While every position in the NBA has undergone change over time, perhaps none have seen their importance grow more than the small forward spot.
In today’s NBA, small forwards are tasked with guarding the opposition’s top scorer, distributing the ball to teammates, knocking down shots, attacking the rim, rebounding…just about everything.
With that in mind, we breakdown the top small forwards in the 2015 NBA Draft.
1.) Justise Winslow
No one else in his this of SFs has his combination of size, athleticism, skill, and competitiveness. Winslow is one of those guys where it’s hard to quantify his impact on a game, but by the end, everyone knows just how important he was. With his outside shot showing consistent improvement over the past year, Winslow continues to show NBA GMs that he is much, much more than the Michael Kidd-Gilchrist comparison that so often gets thrown his way.
2.) Stanley Johnson
Stan The Man is one of the most physical players in this class, on both ends. He’s so physically mature and hasn’t lost much of his explosion in the process of working on his body. He’s not an elite athlete, but certainly one of the most functional athletes at his position, and his skill level is improving by the day. Defensively, he projects as a menace for years to come.
3.) Kelly Oubre Jr.
No one has better measurables than Oubre Jr., and no one in this class showed more perseverance through adversity. In beginning of the season, he could barely get on the court for Kansas, yet by the end was perhaps their most important player. With his length and improving shot, Oubre could be a guy we revisit in four years and wonder how they went so low in the Draft.
4.) Sam Dekker
Dekker can knock down shots, make plays off the dribble, and defend at a high level. Still, there are questions about his consistency as someone with his raw talent and physical gifts is expected to dominate on a nightly basis at the college level. Some say it was the system he played in, others will say that Dekker just doesn’t have the mindset to dominate. Either way, he’s an intriguing talent for the late Lottery.
5.) Rondae Hollis-Jefferson
Think of a poor man’s Justise Winslow, and that’s what you have in Hollis-Jefferson. An elite defender, rebounder, and x-factor guy, he is the type of player that every team needs on its roster if it wants to win big. However, his lack of development on the offensive end is concerning and continues to hold him back from fulfilling his true talent level.
