Top 10 Forwards of All Time

[mdonnelly1989]

Peak + Prime + Longevity + Career


#1. Lebron 99/100

#2A. Tim Duncan 97/100
#2B. Larry Bird 97/100

#4. KG 96/100
#5. KD 96/100

#6. Dr. J 95/100
#7. Charles Barkley 95/100
#8. Karl Malone 95/100
#9. Dirk 95/100

#10. Elgin Baylor 94/100


Honorable Mention: Scottie Pippen, Kevin McHale, Kawhi Leonard,

[Dutchball97]

1. LeBron James
2. Tim Duncan
3. Larry Bird
4. Kevin Garnett
5. Julius Erving
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Kevin Durant
8. Karl Malone
9. Charles Barkley
10. Bob Pettit

[penbeast0]

Pettit was equal to or superior to Elgin Baylor during the years they were both playing . . . he played with more consistency, missed less games, and played better defense as well as being the more efficient scorer and better rebounder though they were clearly the best two forwards in the NBA. And, before Baylor came into the league, Pettit had a stretch as the NBA's best player where Baylor was always 2nd tier behind Russell and/or Wilt plus Oscar and West.

[Colbinii]

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Dirk Nowitzki
4. Larry Bird
5. Karl Malone
6. Julius Erving
7. Bob Pettit
8. Charles Barkley
9. Kevin Durant
10. Scottie Pippen

*Duncan would be #2 but I've come around to classifying him as a Center.

[Narigo]

1.LeBron James
2.Tim Duncan
3.Larry Bird
4.Karl Malone
5.Kevin Garnett
6.Dirk Nowitzki
7.Julius Erving
8.Charles Barkley
9.Kevin Durant
10.Bob Pettit

[dygaction]

1.LeBron James
2.Tim Duncan
3.Larry Bird
4.Kevin Durant
5.Dirk Nowitzki
6.Karl Malone
7.Julius Erving
8.Kevin Garnett
9.Charles Barkley
10.Elgin Baylor

[70sFan]

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Larry Bird
4. Julius Erving
5. Karl Malone
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Charles Barkley
8. Kevin Durant
9. Bob Pettit
10. Rick Barry

I consider Duncan to be 3rd best center ever.

[penbeast0]

Barry over Baylor? Man, 1975 was a disaster not just for the Bullets but for league history, lol.

[Cavsfansince84]

1. LeBron
2. Bird
3. Dirk
4. KG
5. Erving
6. Malone
7. Barkley
8. Pettit
9. KD
10. Hondo

Also leaving Duncan off

[70sFan]

Barry over Baylor? Man, 1975 was a disaster not just for the Bullets but for league history, lol.

Better longevity, I don't rank players based on rings won.

[HeartBreakKid]

1) Lebron James
2) Kevin Garnett
3) Larry Bird (Tim Duncan would go here if we want to slot him in as a center instead)
4) Julius Erving
5) Dirk Nowitzki

6) Kawhi Leonard
7) Kevin Durant
8) Charles Barkley
9) Bob Pettit
10) Elgin Baylor

Malone and Davis maybe over Baylor. I'm not a longevity guy.

[Statlanta]

Tim Duncan
LeBron James
Larry Bird
Dirk Nowitzki
Karl Malone
Kevin Garnett
Julius Erving
Charles Barkley
Kevin Durant
Scottie Pippen

[Jaivl]

1. LeBron James
2. Tim Duncan
3. Kevin Garnett
4. Larry Bird
5. Dirk Nowitzki
6. Karl Malone
7. Julius Erving
8. Bob Pettit
9. Charles Barkley
10. Kevin Durant

Durant would be #8 if also counting this season.

[penbeast0]

Barry over Baylor? Man, 1975 was a disaster not just for the Bullets but for league history, lol.

Better longevity, I don't rank players based on rings won.

No, but it changed his narrative and you, like most of us, don't rank off stats alone. Before 75, Barry was seen by many as a selfish, stat obsessed loser, for better or worse. Think Carmelo (though Barry was always a strong playmaker). He had never made much headway playing with Nate Thurmond who was seen as one of the NBA's top players, he went to the very early ABA and while he dominated statistically, the only title he won was when he was injured halfway in and his team went ahead and won anyway with Larry Brown and Doug Moe leading the charge. Then 1975 happened and people started seeing the strong parts of his game. Think what would have happened in Carmelo had won a title with Chauncey Billups. Then the thinking would have been that he had never had a good supportive cast around him but if he did, he could be lead a team to a title.

[countryboy667]

Where's JERRY LUCAS? List is TOTALLY BOGUS without him. Duncan was a great player--love his game. But he played primarily as a 5. IMO, Garnett doesn't touch that list. Same for Dirk. Also, a matter of choice, but I don't feel it's appropriate to put people whose careers are not yet over on any all-time list.

[TroubleS0me]

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Larry Bird
4. Julius Erving
5. Karl Malone
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Charles Barkley
8. Kevin Durant
9. Bob Pettit
10. Rick Barry

I consider Duncan to be 3rd best center ever.

Barkley over Durant why

[70sFan]

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Larry Bird
4. Julius Erving
5. Karl Malone
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Charles Barkley
8. Kevin Durant
9. Bob Pettit
10. Rick Barry

I consider Duncan to be 3rd best center ever.

Barkley over Durant why

Because he has better longevity and durability. He's also probably a bit better player at his peak.

[Colbinii]

1. LeBron James
2. Kevin Garnett
3. Larry Bird
4. Julius Erving
5. Karl Malone
6. Dirk Nowitzki
7. Charles Barkley
8. Kevin Durant
9. Bob Pettit
10. Rick Barry

I consider Duncan to be 3rd best center ever.

Barkley over Durant why

5 people in this thread have Barkley over Durant, most within 1 spot

Most of those same people are likely in the camp of "If Durant has a great post-season this year he leap frogs Barkley".

It's definitely close, both were weak MVP candidates for 3-5 years and had another 4-5 years of all-nba first team level play.

[G35]

Duncan
Lebron
Bird
Erving
Malone
Barkley
Nowitzki
Durant
Barry
Baylor

[jdzimme3]

Tier 1
Lebron
Bird
Duncan

Tier 2
Garnett
Dr J
Durant
Malone
Barkley
Dirk

I will leave it at 9 because that is where tier 2 stops for me. I am sure there are older guys I should put consider that I didnt