Rank the all time great power forwards. Stats are based on 5 year peak averages. Go. Charles Barkley 26.0pts / 12.1rbs / 4.0asts / 1.6stls / 1.0blks 1x NBA MVP 1x Conf Champion 1x Rebound Champion 11x All Star 11x All NBA 1x All Star MVP 2x Olympian Tim Duncan 23.3pts / 12.5rbs / 3.4asts / 0.8stls / 2.5blks 5x NBA Champion 6x Conf Champion 2x NBA MVP 3x Finals MVP 15x All Star 15x All NBA 15x All Defense 1x All Star MVP Rookie of the Year 1x Olympian Kevin Garnett 22.7pts / 13.3rbs / 5.0asts / 1.4stls / 1.6blks 1x NBA Champion 2x Conf. Champion 1x NBA MVP 1x Defenses Player of the Year 4x Rebound Champion 15x All Star 9x All NBA 12x All Defense 1x All Star MVP 1x Olympian Elvin Hayes 21.8pts / 13.7rbs / 1.9asts / 1.3stls / 2.6blks 1x NBA Champion 3x Conf. Champion 12x All Star 6x All NBA 2x All Defense 2x Rebound Champion 1x Scoring Champion Karl Malone 29.0pts/ 11.4rbs / 2.8asts / 1.4stls / 0.7blks 2x NBA MVP 2x Conf. Champion 14x All Star 14x All NBA 4x All Defense 2x All Star MVP 2x Olympian Kevin McHale 22.7pts / 8.6rbs / 2.4asts / 0.4stls / 1.8blks 3x NBA Champion 5x Conf Champion 7x All Star 6x All Defense 1x All NBA 2x 6th Man of the Year Dirk Nowitzki 25.3pts / 8.9rbs / 3.0asts / 0.8stls / 1.0blks 1x NBA Champion 2x Conf. Champion 1x NBA MVP 1x NBA Finals MVP 13x All Star 12x All NBA Bob Pettit 26.5pts / 17.2rbs / 2.9asts 2x NBA MVP 1x NBA Champion 4x Conf. Champion 11x All Star 11x All NBA 4x All Star MVP 2x Scoring Champion Rookie of the Year Dennis Rodman 7.0pts / 17.3rbs / 2.2asts / 0.7stls / 0.6blks 5x NBA Champion 6x Conf Champion 2x Defensive Player of the Year 7x Rebound Champion 2x All Star 2x All NBA 8x All Defense
1. Tim Duncan 2. Bob Pettit 3. Karl Malone 4. Kevin Garnett 5. Charles Barkley 6. Dirk Nowitzki 7. Elvin Hayes 8. Kevin McHale 9. Dennis Rodman
f off dope Duncan > Failman 1. Duncan 2. Malone 3. Pettit 4. McHale 5. Barkley 6. Hayes 7. Dirk 8. Garnett 9. Rodman
What is the difference between a power forward and a true center really? It seems like a PF is just slightly shorter and can move a little better than a center.
Duncan is #1 if we're calling him a PF. Barkley > Malone. Malone stayed in phenomenal shape, never missed games and played forever. So their career numbers don't compare well for Barkley. They were basically exact contemporaries. Until Barkley slowed down and started sucking, there wasn't a question who was better. He scored with more ease (without the greatest passer ever setting him up his entire career) and rebounded better. Malone's longevity brings into question who really had the 'greater' career, but if we're asking who was better during their prime, it's Barkley without having to think about it. Malone was a little better defensively, but he wasn't Duncan or Garnett defensively either. Lol at Petit. Honestly all NBA analysis should be pre and post 1980 (I guess we could call the '76 merger the dividing line). The game changed so much around this time, and competition improved so much that the eras before and after aren't really comparable. And using stats across eras to compare them is beyond laughable. But Petit, while objectively great for his time, does not compare as a player to the players from the last 40 years. He was one of the best big men in the world in his time and he shot about 43% from the field. As a PF (not that they called it that then, but he was clearly a big man). And no, that's not because they played super awesome defense back then. The professional game in his time was played at a level below current high school ball.
I'm partial to Barkley because he had to make up for his height and actually has a higher PER and VORP than Duncan.
