The power forward position has continued to evolve, with the classic big-bodied power forward giving way to more athletic, and often, skilled players who are spending more time playing on the perimeter, though this year’s group is a step back in some ways from last year’s strong group.
I’ll be looking at players who are potential first/early second round players at each position, with their numbers in areas that are relevant to their position, as well as first round picks from 2014 and 2015 at the same positions. The idea isn’t to draw clear-cut conclusions, but it is an interesting exercise to get familiar with this year’s class, and to help gather useful information to examine further.
Check out the previous position comparisons: PGs | SGs | SFs
| Name | Ht. | Wt. | Age | Pts/40 | FG% | 3FG% | TS% | OReb% | DReb% | TReb% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Marquese Chriss | 6'9 | 225 | 18 | 22.1 | 53 | 35 | 58.5 | 9.8 | 11.6 | 10.7 |
| Deyonta Davis | 6'10 | 240 | 19 | 16.1 | 59.8 | - | 60.1 | 13.5 | 19 | 16.5 |
| Cheick Diallo | 6'9 | 220 | 19 | 16 | 56.9 | - | 57.2 | 10.5 | 27 | 19.4 |
| Henry Ellenson | 6'11 | 245 | 19 | 20.3 | 44.6 | 28.8 | 53.4 | 7.8 | 24.2 | 16.5 |
| Brice Johnson | 6'10 | 230 | 21 | 24.2 | 61.4 | - | 64.9 | 11.7 | 28.5 | 20.4 |
| Skal Labissiere | 6'11 | 225 | 20 | 16.7 | 51.6 | - | 54 | 7.3 | 14.6 | 11.2 |
| Domantas Sabonis | 6'11 | 240 | 19 | 22 | 61.1 | 35.7 | 65.4 | 11.7 | 28.2 | 20.7 |
| Ben Simmons | 6'10 | 240 | 19 | 22 | 56 | 33.3 | 60 | 9.6 | 26.8 | 18.2 |
| Trey Lyles (2015) | 6'10 | 235 | 19 | 15.1 | 48.8 | 13.8 | 54.3 | 9.9 | 16.1 | 13.3 |
| Bobby Portis (2015) | 6'11 | 242 | 20 | 23.4 | 53.6 | 46.7 | 58.2 | 13.6 | 20.2 | 16.8 |
| Jarell Martin (2015) | 6'10 | 236 | 20 | 19.3 | 50.9 | 26.9 | 56.5 | 9.7 | 18.1 | 14.1 |
| Larry Nance, Jr (2015) | 6'9 | 235 | 22 | 18.4 | 51.4 | 33.3 | 58.1 | 6 | 21.1 | 14.1 |
| Chris McCullough (2015) | 6'10 | 220 | 20 | 13.2 | 47.8 | 100 | 50.8 | 9 | 18.5 | 13.8 |
| Kevon Looney (2015) | 6'9 | 220 | 19 | 15 | 47 | 41.5 | 53.2 | 12.2 | 21 | 16.6 |
| Aaron Gordon (2014) | 6'9 | 225 | 18 | 15.8 | 49.5 | 35.6 | 50.3 | 10.4 | 19.3 | 14.9 |
| Julius Randle (2014) | 6'9 | 250 | 19 | 19.4 | 50.1 | 16.7 | 56.7 | 13.3 | 24.7 | 19.2 |
| Noah Vonleh (2014) | 6'10 | 240 | 18 | 17 | 52.3 | 48.5 | 60.4 | 10.8 | 27.3 | 19.4 |
| Adreian Payne (2014) | 6'10 | 245 | 23 | 23.4 | 50.3 | 42.3 | 60.7 | 6.8 | 22.9 | 15.2 |
| Mitch McGary (2014) | 6'10 | 255 | 21 | 15.4 | 54.5 | 0 | 57.2 | 15.5 | 27.1 | 21.5 |
Like last season, the power forward position is very deep in this year’s draft, with a good chance that all eight of the players included here could go in the first round. The group is led by Ben Simmons, a likely top-two pick, and they play an array of styles, from dominant post players to athletic bigs who can run the floor. Simmons is also the most unique player of the bunch, and while it may be tough to just characterize him as a power forward, he will likely play that position often early in his career due to defensive match-ups. Even using these categories seems to defy a good portion of Simmons’ game, which includes very good ballhandling and passing skills. This is also a very young group of players, with six of the eight being freshmen, along with one sophomore, Domantas Sabonis, and one senior, Brice Johnson.
With the “stretch 4” position becoming more of the norm in both pro and college basketball, there is a need to differentiate between players who fit that role from players who play a more traditional power forward position. Like last season, there aren’t many strong perimeter shooters in the group, though Marquese Chriss hit a respectable 35 percent, while playing a lot on the perimeter. Others may eventually get there based on what’s been seen, like Henry Ellenson and Skal Labissiere, though they aren’t anywhere near ready to step into that role. On the other hand, Johnson, Sabonis, and Simmons were all dominant scorers around the basket, as was Davis, though he didn’t get near the attempts these three had.
I also want to focus on the rebounding numbers, looking at how they perform on both ends of the floor. On the offensive glass, this year’s group has a lot of long, athletic players who do a great job attacking the boards, though there is some variation to the group as a whole. Ellenson and Labissiere are at the bottom of the list, though for very different reasons. Ellenson has the body to be a force on the boards, but played more on the perimeter on offense, while Labissiere just wasn’t physically ready to make an impact, often getting pushed around during rebounding attempts. Davis was at the top of the group with an impressive 13.5 percentage, and while not a main offensive option, he made the most of his chances tracking down others missed shots. Sabonis and Johnson were both primarily low post players, and both were very active, giving them ample opportunities to make an impact. Even though this is a very athletic group, we still haven’t seen a class that hits the offensive glass like the 2014 group, where four of the five listed posted a double-digit offensive rebound percentage.
As defensive rebounders, the players seem to be consistent across all three seasons, and generally put up strong numbers, with the exception of Chriss and Labissiere, again for different reasons. As mentioned above, Labissiere just wasn’t physically ready to make an impact, but Chriss did a lot of defending on the perimeter, though even when in position, he hasn’t shown to be a great rebounder, yet. Guys like Johnson, Sabonis, and Simmons were often playing the center spot for their teams, so their big numbers aren’t surprising, and fall in line with guys like Noah Vonleh and Mitch McGary in the past couple of seasons.
As the role continues to evolve, we are starting to see more of the mobile, athletic power forwards that are popular in today’s NBA, though there is still a place for the classic power forward who can dominate around the basket. After last year, where we players like Portis and Martin, players who are built like classic power forwards becoming more perimeter-oriented on offense, there isn’t much of that from this group, but with the youth, it can certainly change over time.
