A small forward is a pivotal player in basketball, he must be capable of dominating several facets of the sport and able to contribute different things to the team, but his main function is to score, of course.
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Throughout the history of the NBA, there have been several legendary small forwards, who remained at the top for a long time, recording extraordinary numbers, winning championships, and earning the respect and love of the fans. Their names are etched in the sport's history and will not be forgotten anytime soon. Without further ado, let's take a look at the 10 best small forwards in NBA history.
Honorable mentions: Rick Barry, Paul Arizin, Carmelo Anthony, Bernard King, Grant Hill, Chris Mullin, Vince Carter and Kawhi Leonard.
10 Julius Erving
Julius Erving reached the peak of his career in the ABA, but he still played at a superlative level in the NBA and became one of the best small forwards in the league.
In 702 games as a small forward in the NBA, Erving recorded 22.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 1.9 steals, and 1.6 blocks per game. "Dr. J" is the small forward with the most blocks in NBA history (1,117) and is fifth in Player Efficiency Rating (22.8), with a minimum of 600 games played.
9 Alex English
Denver Nuggets legend Alex English scored 25,613 points, the third most in history among small forwards. In addition, he dished out 4,351 assists, the fifth-highest mark among players at his position, and is eighth in blocks (833).
English played 15 years in the NBA, accumulating 100.7 Win Shares and a Value Over Replacement Player of 38.2. He was an eight-time All-Star, won a scoring title, and was inducted into the NBA Hall Of Fame.
8 John Havlicek
John Havlicek had a brilliant 16-year NBA career. He won eight championships with the Boston Celtics, and he was crucial in most of them. He averaged 20.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 17.5.
Havlicek is top 10 among small forwards in total points (20,694), rebounds (6,256), assists (4,739), and he would have been among the best stealers, but that stat was not recorded during most of his career. “Hondo” was an absolute legend.
7 Adrian Dantley
Adrian Dantley played in the NBA between the 1976-77 and 1990-91 seasons. He was Rookie of the Year, two-time scoring champion, and six-time All-Star. He averaged 24.3 points, 5.7 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
Among small forwards, he is fifth in points (23,177) and eighth in Player Efficiency Rating (21.5). Likewise, he recorded 134.2 Win Shares and 43.8 Value Over Replacement Player.
6 Scottie Pippen
Scottie Pippen was Michael Jordan's loyal squire, and some believe His Airness would not have been as successful without Pippen. Scottie is the small forward with the most steals in NBA history, with 2,307, and only LeBron James has more assists (8,383) than Pippen (6,135) at the position.
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To top it off, Pippen is fourth in rebounds (7,494), fifth in blocks (947), and 12th in points (18,940). Needless to say, he won six championship rings. Scottie Pippen was an exceptional player.
5 Dominique Wilkins
Atlanta Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins also deserves a place on this list. We are talking about a scoring machine, as he scored 26,668 points, the second most all-time for a small forward.
He is also fifth in rebounds, with 7,169, and sixth in Player Efficiency Rating, with 21.6, with a minimum of 600 games. Wilkins averaged 24.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. “Zoid” was a nine-time All-Star and seven-time All-NBA.
4 Elgin Baylor
Elgin Baylor is, by far, the small forward with the most rebounds in NBA history, with 11,463. He is followed by LeBron James (8,528). That insane number of rebounds is because Baylor averaged 13.5 rebounds per game, which is insane.
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But that’s not all, Baylor averaged 27.4 points per game (third highest) and scored 23,149 total points (sixth). “Rabbit” also had a 22.7 Player Efficiency Rating (fifth highest at the position). Believe it or not, Baylor never won a Championship ring.
3 Larry Bird
Larry Bird is one of the greatest players in basketball history. As a small forward, Bird averaged 24.9 points, 10.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.8 steals per game, with a Player Efficiency Rating of 23.9 (third highest at the position). "Larry Legend" grabbed 8,031 rebounds (third), gave up 4,958 dimes (third), and had 1,406 steals (sixth).
No small forward has won more MVP awards than Bird (three). Now imagine if Bird had not played the first few years of his career as a power forward.
2 Kevin Durant
When Kevin Durant reached his peak, he was one of the most dominant players of all time. In fact, he won four scoring titles in a five-year span, averaging 29.3 points per game in that time period. Durant is the small forward with the most scoring titles in NBA history.
"Durantula" already has 24,966 points at the position (third most in history), 1,016 blocks (third), and a 26.1 Player Efficiency Rating (second). KD has been an incredible player.
1 LeBron James
LeBron James is not only the greatest small forward of all time, but he also has a case to be the greatest basketball player of all time. King James is on pace to become the all-time leading scorer in NBA history, is sixth in assists, and is the leader in one of the most useful advanced statistics, Value Over Replacement Player, with 144.6.
James is an 18-time All-Star, four-time MVP, and four-time NBA champion, among many other accomplishments. James just turned 38, but he still plays like he's 25.
