From LeBron James to Larry Bird and Carmelo Anthony, the NBA has had no shortage of talent at the small forward position. But which of them are the best?
Former league big man Kendrick Perkins recently shared his All-Time small-forward list on Twitter.
My Top 5 Small Forwards of All-Time…
1. LeBron James
2. Larry Bird
3. Scottie Pippen
4. Kevin Durant
5. Paul Pierce
— Kendrick Perkins (@KendrickPerkins) April 30, 2020
It’s hard to argue with those names, but many disagreed on the order in which they were put.
KD>PIPPEN
— AAJR (@longliveNip60) April 30, 2020
Paul Pierce top 5?
I would put Grant Hill before that.
— Shawn (@SFann71) April 30, 2020
Big homie that SF list is nasty of yours man
— Isaiah Thomas (@isaiahthomas) April 30, 2020
LeBron James is the clear number one. He’s the NBA’s third All-Time leading scorer, a 16x All-Star, 4x MVP, and 3x NBA Champion. Bird isn’t far behind with 12 All-Star appearances, 3 MVPs, 3 NBA Championships, and a legacy for being one of the greatest shooters in history.
Of course, “The Last Dance” has revealed just how good Scottie Pippen was. Though not as good a scorer as Durant or Pierce, he is the most well-rounded of the five with talents in defense and rebounding.
Many tried to make the case that Durant was better than both Bird and Pippen, and it’s not hard to see why. He’s arguably the best pure scorer of the bunch with a career average of 27 points per game.
Paul Pierce is undoubtedly the most unproven of all these names. He’s only got one Championship and never won a single MVP in 19 seasons.
Obviously, nobody’s top five is perfect but this may be about as close as it gets. But what do you think? Did Perk get it right, or did he miss the mark completely?
