The 25 greatest power forwards of all time

Rasheed Wallace was a two-time All-Star when the Atlanta Hawks traded him to the Detroit Pistons in early February. Truth be told: It's that transaction that largely lands him a mention here, as the Pistons likely don't upset the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2004 NBA Finals that spring without the versatile power forward who used his long wingspan to block shots and who could randomly get hot from beyond the arc. As of the middle of March 2019, Wallace was 40th all time in career blocks. Far too many remember him for committing 41 technical fouls during a season. 

Evaluations of Antawn Jamison's career are occasionally unfair because of who was selected after him during the 1998 NBA Draft . Vince Carter, Dirk Nowitzki and Paul Pierce were all on the board when Jamison became the fourth pick of that class. Jamison never fully lived up to expectations, but the two-time All-Star who won Sixth Man of the Year for the 2003-04 campaign is one of only 48 players, as of March 2019, to accumulate over 20,000 career points. 

Decades from now, those who watched his every game along with younger fans who missed his whole career will likely still debate where Blake Griffin belongs in such lists and comparisons. Griffin is an odd and complex mix of underrated and overrated: a six-time All-Star with four All-NBA appearances before his 30th birthday who failed to meet expectations as part of the "Lob City" Los Angeles Clippers but who is enjoying a personal career renaissance with the Detroit Pistons. Yes, Griffin could leap out of any gym during his physical prime, but his athleticism has sometimes overshadowed his overall on-the-court abilities. 

Through the middle of the 1990s, Shawn Kemp made six consecutive All-Star appearances and three All-NBA squads. The only reason he and Gary Payton didn't lead the Seattle SuperSonics to championship glory is that they ran into the legendary 72-win Chicago Bulls lineup in the 1996 NBA Finals. Kemp's prime quickly evaporated in the late '90s and early 2000s as he struggled with maintaining his weight and battled personal demons, and he never played in the league again after the 2002-03 campaign. He's one of the greatest in-game dunkers in history. 

Whether or not LaMarcus Aldridge needs to win a ring to cement his legacy is a matter of opinion. From the start of the 2011-12 season through the spring of 2019, Aldridge made seven of eight All-Star squads, and he's been All-NBA on five occasions. It can't be said he was ever the best player in the league or at his position, but the consistent forward will, barring a setback, retire with over 20,000 career points. Winning a title would do wonders for his Hall of Fame candidacy. 

Earlier this year, the Houston Chronicle republished an old article written by Jerome Solomon that makes the case for why Rudy Tomjanovich deserves a spot in the Hall of Fame as a player. From 1974 through 1977, Tomjanovich was a perennial All-Star and averaging over 21 points per game in December '77 until the infamous punch delivered by Kermit Washington derailed Tomjanovich's career momentum and threatened his life. Tomjanovich managed to return to All-Star status for an additional campaign, but he retired in 1981. 

In May 2018, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr unintentionally gave us a look at Draymond Green's mentality when Kerr said Green was "saving himself for the playoffs." The three-time All-Star with four All-Defensive and two All-NBA appearances plays his best ball in the spring when it matters most, both in productivity and in antagonizing the opposition. Green is the type of player you hate unless he features for your favorite team. The 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Year may be a reigning four-time NBA champion had he not gotten himself suspended for Game 5 of the 2016 Finals.  

It appears Tom Chambers' lasting basketball legacy will be that he becomes the initial line that separates good players who tallied over 20,000 career points from those who qualify for the Hall of Fame. The four-time All-Star who was named All-NBA twice was 47th on the all-time scoring list with 20,049 points as of the middle of March. He's also remembered as the Association's first unrestricted free agent. 

Throughout the 1950s, Vern Mikkelsen of the Minneapolis Lakers was an intimidating and physical defender not afraid of doing the dirty work. Mikkelsen led the league in personal fouls for three straight seasons, and he ranked no lower in that category than seventh in seven consecutive years. This isn't to say he was comparable to an old-school hockey goon. The six-time All-Star won four rings and made four All-NBA appearances, and he was only the sixth player in NBA history to reach at least 10,000 career points, according to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

How differently would history view Chris Webber had the Sacramento Kings won the 2002 NBA Finals? The 1994 Rookie of the Year earned five All-Star and five All-NBA nods over a seven-year period, and he was fourth in MVP voting for the 2000-01 season. A knee injury he suffered in the spring of 2003 ended his run as an All-Star player and may ultimately cost him a spot in the Hall of Fame. 

Anthony Davis may become the best player in the league before his 30th birthday. The 26-year-old is a six-time All-Star named All-NBA First Team three times, and he's been the league's best shot-blocker on three occasions. It's a matter of time before Davis wins a first Defensive Player of the Year award. Assuming he'll be able to escape the New Orleans Pelicans in the summer of 2019, his first MVP Trophy also shouldn't be too far ahead. 

Starting in the 1983-84 campaign, Ralph Sampson won Rookie of the Year, was named to four consecutive All-Star squads and was All-NBA Second Team for the 1984-85 season. We likely never saw him at his best during his physical prime because of multiple physical setbacks, most notably knee and back problems. Had his body held up another three or four seasons, Sampson could have been a top-10, all-time power forward. His game-winner that propelled the Houston Rockets to the 1986 NBA Finals still causes goosebumps. 

Standing at 6-foot-6, Dave DeBusschere  was an undersized physical force rarely shy about going toe-to-toe vs. larger competition. The eight-time All-Star known for his defensive prowess earned NBA All-Defensive First Team honors six straight seasons from 1969 through the end of the 1973-74 campaign. A two-time champion with the New York Knicks, DeBusschere averaged a double-double (16.1 PPG, 11.0 RPG) across his 12-year career. 

A seven-time All-Star named All-NBA on five occasions, Jerry Lucas was consistently one of the best rebounders in the game for over a decade who also shot 49.9 percent from the field for his entire career. A trade between the San Francisco Warriors and New York Knicks in 1971 sent Lucas to the Big Apple, where he won his only title as a member of the '73 Knicks that defeated the Lakers. Lucas' RPG average of 15.61 remains good for fourth best on the all-time list. 

Not quite as efficient or physically imposing as the next man on this list, Dolph Schayes was the first all-around great power forward of his era. From the 1950-51 season through 1960-61, Schayes was a walking and breathing double-double, and he made 12 consecutive All-Star squads and received 12 All-NBA honors through the 1961-62 campaign. The league's rebounding leader for 1950-51, Schayes was also the NBA's best free-throw shooter in three different seasons. Per the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, Schayes was first all time in career points when he retired in 1964.

Figurative goal posts are pushed back — or in this case, imaginary rims are raised — regarding these debates and comparisons. When Bob Pettit retired in 1965, he walked away as the undisputed greatest power forward in history as of that time. While with the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks, Pettit won scoring titles for the 1955-56 and 1958-59 campaigns, and the 11-time All-Star with 10 All-NBA First Team nods averaged a double-double every season of his 11-year league tenure. Per the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame , Pettit was first in career points and second in career rebounds when he retired. Only Wilt Chamberlain and Bill Russell are responsible for higher RPG averages (16.22). 

It may not have been until the Memphis Grizzlies traded Pau Gasol to the Los Angeles Lakers in February 2008 that casual fans understood how special the Spaniard was as a big man capable of quarterbacking an offense. In his prime, Gasol could attack the rim with both hands and bury mid-range jumpers, but his vision for creating lanes was vital in helping the Lakers win back-to-back titles. The six-time All-Star with four All-NBA appearances was probably robbed of the 2010 NBA Finals MVP award that instead went to Kobe Bryant. 

Dennis Rodman's antics both on and away from the court have eclipsed his greatness. The five-time champion twice named Defensive Player of the Year is, simply put, the sport's greatest rebounder, and he became so due to an underrated amount of work and studying coupled with sheer will. The seven-time league rebounding champion is 12th all time in RPG, first in all-time offensive rebound percentage and second in all-time rebound percentage. 

In July 2016 Celtics Blog's Professor Parquet offered a homer argument for why Boston Celtics legend Kevin McHale was a better player than Tim Duncan. McHale wasn't, but Charles Barkley has, on multiple occasions, stated that the seven-time All-Star and three-time champion named to six All-Defensive teams was his toughest opponent to face, as Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune wrote. The all-time great off-the-bench contributor is also responsible for one of the most lethal attacking-the-rim moves. 

Questions about Charles Barkley's actual height during his career still exist. NBA.com staff lists Barkley as 6-foot-4, so we're calling the 11-time All-Star named All-NBA 11 times the greatest undersized power forward to ever play the position. The MVP for the 1992-93 season known as "The Round Mound of Rebound" thrice led the league in offensive rebounds, and he finished first in two-point field-goal percentage five straight seasons. He retired the fourth player to total at least 20,000 career points, 10,000 career rebounds and 4,000 assists. His entertaining personality both during and after his playing days shouldn't cause anybody to forget what a force he was for over a decade. 

Elvin Hayes won the scoring title his rookie season when he averaged 28.4 PPG for the 1968-69 season, and he finished sixth in the league with 17.1 RPG. That began a run of Hayes posting 12 consecutive campaigns in which he averaged no fewer than 19.7 PPG and 11.0 RPG. The 12-time All-Star with six All-NBA and three All-Defensive appearances helped the Washington Bullets defeat the Seattle SuperSonics in the 1978 NBA Finals. As Jerome Solomon of the Houston Chronicle wrote, Hayes was the all-time leader in career games and minutes played when he retired after the 1983-84 season. He was third in scoring, rebounding, blocks and converted field goals. 

No player in the sport was better than Kevin Garnett during the 2003-04 season, and he deservedly won MVP that year. The 15-time All-Star with 12 All-Defensive and nine All-NBA appearances led the league in rebounds four straight seasons from the fall of 2003 through the spring of 2007, and he helped change the future of the Association by creating a "Big Three" with the Boston Celtics alongside Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Garnett, David Robinson, Hakeem Olajuwon and Michael Jordan are the only players in history to win MVP and Defensive Player of the Year during their careers, as Alonzo Warond of Fadeaway World explained.  

Dirk Nowitzki set bars and broke barriers as the greatest European import and shooting big man to ever play in the NBA as of his retirement, assuming that he will actually retire before 2030. The 14-time All-Star with 12 All-NBA appearances on his resume was named MVP for the 2006-07 season and the 2011 NBA Finals, and his fadeaway jumper must be considered one of the most unstoppable shots of his time. He's one of only eight players to tally over 30,000 career points. 

Ask somebody to name the greatest scorers in basketball history, and  Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain will likely be among their responses. All Karl Malone did was retire second in all-time career points , a mark he will hold for the foreseeable future unless LeBron James tops it. " The Mailman" tallied 14 All-Star appearances, won a pair of MVP trophies and was named All-NBA First Team an astonishing 11 straight seasons. He and John Stockton remain the league's greatest ever pick-and-roll partnership. 

Referring to Tim Duncan as merely the greatest power forward in history does his career a disservice as does his "The Big Fundamental" nickname. The five-time champion, three-time NBA Finals MVP and two-time league MVP with 15 All-Star and 15 All-NBA appearances was the ultimate team-first athlete of his generation, and Scottie Pippen suggesting Duncan should sit ahead of LeBron James in any all-time NBA first team, as Jim Lefko of WOAI-TV wrote, isn't necessarily a scalding hot take. Just as the introduction ended with a question, so does the piece: Considering who he faced and everything he achieved, shouldn't Duncan be the undisputed greatest big man of all-time as of 2019?