NBA All-time Player Tiers: The 20 greatest small forwards ever, ranked

Tier 1: The greatest of all time

1) LeBron James 

In a tier all to himself is Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. James has clearly separated himself from the pack, or herd if you will, to ensure his place in NBA history. James will soon start his 22nd season in the NBA and has already become the NBA's all-time leading scorer as well as the first player to eclipse 40,000 points. 

Considering that it took more than 30 years for someone to break the previous all-time scoring record of 38,383 points, it's possible that it could take equally as long for someone to surpass LeBron. James has already racked up four league MVPs, and four Final MVPs, won an NBA Cup, and has made a record 20 all-star teams.

With little left to accomplish, his continuing to put up big numbers would allow him to make a run for the greatest of all-time, with some already putting him ahead of Michael Jordan. He has two fewer championships but that should not be the end all be all in that debate, with LeBron having far better longevity. We will save that conversation for later but LeBron is the undisputed greatest small forward ever.