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NBA Rankings: The 5 best power forwards in basketball

By Brad Rowland

New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) is fouled by Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) after securing a rebound following a free throw attempt during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Clippers 98-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
New Orleans Pelicans forward Anthony Davis (23) is fouled by Los Angeles Clippers forward Blake Griffin (32) after securing a rebound following a free throw attempt during the fourth quarter of a game at the Smoothie King Center. The Pelicans defeated the Clippers 98-96. Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) defends as San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) looks to pass during the second quarter in game four of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports
Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka (9) defends as San Antonio Spurs forward Tim Duncan (21) looks to pass during the second quarter in game four of the Western Conference Finals of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at Chesapeake Energy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Alonzo Adams-USA TODAY Sports /

Honorable Mentions (In alphabetical order)

  • Tim Duncan, San Antonio Spurs – Okay, this one is a little painful. By all accounts, Duncan is the best power forward to ever walk the earth (check the numbers, kids), but at this point, he has playing less than 30 minutes per game and skipping enough time to fall out of the top-5. Because many would argue that he is a center, it would have been easy to place him among the game’s best at that spot, but when the team lists you at power forward and pays Tiago Splitter $9 million a year, you’re a power forward. On a per-game basis, he is near the top of this list, but given his age at what is an utterly loaded position, we’ll land Timmy here. Oh, and he still should have won the 2014 NBA Finals MVP… at thirty-eight years old.
  • Kenneth Faried, Denver Nuggets – Despite being a less-than-ideal fit with new head coach Brian Shaw, the 24-year-old Faried still managed to put up big-time numbers in Denver last season. He is one of the best pure rebounders in the league, thanks to an insane motor that never ceases, and with a little more development offensively, he could ascend a few pegs on this list.
  • Serge Ibaka, Oklahoma City Thunder – Ibaka is a tough exclusion, and frankly, he is probably more of a center. However, Scott Brooks has insisted on playing Kendrick Perkins extended minutes, and that has left Ibaka to dominate at the four-spot. Ibaka is arguably the best pure shot-blocker in the league (2.7 per game last season), but more than that, he has turned into an automatic shooter from the mid-range who continues to develop on the offensive end.
  • Paul Millsap, Atlanta Hawks – Millsap was recently cut by the USA Basketball team, but make no mistake, he very much belongs in this discussion. After the injury to Al Horford, Millsap strapped Atlanta to his back on the way to his first All-Star appearance, and the undersized power forward from Louisiana Tech averaged nearly 18 points and 9 rebounds per game in an unselfish system.
  • Zach Randolph, Memphis Grizzlies – Z-Bo is probably on the downside of his career at this point, but he is still wildly effective. Randolph’s combination of low-to-the-ground moves and fallaway jumpers is unguardable at times, and he averaged a double-double despite being a secondary option at times in Memphis. Randolph may be 33 years old, but he can still play.
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