Positional Power Rankings: 30 best power forwards in the NBA
By John Buhler
Ersan Ilyasova
Power Forward, Atlanta Hawks
After spending most of his young NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks, Turkish power forward Ersan Ilyasova has played on five different NBA teams in the last two seasons. This doesn’t mean he is washed up. It’s quite the opposite in fact. Teams value his versatility coming off the bench.
Ilyasova’s third NBA team this season is the Atlanta Hawks. He began the year with the Oklahoma City Thunder before spending most of it with the Philadelphia 76ers. Ilyasova has proven that he can be an eighth man in an NBA rotation, capable of playing either forward position.
His 3-point shooting has made Ilyasova such a viable stretch-4 to come off the bench of a good team. He can spot start at the three or four if need be, but is a key member of a frontcourt rotation wherever he goes.
In short, Ilyasova is a high-floor, low-ceilinged player. What you see is what you get out of him. He can be plugged in and play in any system quickly thanks to an above-average basketball IQ. The biggest issue with him is that Ilyasova needs minutes to get into a rhythm. He’s not dynamic enough to start for a good team and tends to take up playing time for young players on the come-up.
That being said, Ilyasova is only 29-years old. He can play at this level in the NBA for the next three or four years. Ilyasova seems to be a team-first player, willing to pivot at a moment’s notice. Perhaps he could extend his NBA career well past his prime like Vince Carter and Luis Scola did by being smarter than most above the shoulders?