Ranking the top 5 small forwards of the 2023-24 season

Ranking the top 5 small forwards for the 2023-24 season: 2. Jayson Tatum

It is very rare to see a player who has been in the league for six years but is able to continuously get better every single year. Jayson Tatum has done just that and has become a top-10 player in the NBA.

Last season Tatum had the best season of his career averaging a career-high 30.1 points, career career-high 8.8 rebounds, a career-high 4.6 assists, and 1.1 steals while shooting a career-high 46.6 percent from the field, 35 percent from 3, and 85.4 percent form the free throw line. He was selected to the All-NBA first team and led the Boston Celtics to the second-best record in the NBA.

It is almost virtually impossible for him to play any better than what he did last season. The level he played at last year should be the expectation for him this year. 

Jayson Tatum can do just about everything at a high level. Standing at 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-11 wingspan makes him an elite finisher at the rim and it allows him to shoot over his defenders making his shot impossible to guard.

Tatum's large size, wingspan, and quickness allow him to be a great defender as well. He has become one of the best two-way players and one of the best players in the NBA. His biggest weakness is that he tries to be a playmaker and when he does, he turns the ball over a lot. This past season it wasn't as big an issue as it was in the 2022 postseason but his playmaking woes are still a major problem at times.

The reason Tatum isn't No. 1 just yet is that he still hasn't proven he can get it done on the brightest stage. Yes, he's gotten to the Finals but played extremely poorly. The moment he can get it done he'll be number 1 but there is a man older than time himself who is still the best small forward in the NBA.