The Best Small Forwards Of The 2017-18 NBA Season
Who were the best NBA small forwards in 2017-18?
Slower, stronger small forwards have graduated to power forwards in the age of small ball. So the three spot has quickly become the league’s shallowest position. Just ask Otto Porter, a perfectly fine small forward who landed a max contract. Or ask one of the larger-side shooting guards tasked with shutting down the league’s biggest and best on the wing. So here’s our list of the best NBA small forwards in this rapidly changing hoops environment. (For more reviews of the 2017-18 NBA season, check out our center and point guard rankings, as well as our lists of the most underrated and overrated players in the league.)20. Wesley Matthews
Thanks to the lack of depth at the position, the pickings were slim for the end of our list of small forwards. Though he’s slowed significantly with age, Matthews can still bang it in from deep, hitting 2.4 threes at a 38.1 percent clip in 2017-18. A valuable decision-maker, he dished 2.
7 assists per game to just 1.3 turnovers.
19. Tim Hardaway
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Hardaway is a guard by trade, but limited depth at small forward forced him into the role — which, you’ll find, goes for a lot of guys on this list. He scored 17.5 points per game in 2017-18, though he wasn’t a very efficient shooter.
Still, he took good care of the ball relative to how often he had it, turning the ball over 1.6 times a game while dishing 2.7 assists. He wasn’t much of a factor on the defensive end, however.
18. E’Twaun Moore
Another guy, like Tim Hardaway, playing out of position. Though undersized and next to zero help on the boards, Moore’s a tough defender and had easily his most efficient season, posting a scorching 59.
3 true shooting percentage alongside Anthony Davis, according to Basketball Reference (from where all stats on this list were culled).
17. T.J. Warren
The 24-year-old sneakily put up 19.6 points per game in his fourth NBA season. But he showed he still can’t shoot, and while he collected defensive stats, he wasn’t much of a deterrent on that end.
If he’s not gonna improve in either of those areas, the next step in his development is to master the art of drawings fouls so he can up his efficiency.