NBA: Ranking 30 best power forwards for 2019-20

That P.J. Tucker, at age 34, finds himself on a list of starting power forwards in the NBA speaks not only to Tucker’s ability to change his game, but also to the way the NBA game itself has changed since Tucker was drafted in the second round of the 2006 NBA Draft … as a shooting guard/small forward hybrid.

In a career that included five years in such exotic locales as Israel, Ukraine, Greece, Italy and Germany, Tucker made it back to the NBA in 2012 as a wing for the Phoenix Suns. Since going to the Houston Rockets as a free agent in 2017, Tucker has emerged as a small-ball 4.

Primarily a defender, Tucker now carries 245 pounds on his 6-foot-6 frame. Last season, he averaged 7.3 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.6 steals in 34.2 minutes per game, shooting 39.6 percent overall and 37.7 percent on 4.7 3-point attempts per game.

Tucker knows his role within Houston’s system and embraces it. He finds a spot in the corner and if the ball comes to him, he lets it fly. Of his 523 attempts last season, 74 percent were from 3-point range and 70.3 percent of his deep tries were corner 3s.

He hasn’t missed a game since coming to the Rockets and logged a career-high 2,802 minutes last season in his age-33 campaign.

His returns might be diminishing a bit, however. The Rockets were 1.5 points per 100 possessions better with Tucker off the floor last season, a huge shift from them being 5.9 points better per 100 possessions with him during their 65-win campaign in 2017-18.

But Tucker is still a defensive presence and a pest, drawing 35 charges last season.

He may not have a classic build for a power forward, but in Houston’s version of pace and extreme space, Tucker fits.