With a new NBA season approaching, it’s time to rank the league’s 30 starting small forwards for the upcoming 2017-18 campaign.
In the NBA’s modern era of small-ball, where 3-point shots reign supreme, traditional positions have drastically changed. Point guards are still relatively the same other than getting taller and more athletic, but “wings” can now define positions 2-4, while 4s and 5s are expected to play both inside and out — on both ends of the floor.
Because of this, the small forward spot is often played by 3s and traditional 2s, with shooting guards of old moving up a position to better suit small-ball lineups built around versatility, perimeter shooting and speed.
However, for the sake of classification within a starting lineup, small forwards are a little easier to identify. The question is, how does each team’s starting main wing stack up to the rest of the NBA? In an attempt to answer that question, it’s time to rank all 30 starting small forwards for the upcoming 2017-18 NBA season.
Starting lineups often change, particularly once teams start to tan — or, “strategically rest” their players. For these rankings, however, we’re going to make the executive decision based on which players will likely spend most of the season — or at least start the season — with the starting group.
To clarify, these rankings are based on projections for the upcoming season, not past accomplishments or their current standing entering the 2017-18 campaign. They are also not projections for fantasy basketball, or based on any one specific stat.
Instead, these rankings take a number of factors under consideration, including expected statistical output, potential team success, opportunity, health, contract, experience, two-way impact, likelihood of keeping their starting job and to a minimal degree, potential playoff success.
With all of this in mind, here are our rankings for the NBA’s top 30 starting small forwards in 2017-18.