[high floorParticipant]

Now that FA is winding down, we’re nearing the peak ‘slow’ season of the NBA…. so let’s spice up the forum with a good ole’ comparison thread! Which era of ALL-NBA power fowards were your favorite in league history? Which decades had the most talent? The least talent? Etc…….

 1980’s (not including Bird, B King, J Erving)

• Kevin McHale
• Larry Nanace
• Ralph Sampson

1990’s

• Karl Malone
• Charles Barkley
• Shawn Kemp
• Larry Johnson

2000’s

• Tim Duncan
• Kevin Garnett
• Dirk Nowitzki 
• Chris Webber

2010’s

• Kevin Love
• Blake Griffin
• Chris Bosh
• Anthony Davis

[Lotto StudParticipant]

 2000’s; that’s when the versatility was birthed for the big guys extending themselves away from the block.

[ChewyParticipant]

 i feel like this could depend a lot on your age. I liked the 2000 group because they were so skilled, especially as passers. Teams could run their entire offense through them. That doesn’t happen much in this spread it out small ball era. 

Jokic for Denver has that passing ability that I liked watching from Webber. There’s something about a big guy threading the needle between 2-3 defenders or throwing a behind the back pass that’s entertaining.

 

[Stephen A. BaylessParticipant]

Probably slightly biased because that’s the era I grew up in watching the game but just those battles were amazing. You also had Rasheed Wallace, Elton Brand, Jermaine O’Neal, Antoine Walker, Jamison who were all All-Stars themselves. Malone was still productive, Z-Bo was already dominating and you had players like Abdul-Rahim that could ball out on anyone.

It also seemed like players spent more time actually matched up with each other on both ends. You had to have one of those dominant PF’s to win it seemed or at least a defensive specialist at that position and hope to slow them down a bit. 

[CoachWyersParticipant]

 Favorite 90’s.

Talent in terms of Decade Ranking:

1. 2000’s
2. 1990’s
3. 1980’s
4. 2010’s

 

 

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 As much as I like Larry Johnson, he really only had 3 or so really good years. Kemp’s in a similar boat. Derek Coleman had a better career than both in terms of individual production.

The 2000’s is without question the best era of PF’s. Webber, Brand, Nowitzki, Stoudamire, Duncan, Garnett…. There were at least 5 dude’s in the MVP running every year. The talent was unreal.

 

[mavsatxParticipant]

I’d like to add rasheed wallace into the mix, he was damn good 

[holefillers1Participant]

 Antonio  McDyess pre-injury was a beast.  I thought he was headed for greatness.

[Dazzling Dunks and Basketball BloopersParticipant]

Imo the pf position was probably at its peak in the 2000s. Guys like Duncan, Nowitzki, Garnett and Webber really revolutionized the game with their skill sets and were among the best overall players in the league. Than you had other guys like Stoudamire, brand, boozer, gasol, David west who were consistently making all-star teams every year. That was really the last era of basketball where teams typically played 2 bigs together. Pretty much all of those players would primarily play center in today’s game.

The position has arguably become more devalued than ever in today’s game, now that teams primarily play only one big surrounded by 4 perimeter oriented players. There are still a few guys like Aldridge, love, griffin that fit the traditional pf mold, but even those guys have been forced to alter their games to adapt. Most teams now don’t even employ a traditional pf, and if they do they primarily play them at center. 

  

[timinator1Participant]

 I’m not sure many of these 1990s and 2000s PFs could hang with the skill level of the 1980s guys. These guys were a true combination of rugged power and savvy skill. Plus some of them were off the charts athletically.

The 80’s PFs get overlooked sometimes. A refresher: Kevin McHale, Ralph Sampson, Larry Nance Sr, Charles Barkely, Xavier McDaniel, Tom Chambers, Buck Williams, Charley Oakley, Truck Robinson, Jamaal Wilkes (SF/PF hybrid), Bobby Jones (SF/PF Hybrid), Bill Laimbeer, Kurt Rambis and Mo Lucas. That group can stack up against anyone, anytime.

Maybe it just depends on which NBA you are playing in…the classic era or the three ball era.

 

[whiteflashParticipant]

 You’re severely overestimating the 80’s crew. Barkley, Malone and McHale are three of the best to ever do it, but everyone else on your list was was second tier or lower. Chambers, for example, was a great scorer but didn’t pass or rebound. Nance was a good scorer who never averaged more than nine boards a game. McDaniel only played PF for two seasons, etc…. Lucas, Oakley and Laimbeer were fairly unskilled enforcers. You could’ve thrown Michael Cage in there, ’cause at least he could rebound.

[timinator1Participant]

 Calling Laimbeer an unskilled enforcer is unkind at best. He scored most of his points working in the high post or beyond. Just because he was a tough guy down low doesn’t make that the sum total of his game. Same with many of the guys you ref above. Chambers, Buck Williams and Ralph Sampson made All NBA teams in the 1980s. They were better than you think.

[whiteflashParticipant]

 Laimbeer was a good rebounder who had 5 seasons between 15-17pts a night who didn’t contribute much else aside from enforcing. Buck Williams was the exact same but had seven seasons between 15-18ppg. Ralph Sampson was soft as Charmin and was a good scorer and ok rebounder but way below where he should’ve been. Chambers was a damn good scorer for a few years who didn’t do much else. Again, you’re severely overestimating these guys in relation to who they’re being compared to here.

[HobbyOGParticipant]

 2000’s it change the mold of today’s PF’s to shoot 3’s, elbow jumpers, push the ball, etc. not just back ot the basic….Not sure if he was an all-star but Rasheed Wallace was also a verstile PF.  Great post by the way. 

 

 

[KIP BallerParticipant]

 2000’s PF’s were amazing. Outside or Malone and maybe Barkley, those 2000’s guys are the all-time greats imo (and all champions except for Webber). Plus, as mentioned previously, there were a lot of other all-starlevel guys like Rasheed, J-O’neal, etc that were high level all-stars as well.

[whiteflashParticipant]

Barkley is definitely on that list. He might be the best individual PF of all time. 

[The GoatParticipant]

 2000s just over the 90s. Throw in Amare, Elton Brand, ‘Sheed, even Kenyon Martin and Juwan Howard were all star level. 

1990s could also include Rodman, Horace Grant, Derrick Coleman. Great era. 

 

[BlueRivers25Participant]

Christian Laettner

[SeattleSuperChronicsParticipant]

Don’t forget Amari stoudomire in that 2000’s era

[nath09Participant]

 Kemp and Johnson out, Webber and Rodman in to the 90s and that is my favourite.

Also we just need to at least mention James Worthy.

Hard to argue against the skill of those 2000 guys though isn/t it? 

Good post.

 

 

 

 

 

[CU.LIONSParticipant]

 

Shame that there is NOT a single mention of Ben Wallace. Multiple DPOY and a rebounding machine who was the heart of one of the biggest upsets in NBA championship history.

 

[Author]

Posts