Even with all the MVP chatter surrounding centers Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid during the regular season and Stephen Curry and Luka Doncic’s playoff heroics, Jayson Tatum and Jimmy Butler’s battle in the Eastern Conference Finals proved small forwards are still flourishing in the NBA.
- Scoring – LeBron James (30.3 PPG)
- Playmaking – LeBron James (6.2 APG)
- Rebounding – LeBron James (8.2 RPG)
- Defense – Jimmy Butler (1.9 DBPM)
- Shooting – Cameron Johnson (42.5 3P%)
- Finishing – Jayson Tatum (74.1% From 0-3 Feet)
- Athleticism – Anthony Edwards
- Clutch – DeMar DeRozan (157 Total Clutch Points)
- Efficiency – LeBron James (26.2 PER)
- Leadership – Jimmy Butler
- Versatility – LeBron James
- Handles – DeMar DeRozan
- Underrated – Brandon Ingram
- Overrated – Jerami Grant
- Overall – Jayson Tatum
- Small Forwards Shined During The 2021-22 Season
- Next
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Jayson Tatum dominated the second half of the season, leading his Boston Celtics to a 17-5 post-All-Star record, a second seed in the Eastern Conference, and a current Finals berth. Jimmy Butler wasn’t far behind, pushing his Heat to the number one seed and an Eastern Conference Finals appearance, losing in seven games to Boston. DeMar DeRozan also put together an exceptional 2021-22 season, propelling the Bulls into the playoffs for the first time since the 2016-17 season as he tied for tenth place in MVP voting. LeBron James’s Lakers missed the postseason, but he put up another GOAT quality year, finishing second in the NBA in scoring.
Here, we’ll rank the most effective small forwards of the 2021-22 season by category:
Scoring – LeBron James (30.3 PPG)
LeBron James was guilty of some egregious stat-padding towards the end of the 2021-22 regular season, which touched something inside the vast spaces of my imagination. I envision LeBron James had some version of this conversation with his son, Bronny, at least six times after the All-Star break:
LeBron James sits down on the bench in front of his locker, elbows on his knees and hands cradling his jaw, walking himself through his offensive game plan when his phone rings, interrupting and intrusive. LeBron grabs his phone; it’s his oldest son, one of only six people he’ll talk to before a game. He answers, “What’s up, Bronny?”
“Are you playing tonight?” asks Bronny.
“Yeah. Why wouldn’t I play?”
“What’s the point?”
“Son, don’t start this again,” says LeBron, hard.
“Russell Westbrook’s been playing defense like he’s got rocks in his shoes all season, stumbling around the court as his man blows by him,” says Bronny.
“I know.”
“And AD’s still out with another injury.”
“I know.”
“And you guys don’t even have a valid center on the team.”
“I KNOW,” says LeBron, jaw clenched.
“Do you really want to put more miles on your knees when you can’t win?”
“Look, son, if I drop a 50-cent piece tonight, then that’s 50 fewer points I’ll need later to catch Kareem for the all-time scoring record,” says LeBron, voice low. “All right, I got to go.”
Stat padding or not, LeBron James was a dominant offensive player this season, finishing the year second in scoring at 30.3 points per game as he provided multi-level scoring for the Lakers, hitting a massive 79.6% of his shots at the rim, 42.6% of his shots from 16 feet to the arc, and 35.9% of his long distance bombs. Going deeper, LeBron took some of the league’s top defensive wings to school during the season.
Here’s a breakdown:
LBJ shot 52.0% against Desmond Bane across 81.9 possessions.
LBJ shot 46.2% against Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, Mikal Bridges, across 57.5 possessions.
LBJ shot 64.3% against David Nwaba across 56.5 possessions.
LBJ shot 57.1% against Jayson Tatum across 35.8 possessions.
LBJ shot 50.0% against Robert Covington across 25.7 possessions.
The only two players who had consistent success guarding LeBron James were Andrew Wiggins and P. J. Tucker. Outside of them, he was unstoppable. Despite LBJ’s advanced NBA age, his combination of size, intelligence, explosion, and shooting makes him one of (if not) the toughest covers in the league.
Playmaking – LeBron James (6.2 APG)
LeBron James finished the 2021-22 regular season with the lowest total assists of his career, too often deferring the playmaking duties to his teammate Russell Westbrook in an attempt to maintain some semblance of locker harmony for the Lakers. Despite Westbrook’s steady insistence on usurping James as the Lakers’ lead playmaker, The King still led all small forwards in assists at 6.2 per game. LBJ was also first among all small forwards in assist points created at 16.4 per game and potential assists at 12.4 per game.
LeBron James is seventh all-time in assists (10,045) and is not only the greatest passing small forward ever but also a top-5 playmaker in NBA history. LBJ has proven throughout his career that if you give him the keys to the offense and surround him with four solid long distance shooters, he’ll take you to the second round of the playoffs and beyond.
Rebounding – LeBron James (8.2 RPG)
Kyle Kuzma led all small forwards in rebounding at 8.5 boards per game, slightly edging out LBJ, who averaged 8.2 RPG during the regular season. Kuzma deserves credit for his prowess on the boards this year, but considering he averaged 4.5 RPG in 2019-20 and 6.1 RPG in 2020-21, this feels like it could be a one-off. Kuz will need to prove himself throughout another season before we give him the nod over LBJ as the best rebounding small forward in the league.
LeBron James is 42nd all-time in rebounding (10,210) as one of only a handful of non-centers to crack the top-50. LBJ has a Blood Hound’s nose for the ball, and he uses his 6’9″, 250-pound frame to muscle out opposing players for position down on the block. Overall, no small forward was better at pulling down boards in 2021-22 than LeBron.
Defense – Jimmy Butler (1.9 DBPM)
Jimmy Butler was the most effective wing ballhawk in the NBA during the 2021-22 season, and when you consider all the factors, it was a borderline crime he didn’t garner Defensive Player of the Year votes.
Let’s look at who the other top wing defenders played with during the 2021-22 season:
Mikal Bridges played with Deandre Ayton, one of the premier defensive centers in the league, a player who was seventh in the NBA in contested shots at 11.4 per game and consistently cleaned up his teammate’s mistakes at the rim. At the same time, Bridges had Chris Paul, an all-time great point guard defender, and Jae Crowder, a hard-nosed and aggressive harasser, next to him on the perimeter.
Jayson Tatum played with Robert Williams and Al Horford, easily the premier rim-protecting combination in the league, and Marcus Smart, the Defensive Player of the Year. Tatum was an excellent defender, but he had a massive amount of defensive support.
Andrew Wiggins played with Draymond Green, a defensive juggernaut who was the frontrunner to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award before being sidelined with an injury. He also had the massively underrated Kevon Looney providing him rim protection, and for half the season, defensive ace Klay Thompson took on the other squad’s best perimeter scoring option.
Jimmy Butler, however, played with Bam Adebayo, an excellent switchable defender, who had only a 2.6 block percentage, lower than Kyle Lowry and Jalen Brunson, which shows Adebayo couldn’t clean up Butler’s perimeter mistakes.
The Heat’s starting point guard, Kyle Lowry’s defense fell off a cliff during the season, and Duncan Robinson’s (68 games started) defense was so lousy he was a constant DNP during the postseason.
Mikal Bridges was a hell of a defender during the regular season. Still, Brandon Ingram and Luka Doncic exposed him during the playoffs shooting 50.0% and 58.1% against him, respectively. Jimmy Butler, meanwhile, led The Miami Heat to the 5th ranked defense in the NBA behind his ability to shut down opposing wings on an island with scant backline support, and he brought the hammer down on the less fun end during the postseason.
Shooting – Cameron Johnson (42.5 3P%)
Cameron Johnson finished the 2021-22 regular season with the top three-point shooting figure among all small forwards and the fourth-best long distance mark in the league. And that wasn’t a small sample size blip. Johnson averaged 5.9 three-point bombs per game as a consistent floor-spreading force for the Phoenix Suns.
Cameron Johnson has a sweet stroke with all the goodies you look for in a pure outside shooter, including a high release, proper balance, and squared shoulders toward the basket. Johnson should be one of the league’s premier outside weapons for years to come.
Finishing – Jayson Tatum (74.1% From 0-3 Feet)
Jayson Tatum played primarily alongside four below-average three-point shooters during the regular season:
Marcus Smart: 33.1 3P%
Jaylen Brown: 35.8 3P%
Al Horford: 33.6 3P%
Robert Williams: 0.0 3P%
Opposing teams played accordingly, packing the paint and daring Jayson Tatum to navigate through two or three waiting defenders in the lane. Tatum cared not, continually destroying opposing teams with his devastating drive game toward the rack.
Jayson Tatum is your proverbial runaway locomotive in the lane, an unstoppable force hell-bent on plowing down anything in its path, making him the leading finisher at the rim in the NBA.
Athleticism – Anthony Edwards
This was a close race. Jayson Tatum is athletic as hell, and Brandon Ingram isn’t far behind. But in the end, Anthony Edwards’s ridiculous burst down the lane pushed him to the top. Anthony Edwards is a 6’4″, 225-pound wing who mixes linebacker size with a top-5 first-step and a 41.5 inch vertical to blow by opposing defenders on the perimeter and then finish over waiting big men in the lane. Anthony Edwards concluded his second campaign by averaging 21.3 PPG and could very well increase his average to something like 28 PPG next season behind his ability to destroy the rim.
Clutch – DeMar DeRozan (157 Total Clutch Points)
DeMar DeRozan’s 2021-22 clutch numbers were ridiculous.
Here’s a breakdown:
DeRozan’s 157 clutch points were second in the league, one bucket behind Joel Embiid.
DeMar DeRozan shot 50.0% from distance and 53.5% overall during clutch situations.
DeMar DeRozan became the first player to hit a game-tying or game-winning shot in the final ten seconds during two consecutive games (Jan. 31 and Feb. 1).
DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls to a clutch record of 23-15 during the regular season. His crunch-time heroics were the difference between the 46-36 Bulls earning the sixth seed in the Eastern Conference versus participating in the play-in tourney against either the 44-38 Nets or the 44-38 Cavs.
Efficiency – LeBron James (26.2 PER)
LeBron James shot 52.4% from the field during the 2021-22 season while pulling down 8.2 boards per game and dishing out 6.2 assists per game. At the same time, he took care of the ball, finishing the year with the seventh-highest usage rate in the NBA (32.3%) and a minuscule 12.5 turnover percentage, a mark that was lower than Ja Morant, Stephen Curry, Trae Young, Jrue Holiday, Luka Doncic, Chris Paul, Marcus Smart, Russell Westbrook, James Harden, and Kyle Lowry. LBJ was the most efficient small forward in the NBA.
Leadership – Jimmy Butler
Jimmy Butler was the Heat’s vocal and non-vocal leader during the regular season. Jimmy Butler makes his presence known during practices, chopping it up with his teammates when he feels like they’re not performing at 100%. And he backs up what he preaches at practice on the court, giving everything he has when the ball goes up, inspiring every player on the Heat’s roster to push themselves on defense.
Versatility – LeBron James
LeBron James was the most versatile player in the league this year, and he could be the most versatile player ever to suit up. There are a handful of players in the NBA who can legitimately guard positions one through five on the court, LeBron included, but how many players can handle their team’s starting point guard, wing, power forward, or center duties on offense? Luka Doncic could manage positions one through four on offense, but opposing big men would bully him if he started at center.
Giannis could play the 2-5, but he doesn’t have the playmaking chops to consistently set up his teammates with easy looks as his squad’s primary point guard. LeBron James is probably the only player in the league with the passing ability, speed, and size to play every position on both sides of the floor.
Handles – DeMar DeRozan
DeMar DeRozan’s handles in the mid-range this season were a sight to behold. There were times the Bulls wing went to work just inside the arc, spinning, hesitating, and Yo-Yoing in a way that made the basketball seem sentient, a fully functioning organism trained over a dozen years by DeRozan to telepathically do whatever the hell he wanted. And typically, he wanted the basketball to bounce on a string, making opposing defenders look slack-jawed and useless before it swished through the net.
Underrated – Brandon Ingram
Brandon Ingram averaged an All-Star-ish 22.7 PPG, 5.8 RPG, 5.6 APG, and a 46.1% clip from the field. He also mainly took on the opposing squad’s top wing scorer, holding his assignments to an excellent 46.0% clip from the field, a mark that was better than the Defensive Player of the Year runner-up, Mikal Bridges (46.1%). Yet nobody seemed to care. That’s what happens when your team finishes 36-46. Still, Brandon Ingram, 24, has a perennial All-Star skill-set and deserves to be ranked among the NBA’s elite wings.
Overrated – Jerami Grant
Jerami Grant left the friendly confines of Denver for a chance to branch out on his own in Detroit. Unfortunately, he’s primarily struggled in Motown. Jerami Grant averaged 19.2 PPG, 4.1 RPG, 2.4 APG, and 35.8% from deep while flashing subpar playmaking skills and a bleh three-point shot. Even worse, Grant’s once impressive one-on-one defense seemed to flee from his body this season. He allowed his assignments to shoot 1.1% over their normal average and ended the year with a -0.2 Defensive Box Plus/Minus. Despite Grant’s poor two-way play in 2021, ten or so teams were reportedly interested in acquiring Jerami Grant at the trade deadline. That’s overrated.
Overall – Jayson Tatum
Tatum took first place in only our “Finishing” section. Still, he was top-3 among all small forwards in every category except shooting.
Have a look:
Scoring: 3rd place (26.9 PPG)
Playmaking: 3rd place (4.4 APG combined with 0.91 PPP in isolation play types)
Rebounding: 3rd place (8.0 RPG)
Defense: 3rd place (4.3 DWS)
Finishing: 1st place
Athleticism: 2nd place
Clutch: 3rd place (97 total points)
Efficiency: 3rd place (21.8 PER)
Leadership: 3rd place (behind J. Butler and L. James)
Versatility: 3rd place (behind L. James and J. Butler)
Handles: 2nd place
Overall, Jayson Tatum blended the type of superstar scoring during half-court possessions with shutdown wing defense and top-20 passing that is rarely seen. Tatum, 24, will have a chance to prove himself in the NBA Finals. If Jayson Tatum hangs a banner in Boston, he could be on his way to becoming the NBA’s next generational wing following in the footsteps of M. Jordan, K. Bryant, and L. James.
Small Forwards Shined During The 2021-22 Season
Jayson Tatum was the most effective overall small forward in the NBA during the 2021-22 season, while LeBron James proved to be the leading scorer, playmaker, and rebounder. At the same time, Jimmy Butler was the most capable defender and leader, and DeMar DeRozan was the most efficient clutch player and ball handler.
Brandon Ingram finished the 2021-22 season as the most underrated small forward in the NBA. Meanwhile, Jerami Grant struggled in Detroit as the most overrated wing this season.
