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The top 10 power forwards of the last decade
By Kelly Dwyer
OK, we know the first decade of the 21st century doesn't really end until 2011. We think. But we also know there have been 10 full NBA seasons played since the phrase "Y2K" was on all of our lips (1999-2000), and here at Ball Don't Lie we've decided to use this as an offseason excuse to rank some of the best and not-so-brightest of the 10 campaigns in question. The result? Why, top 10 lists!
Bob Pet more or less created this one.
Big forwards can be rebounding specialists. They can be shot-blockers. They can, and have, been role players. But if you have a starting power forward plugged in to just sop up minutes and get out of the way, then your team is in trouble.
Because this is the position that needs to score. We'd like to see the position player in question do it all — score, rebound, defend, pass — but scoring is of paramount importance, especially while that 7-foot lunkhead you line up with every night is struggling to run and chew gum at the same time.
So, for your consideration, the 10 finest power forwards of the last decade.
10. Karl Malone
Malone only played until 2004, but the (arguable, if Bob Pet 's in the room) greatest power forward ever was pretty damn potent when he did suit up. Averaged in the low 20s per game, about eight and a half boards, four assists, and provided a staunch, ornery, defensive effort.
The Mailman could have easily played on after 2003-04, when he registered a 17.8 PER at age 40 while working in a new offense with the Lakers for the first time in nearly 20 years. But after a campaign that saw him miss 40 games (after missing 10, mostly by suspension, combined games in the 18 seasons previous), a frustrated Malone moved on. To shooting things.
9. Chris Bosh(notes)
This spindly scorer was an immediate hit in Toronto, showcasing a veteran's knack for putting the ball in the hole almost right away. Though Vince Carter(notes) complained that the Raptors could have used a 2003 lottery pick in a trade to secure veteran talent, Raptor fans knew what they had.
19.6 points and nine rebounds a game so far, and he just turned 25 last March.
8. Chris Webber(notes)
Remember, this list isn't a ranking of all-time power forwards, just the ones that played from 1999-00 until last season. And as great as Webber was at his peak, early in the decade, he was more or less done by late 2005-06; he missed most of 2003-04, and was one of the league's worst defenders from 2004 until his final sprint with the Warriors in 2007-08.
At that peak, though, he was masterful. An all-around terror who worked the low and high post to perfection, setting screens, finding cutters, scoring with the hook or jumper ... he was fantastic.
7. Rasheed Wallace(notes)
Wallace looked like a washout last season, and he hasn't really ventured into the post since the first George W. Bush administration, but his sound shooting and defensive ap ude made him a stalwart contributor on several great Trail Blazer and Pistons teams.
He also put those teams in peril with selfish play (under the guise of acting selfless), repeated technical fouls, and a churlish at ude that left him at odds with teammate after teammate in Portland. But you can't deny his on-court accomplishments. Unfortunately.
6. Antawn Jamison(notes)
Jamison gets a lot of stick for the things he doesn't do — move bodies in the paint, grab ferocious rebounds, dominate defensively — but he's so damn good at what he does do that you can't deny him a significant placement on this list.
He can score. About 20 a night. Eight rebounds, rarely turns it over. Very rarely — 1.7 turnovers per game on his career, in almost 37 minutes a contest. And he works defensively, while trying to find the open man. There's a reason the similarly-scoring Zach Randolph(notes) didn't make the top 10, while Jamison is all the way up at number six, and it has to do with the lack of team-killing ideals in areas outside of putting the ball in the hole.
And unlike Wallace and Malone, Jamison is still going strong. And unlike Bosh, he put in a few years of going strong before Chris even made it to the NBA.
5. Elton Brand(notes)
We're fully aware that Brand has missed nearly two full seasons recently, and that he may never return to the form that saw him mentioned as an MVP candidate in 2005-06, but his peaks were just so good that we couldn't drop him any lower.
Even in the face of constant double-teaming while stuck on lousy Bulls or Clippers teams, Brand has still averaged 20 and 10 on his career, with a combined three blocks/steals, and 2.6 assists. And yet, he's unfairly maligned as if it were his fault he tore his Achilles, hired Tim Floyd, or drafted Michael Olowokandi(notes).
4. Shawn Marion(notes)
It's an oft-repeated cliché, but it remains the truth — Shawn Marion rarely, very rarely, has a play called for him.
And yet, in a career that started the season this list began, he's averaged almost 18 points per game. It doesn't end there, as he's grabbed about 10 rebounds, averaged a combined 3.1 blocks/steals, dished two assists, and turned the ball over a miniscule 1.6 times a contest. Alongside fantastic defense, and an ability to spread the floor that helps a team and doesn't always show up in newspaper box scores.
3. Pau Gasol(notes)
This isn't a case of someone just coming into his own, Gasol's per-minute, pace-adjusted stats from last season were about what he was coming through with back in 2004-05. Sure, his defense has markedly improved, to the point of being nearly dominant in the playoffs last spring, but this man has been a beast for years. Great to see the rest of the world catch up.
18.8 points, 8.7 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 2.2 combined blocks/steals, in 35.7 minutes per game. And he's only 28. The guy's presence in your high or low post makes your offense much, much better, even if he isn't scoring or registering an assist. That counts.
2. Dirk Nowitzki(notes)
It would be a pity if Nowitzki ended his career as undervalued, overall, because it's hard to find a greater decade of power forward work in the annals of NBA history.
23.6 points on about 48 percent shooting on the decade, with 8.9 rebounds, a steal, a block, and a shockingly low amount of turnovers. Only about eight and a half percent of the possessions that Nowitzki has used up over the course of the decade have ended in turnovers, a sterling number.
1. Kevin Garnett(notes)
Somehow, Dirk is topped. By a player who still doesn't seem to get the credit he deserves.
Despite the hype, the yelling, the commercials, the fawning on-air tributes from Bill Russell, and (a second time, just to be sure) all the yelling. I still don't think people appreciate how great Kevin Garnett has been, over these years, especially defensively.
That's OK, though. Because, despite all the yelling (have you heard the yelling?), I don't think KG cares much. I don't think he gives a toss where he's ranked, even if he is ranked as the greatest power forward of the last decade.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...urn=nba,193073
wow
Omg
How did she get this job???
Probably give some stupid answer like "Duncan isn't a power forward".
But Pau Gasol is?
The only reason for this (other than her being a complete moron) I can think of is that she puts him under center.
WTF????
You can NOT leave Tim out of this list! He IS the best PF EVER!
That's probably it, this is top 10 power forwards right after THE best PF which is Timmy.
No big deal. I'm almost sure he'll be mentioned as one of the top 10 centers of the decade. He is a 2time mvp finals winner and a 2time league mvp winner in this decade. Nobody would be stupid/ignorant enough to list Malone/Bosh/Jamison and so on as top 10 especially if they are not accomplished. None of those guys won a ring. Gasol/Garnett just got one, so he will be on the top 10 centers list for sure. No worries.
maybe she thinks tim is a center
stupid though if not
I'm pretty sure Kelly Dwyer is a guy.
And, I'm pretty sure if Duncan isn't on the list, Dwyer must consider him a center.
Otherwise, he'll feel really re ed when he realizes he left him off the list.
One thing to try and make the case that when Oberto or Bonner were starting next to Duncan they were really playing power forward and Duncan was really playing center. But there's no way in you can say that about David Robinson and Rasho Nesterovic. Even if you want to disqualify Duncan from the PF spot for the last few years (and I'm not saying you should), there's still no denying that the majority of the past decade Duncan played PF and his body of work during just those years still earns him the #1 spot on this list.
I think the author is a dude, and if you have seen some of his other lists, this wouldn't surprise you.
Obviously, the omission of Duncan was done by the author to get people talking about his list and generate interest.
Duncan is a PF, and the greatest of all time at that position. If his argument is that Duncan is really a center, I would counter with this.
When we had David, who was taller and also played the post, obviously he was our center and Tim was the power forward. No "subjectivity" there. During that time Tim won 2 MVPS and a championship (and another in 99 before the decade began.) So even if Kelly believes Tim switched to center "for real" when David retired, I would think a le and 2 MVPS would get him on the decade list at the position.
But its BS by this Kelly fellow, all meant to get us talking about his writing. And of course it is.
she is getting a lot of in the comments. thank God for comments section
Marion and Jamison above Malone????
that needs to go back to the kitchen!
Some, probably most of you Spurs fans, will argue against this opinion, but I think Tim Duncan has been playing center basically his entire career, despite what position he wants to be labeled and what other players he's played with.
Even with David Robinson, D-Rob didn't play like a center. He ran the floor like a guard and in half-court sets, he played more of the (traditionally PF) high post, especially with Duncan. From day 1, Duncan has been the main low post threat on the block. PF or C, he was the pivot on offense. And, even though D-Rob defended centers, Duncan shared in those defensive assignments, maybe not equally, but they were basically interchangeable in how they defended PFs and centers. And Rasho was more of a spot up midrange jumper on offense as well.
Duncan can be called a power forward. It's what he wants. But, for all intents and purposes and how he played, he's pretty much been a center his entire NBA career.
Chat going on right now.
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/blog/bal...aining-content
Dirk plays like a SF most of his career, yet he is still made the list and is called a PF. so no
Vlade Divac spent most of his career in the high post. Yet no one disputes that he was a center.
Guy also claimed Shawn Marion was a PF. Just because you play out of position doesn't mean you're a player in that position. Shawn's a SF who had the freakish athleticism to play the 4 decently, that is, until he met a good PF.
Duncan used to destroy Marion in the postseason.
this is a horrible list. the fact that duncan is listed at PF should be enough, regardless of how he decides to play.
Damn Jamstone, your got wrecked. And you had such a strong argument too.Unless you don't believe Dirk is a PF, then we're back to square one.
And I believe if Duncan says he's a PF, he is a goddamn PF. It's not like he's claiming to be a guard or something. He's a b2tb PF, like Parker is a scoring PG. Or like Bonner is a short, weak, 3-ball loving C. Or like Manu, who is a 30+ mpg 6th man. Spurs players just defy labels.
I think an argument can be made for this. However, as ShoogarBear implied, Dwyer contradicts his reasoning by putting Pau Gasol on the list. He was the pivot in Memphis and even on the Lakers. He played center all of his first year with Bynum injured and continued to play more than half of the season at center last year with Bynum either injured/ineffective.
KD had to resort to insulting me (I'm Art in the chat) by saying I molested collies because I shoved it in his face that the common perception was that Duncan was a PF, whether he liked it or not.
Did a google search, and had to go to the second page to find a list that didn't have Duncan as #1.
duncan is a center. he has played it for the last 6 yrs
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