Small Forward Rankings: 2024

Tiering out the landscape of 50 NBA Small Forwards

What is a Small Forward?

Through the last decade, the distinction between Small Forward and Power Forward has become increasingly murky. In general, I view SF as the more skilled and mobile position. Traits such as ball handling, shot creation, switchability and point-of-attack defense are more likely to be indicative of a Small Forward usually.

Even within these distinctions, there are several players who could reasonably classify as either a Small Forward or Power Forward.

As always, the goal of this exercise is to tier out players alongside those of similar talent and/or role—with distinctions made between tiers rather than inside tiers.

All stats listed below are measured Per 75 Possessions.

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Tier 9: End of Rotation

Ranks 44-49

• Cam Whitmore

• Joe Ingles

• Saddiq Bey

• Matisse Thybulle

• Cedi Osman

• Julian Champagnie

  

This group consists of strictly regular season backups—serviceable as the 10th man in a serious rotation. Champagnie is the closest you’ll get to the 3-and-D in this tier.

Cam Whitmore is one of the purest gunners in the league as a rookie. If he can rein in his shot selection just a bit to bump up his TS%, he’ll become a key contributor very soon.

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Tier 8: Reserves

Ranks 37-43

• Caleb Martin

• Sam Hauser

• Corey Kispert

• Aaron Wiggins

• Isaac Okoro

• Ausar Thompson

• Christian Braun

This next tier gets into the higher upside one-way players such as Corey Kispert, Ausar Thompson and Christian Braun — with more flashes of two-way play from Caleb Martin, Sam Hauser and Aaron Wiggins.

I’d count on most of these players to be the 8th guy in a serious playoff rotation

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Tier 7: Key Reserves

Ranks 30-36

• Kelly Oubre

• De’Andre Hunter

• Derrick Jones Jr

• Keldon Johnson

• Jaime Jaquez

• Andrew Wiggins

• Josh Giddey

  

As we trend upward, you’ll notice a steady climb in two-way presence. While imperfect, Oubre, Hunter, Jones Jr and Wiggins are noteable two-way upgrades in this tier.

In general, most teams are probably happy to have any of these players as their third wing in the rotation.

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Tier 6: Bit Starter / 6th Man

Ranks 24-29

• Klay Thompson

• Simone Fontecchio

• Aaron Nesmith

• Josh Hart

• Brandon Miller

• Naji Marshall

Depending on surrounding talent, this group can reasonably start on a competitive team. If you can’t start them, it probably means you have a killer wing pairing ahead of them, and are thrilled to have any of these guys as the 6th man.

Notice the steady increase in three-point attempt rates as we climb tiers!

I’m probably punching a tier high on Brandon Miller as of August 2024 — but I’m a firm believer in his rapid ascent as a three-level scorer, and think he’s an obvious NBA starter as soon as next season

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Tier 5: Starters

Ranks 17-23

• Lu Dort

• Deni Avdija

• Dillon Brooks

• Trey Murphy

• Herb Jones

• Jaden McDaniels

• Amen Thompson

The best two-way tier on this list. You’ve got genuine All-Defense upside across the board — with the exception of Trey Murphy, who is an elite fast-twitch athlete, as well as one of the five best shooters at this position.

Like my assessment of Brandon Miller, I might be one tier too high on Amen Thompson — but he’s a jump shot away from being the most obvious All-Star candidate of my SFs ranked 17-50. His athleticism, smothering defense, and legitimate point guard skills make him an easy prospect to believe in.

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Tier 4: High Level Starters

Ranks 13-16

• Keegan Murray

• Michael Porter

• RJ Barrett

• Khris Middleton

This next tier ascends past the standard 3-and-D archetype without being serious All-Star contenders.

Middleton and Barrett take on more of a creation role; Porter leverages his size as one of the league’s best jump shooters; Murray is one of the league’s premiere 3-and-D wings.

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Tier 3: Sub-All-Stars

Ranks 8-12

• Mikal Bridges

• OG Anunoby

• Brandon Ingram

• DeMar DeRozan

• Jalen Williams

Aside from OG Anunoby, who’s the best 3-and-D wing in the world by a substantial margin, the sub-all-star tier consists of more reliable secondary creators in the halfcourt.

Generating efficient offense in the halfcourt is the single most coveted superstar skill in basketball — and we finally start to see more of that in this tier.

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Tier 2: All-Stars

Ranks 5-7

• Jaylen Brown

• Jimmy Butler

• Paul George

Just short of the superstars, Brown, Butler and George make up a trio of premiere secondary options on a championship-level team.

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Tier 1: Superstars

Ranks 1-4

• LeBron James

• Kevin Durant

• Kawhi Leonard

• Jayson Tatum

No matter how many folks try to dispute it, Tatum belongs in this top superstar tier. He plays more minutes and misses less time than everyone else, has worked into an equally rated or better distributor, and is the most impactful defensive player here.

(yes you could reasonably call LeBron, Durant and Tatum Power Forwards at this point of their careers)

If you were to do an overall player ranking, this group probably clocks in somewhere in the 6-10 range.

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Thanks again for reading!

Graphics are back after high demand despite the added time it takes to make them—so I appreciate your patience as I push these lists out.