Ranking NBA starting small forwards — 3. Jayson Tatum, Celtics
Jayson Tatum has cemented himself as a top-20 NBA player at the very least, with plenty of room (and time) to grow into a perennial MVP candidate. He’s already one of the NBA’s most polished isolation scorers at 23 years old, blending size, trickery, skill, and plain ol’ shooting touch like very few players can. For the season, he’s averaging 25.2 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on .415/.317/.844 splits.
It hasn’t even been a particularly dominant season for Tatum, who is the centerpiece of a Celtics team that looks dead in the water. It’s not for lack of trying on his part, of course. Tatum carries a large burden for a team that can’t always get out of its own way. His percentages should creep back up over time, and at 6-foot-8, it’s important to remember Tatum’s capacity for elite defense on top of his prolific scoring output.
Ranking NBA starting small forwards — 2. Jimmy Butler, Heat
Jimmy Butler continues to defy Father Time. At 32 years old, Butler is still a borderline top-10 player, leading one of the East’s primary contenders on both sides of the ball. Butler can carry an offense by himself, or blend into the background, using his elite court vision and feel to elevate teammates. On defense, very few players are more disruptive. He’s averaging 1.9 steals per game, right back near the top of the NBA leaderboard.
With season averages of 21.7 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 5.8 assists on .485/.234/.877 splits, Butler has been his typically dominant self. The 3-point shot remains a glaring hole, but it’s pretty much his only hole. Butler is automatic inside the arc, with the patience of a grizzled veteran point guard and the explosive scoring capacity of the NBA’s foremost MVP candidates. He is also perhaps the most clutch player on the planet, depending on who you ask and which stats you look at.
Ranking NBA starting small forwards — 1. Kawhi Leonard, Clippers
Kawhi Leonard probably won’t play this season, and if he does, we can hardly expect a full workload. That said — even with a surplus of injuries on his resumé and severe durability concerns both short and long-term — the top spot is essentially Leonard’s to lose. Until further notice, we cannot in good conscious count him out. Whenever Leonard is healthy and engaged, he has as good a case as anyone for the title of NBA’s best player.
Last season, the 30-year-old averaged 24.8 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 5.2 assists on .512/.398/.885 splits. Leonard is strong, with a jumper that no one can quite reach up top and virtually unmatched footwork. He just finds ways to get loose for points, even against the NBA’s most ardent wing defenders. To make matters more impressive, he is also arguably the NBA’s top wing defender on the other side of the ball. There isn’t really a weak point in his game. It’s all a matter of health moving forward.