Top 10 Small Forwards In NBA History as of 2011, Fox Sports

[RRR3]

I would have...

10. Alex English
9. Dominique Wilkins
8. LeBron James
7. James Worthy
6. Rick Barry
5. Scottie Pippen
4. Julius Erving
3. Elgin Baylor
2. John Havlicek
1. Larry Bird

James Worthy over LeBron and Nique? What are you smoking?

[Nick Young]

Carmelo>Pierce

[Asukal]

Lebron doesn't belong in this conversation until he is past his prime.

[RRR3]

Lebron doesn't belong in this conversation until he is past his prime.

Bullshit

[Dave3]

Lebron doesn't belong in this conversation until he is past his prime.

LeBron in his first 7 years in the league did more than any other SF in history other than Bird. 2 MVP's 6 all star appearances, 4 All NBA first, 2 All NBA second, 2 All NBA 1st defense, and leading multiple weak teams to 50/60 win season/deep into the playoffs. And this is purely from the accomplishment side of things. In terms of talent and actual game impact, none of the other small forwards other than Bird can even compete with him. Elgin Baylor competes in terms of volume stats, but that was
a) in the 60's pace/game, which was completely different
b) on terrible efficiency (which was normal then) (had one season of above 50% TS% in his prime)
c) taking up to 33 FGA/game for the season


Don't understand why everyone seems to rank him any lower than 2 or say stuff like "he'll be 2 when he's done"

What have those guys done to put themselves above him?

[rodman91]

i wonder pauk's opinion about this list...

[Dave3]

i wonder pauk's opinion about this list...

That LeBron is 1-10. We all know he's mildly insane about LeBron lol.

[JohnnySic]

[sh0wtime]

That is pretty much spot on, Larry Bird is a top 10 player of all time and Julius Erving, Elgin Baylor, John Havlicek and Lebron James all deserve to be on the top 25 of all time pedestal.

[nbacardDOTnet]

[Odinn]

Alex English should be in top 10. There is a serious fail.

[bagelred]

Where Bernard King be at?

[Legends66NBA7]

LeBron in his first 7 years in the league did more than any other SF in history other than Bird. 2 MVP's 6 all star appearances, 4 All NBA first, 2 All NBA second, 2 All NBA 1st defense, and leading multiple weak teams to 50/60 win season/deep into the playoffs. And this is purely from the accomplishment side of things. In terms of talent and actual game impact, none of the other small forwards other than Bird can even compete with him. Elgin Baylor competes in terms of volume stats, but that was
a) in the 60's pace/game, which was completely different

b) on terrible efficiency (which was normal then) (had one season of above 50% TS% in his prime)

c) taking up to 33 FGA/game for the season

Don't understand why everyone seems to rank him any lower than 2 or say stuff like "he'll be 2 when he's done"

What have those guys done to put themselves above him?

Yeah, efficiency wise, he was above the league average at the time and would be above the average if we adjusted the fg% in today's game. Though, that's not the big case here. I think this puts that 1961-62 season in prespective and exactly why I can see a logical ranking over LeBron:

But Baylor did? have you any idea WHY he shot that much that season? He was in the Army reserve and they called him to serve and he was stationed in Washington. So he could only play when he was on leave which is why he only played 40 something games despite being perfectly healthy. Since he couldnt play every game he went all out to win those he could play and they had an amazing record in the games he played. He would go and drop 40/20/5 damn near every time the Army let him and he helped keep the team going. They had a good season and he was a huge reason for it. Wish I could find the article I read on it once. It was like 7-8 years ago. Long lost. But it was on how respected he was for what he was doing. He would meet them somewhere on leave drop 60 in a big game and be out the same night. They had an ok record even without him but it was great in the games he played if I remember correctly. I know the vast majority of the games he could play were at home(Since he was in washington state...lot easier to get to Cali and back than say...Philly and back). And they went 36-5 at home that year. 18-21 on the road.

Guy was just doing what he had to do. And now people who probably know nothing about him are hating 50 years later over his ****ing points per shot? That man went hard with basketball as his second job at the time and carried them in his off days while also serving in the army. But hes laughable for his PPS?

This stat shit has gone too far. Shit matters more to some people than basketball.

If anything he should be praised for that season. He put in work and did it while also serving his country and leading them to an insane record with him? He got them to within 1 jumper of winning the title that season as a part timer. He flew in from Washington just before the game for the finals. And he had 35, 36, 39, 38, 61, 34, and 41 in the 7 game finals and they lost on a missed shot(not by him) that would have won LA the ring. He got them that close to winning it all. And he couldnt even practice.

But hes a joke for it?

Again, major props to Kblaze.

Also, listen to this video, Baylor was an athlete ahead of his time, when the man couldn't even practice as a part time player:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTCXxjKizog

Elgin Baylor's 61-Point, 22-Rebound Performance Vs. Celtics; Game 5, 1962 NBA Finals:

"The Los Angeles Lakers were making their first Finals appearance and it looked as if they were going to make it a success thanks to Elgin Baylor. The forward poured in a Finals record (and then-playoffs record) 61 points against the Celtics in the Boston Garden, giving the Lakers a 3-2 series lead."


And yes, we all know about LeBron's performances in the Finals. Man has yet to even crank more than 25 points in a finals game. Baylore put his heart on the floor, even under the circumstance he was under.

[Miller for 3]

LeBron is not the second greatest small forward to ever play. Will he be? More than likely but it is a little pre-mature to make such a statement.


I really don't agree with LBJ being above Barry. Barry single handily won his team a championship in 75, which is a better accomplishment than anything LeBron has ever done. Barry should be above LeBron and in the top 5.

1. Bird
2. Dr. J
3. Hondo
4. Barry
5. LeBron
6. Pippen
7. Baylor
8. Worthy
9. Pierce
10. Wilkins

Nice list. Pretty much the same as mine except I would switch Worthy with Dominique

[Jasi]

29 posts in this thread and only one mention of Bernard King.

Shame on you guys.