking efforts on offense are only surpassed by the athletic plays he is able to make defensively on a consistent basis when healthy.
Narrowed down between Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Durant, I am still taking Durant’s mobility and athleticism over the younger Towns. Durant gives much more of an effort and his superior speed to Towns makes this an easy selection in my mind. I would love to see Towns prove me wrong this season and change my mind on who is more athletic.
Defense
1. Anthony Davis – 4 Points
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 3 Points
3. Karl-Anthony Towns – 2 Points
4. Kevin Durant – 1 Point
Defensively, there are two elite power forwards at the top of the bunch. Anthony Davis and Giannis Antetokounmpo are without a shadow of a doubt the two best defenders here as elite rim protectors and versatile all-around players. Davis gets the edge as far as current defense goes and anyone who watched the NBA playoffs in 2023 would agree. When healthy, Davis is a serious Defensive Player of the Year candidate who can change the tide of a game in just a few minutes.
Giannis Antetokounmpo is capable of the same impact as we have all seen in the past. With more focus on his offensive output the last few seasons, he has slipped a bit in production from his Defensive Player of the Year days. Still, Giannis is capable of 1.5 steals and 1.5 blocks per game at his very best which would make him one of the best overall players in the NBA.
Defensively, both Karl-Anthony Towns and Kevin Durant are underrated but not on the level that Davis and Antetokounmpo are. Towns is a decent shot blocker and rim-protector overall while Durant reads passing lanes well and accumulates his fair share of blocks from help on the weak side. Towns and Durant bring up the rear of a seriously talented defensive group.
Handles
1. Kevin Durant – 4 Points
2. Anthony Davis – 3 Points
2. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
While you will not find any of these players among the best ball-handlers in NBA history, Kevin Durant is in another stratosphere when it comes to handling the ball. At 7’0’’ tall, Durant handles the ball like a guard, allowing him to create shots and dominate from all angles on offense as opposed to being held to one or two moves. His lateral movement and control of the basketball make him the best ball-handler here by a wide margin.
Anthony Davis’ handling of the ball is nearly on the same level as Durant’s without the total control and expanded repertoire that Durant has. Of the other three players here, Davis displays the most effective handles. Giannis gets two points for his ability to get to the rim from the perimeter, and for the fact that I see more of an effort to handle the ball from him than Towns. Giannis will often attack from the perimeter and get to the rim fairly easily while Towns dribbles to hardly move the defense.
Clutch
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 4 Points
2. Kevin Durant – 3 Points
3. Anthony Davis – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
All four of these players are power forwards I have zero issues with having the ball in critical moments in 2023-24. There is only one player I trust more than the rest to make a play on either side of the ball in crunch time because I have seen it repeatedly, and that is Giannis Antetokounmpo. Several times over the last few seasons, Giannis has taken over games, making game-changing plays on both sides of the ball to help Milwaukee establish a top position in the East.
Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis are close when it comes to being clutch with the edge falling slightly to Durant. While both have had the times they would like to forget down the stretch of close games, they each have made plays on both sides of the ball to seal victory for their teams as well. In this case, I will always take the more reliable offensive option, who is Durant, over the defensive stalwart, Davis.
Karl-Anthony Towns has also had his iconic moments on the court in the clutch. Unlike the other three, we have never seen him step up on the big stages like the NBA playoffs and Finals. He has plenty of time to get there but without that under his belt, it is hard for Towns to stack up against the other three.
Leadership
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 4 Points
2. Anthony Davis – 3 Points
3. Kevin Durant – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
All four of these players have needed to be or are capable of being leaders for their respective franchises. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a more consistent and unrelenting leader for the Milwaukee Bucks over the last decade however you wish to measure a player’s leadership. Right now, Giannis is the only clear leader for his team on this list with Durant, Davis, and Towns all having teammates who play an equal or larger leadership role.
Anthony Davis has yet to seize control of the reins in Los Angeles from LeBron James which is no easy task to accomplish. Kevin Durant is sharing the spotlight in Phoenix with Suns-lifer Devin Booker and Bradley Beal as part of the NBA’s most dangerous Big 3. Karl-Anthony Towns is suddenly taking a backseat to emerging superstar Anthony Edwards who is slowly becoming the face of the Minnesota Timberwolves. .
Sure, star point guard Damian Lillard has arrived in Milwaukee and the championship buzz is strong. I am sure even Lillard knows that Milwaukee is Giannis’ city for the 2023-24 season and beyond.
Basketball IQ
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 4 Points
2. Kevin Durant – 3 Points
3. Anthony Davis – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
Measuring a player’s basketball IQ is no easy task. In order to understand how deep a player’s knowledge of the game runs, you have to understand the game yourself and be able to decipher what each of these players brings to the table. As far as intelligence on the court, no player of these four shows a deeper understanding of the game than Giannis Antetokounmpo. While the other three are very smart basketball players, Giannis knows when he needs to step up, step back, or focus on particular skills when others may be failing him. He can take over a game at any moment as a defender, scorer, rebounder, and playmaker making his IQ off the charts.
Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, and Karl-Anthony Towns are all highly intelligent players as well. They all understand and fulfill their assignments at an elite level or they wouldn’t even be in this conversation. Whether it be more evident lapses in judgment or a struggle to grasp certain situations on the court, Giannis just finishes a notch higher than his three opponents here today. I would say that Durant is slightly more intelligent of the three remaining players with Davis and Towns as a coin flip for third.
Impact
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 4 Points
2. Anthony Davis – 3 Points
3. Kevin Durant – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
When it comes to impact on the basketball court, the difference between these four players is razor-thin. When on the court and fully healthy, Giannis Antetokounmpo makes the Milwaukee Bucks NBA champions and championship contenders. In playoff series where he has been hobbled or shut down, they have failed. In cases where he is fully ready to go, they are either on the cusp of the NBA Finals or in them.
The same can be said for a fully healthy Anthony Davis. When he is fully healthy and at his best, he proved in 2023 that the Lakers are a team capable of being in the Conference Finals at the very worst. His defensive impact being among the best in the NBA as well as being an elite offensive option at power forward gives him the edge going into 2023-24.
When I said razor-thin, I meant it because that is the difference between Davis and Durant. While Durant is as elite as it gets in the NBA, he has not been back to the Conference Finals since leaving the Warriors four years ago and has been a part of some truly disappointing superteams. Durant’s game is impactful but compared to Davis and Giannis, it falls to third place due to his inability to get even the most talented rosters over the hump.
Efficiency
1. Kevin Durant – 4 Points
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 3 Points
3. Anthony Davis – 2 Points
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 1 Point
When it comes down to efficiency, it is extremely difficult not to start the conversation with Kevin Durant. He is hands down the most efficient scorer of these four players, able to control the game from every level of offense. In 2022-23, he had the most efficient shooting season in NBA history going 56.0% shooting overall, 40.4% from three, and 91.9% from the foul line. His 25.9 PER ranks third here but his offensive efficiency cannot be ignored.
With a 29.0 PER, Giannis Antetokounmpo comes in second for this category and his 55.3% shooting from the field helps his case as well. By PER, Giannis is the most efficient player here by a slight margin over Anthony Davis at 27.8 but Davis has been more efficient as a scorer with fewer turnovers per game. Towns is coming off a season in which he dipped below a 20.0 PER for the first time due to injury but when it comes down to it, is a less efficient player than his three opponents.
Who Is The Best Power Forward In The NBA Right Now?
1. Giannis Antetokounmpo – 32 Points (5 Categories Won)
2. Kevin Durant – 29 Points (4 Categories Won)
3. Anthony Davis – 26 Points (1 Category Won)
4. Karl-Anthony Towns – 13 Points (0 Categories Won)
With the formula complete and the results in, there are some expected and unexpected results. Let’s start with what we already knew and that is Giannis Antetokounmpo is the best power forward in the NBA right now. Offensively and defensively, there is no player at the power forward position who impacts the game more than the way he does on a nightly basis.
We also knew that the race between Kevin Durant and Anthony Davis was going to be close for second place. Let’s also not overlook that the distance between Durant and Giannis for the top spot is the same as the difference between Durant and Davis for second and third. Durant’s ability to shoot, and score, and his high basketball IQ make him a slightly better power forward at this point in time. By the end of 2023-24, this could be an entirely different conversation.
The unexpected result is that Karl-Anthony Towns is so far away from being even in the discussion with the other three. Whether that be because he is coming off an injury-riddled season or has disappointed consistently in Minnesota as far as how far he can take them, Towns’ ranking among the NBA’s best seems to be dropping. The 2023-24 season will be pivotal to him re-establishing himself in the conversation among the NBA’s best talent.
