NBA: Top 5 power forwards from 1940-1990
Power forward (PF), a position which is referred to as the “four positions” in the basketball playbook terms. To endure this position the player weight should be around 240 pounds and should stand at least 6’8” with a 15-20 feet jump shot. Being one of the strongest positions in basketball naturally is one of the most dominating as well. Over the years there have been many power forwards who have been added to the Hall of Fame, due to their agility contrary to their size.
Traditionally there are many different ways to play at the power forward position, some players block the shots and some rip dozen of boards down by their ruthless power, while some score from the post. Although ever since the Europeans entered the league they changed the entire leagues perspective about power forwards, the PF’s now play out of defence, and over the years have demonstrated they can shoot from the 3-pointer line as well.
Here are the top 5 greatest power forwards who have made a significant change in the NBA from 1940-1990:
Bob Pettit is a Hall-of-Famer who retired at his prime having played a total of 11 seasons. He scored 20,000 points, being one of the first to do so in NBA and retired the league with an all-time scoring record. He took his team to their 2nd championship in 1958 eliminating a team which at that time was thought to be unbeatable, the Boston Celtics. Bob Pettit ended his career with an amazing record for his era with 26 points per game and with an average of 16 rebounds per game. Pettit has also appeared in 11 All-Star games and still holds a record he made in 1962 All-Star game of 27 rebounds.
Elvin Hayes, who was called the Big ‘E’, had an astral 16-year career, falling right behind Will Chamberlain in the scoring department. Elvin was one of the first Afro-American students at the University of Houston in 1965 to indulge in basketball. The Big E made started his legacy from college when he led his team, the Houston Cougars, to win the Championship beating the notorious unbeaten team, the UCLA Bruins which was led by Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at that time. He was drafted as the 1st pick overall in the 1968 NBA Drafts. As a rookie he kept an amazing scoring average of 28 points per game with 17 rebounds per game. He has made the All-NBA First Team 3 times and 2 times to the NBA All Defensive Second team, and won his first championship in 1978 over the Seattle SuperSonics.
Dave DeBusschere was famously known as the ‘Big D’. He was regarded as one of the most versatile players of his Era. He was the player who helped the New York Nicks to win their first title in 1970. He was selected for the All-NBA First Defensive team six times; in his 11 year career he grabbed a total of 9,610 rebounds with an average of 11.0 rebounds per game. He entered into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall-of-Fame in 1983 and entered the NBA All-Star team eight times.
Another legendary player who is without a championship ring but has made his mark in the NBA as one of the most terrifying power forwards ever to live is Karl Malone. Karl who is nicknamed ‘The Mailman’ because he always made sure he delivered and on time. He had a stellar 18 year career and scored an astonishing number of 36,928 points trailing right behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Karl has won 13 NBA All-Star and 2 NBA MVP awards, more over he also made it to the NBA First Team 11 consecutive times. Karl’s Era came to existence in 1985 and ended in 2004, making him one of the most fortunate players to play in three decades facing one of the world’s best basketball players such as Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant.
Charles Barkley, who is now widely known as Sir Charles, might not have won a title in his 16 year career but he was one of the shortest and strongest power forwards in NBA history. Standing at only 6’6” weight 250 pounds, he averaged an astounding number of 11.7 rebounds per game in his career. Not only was he a great defender but kept an average scoring of 22.1 points per game till retirement. Barkley was an 11 time NBA All-Star, 1 time NBA MVP. Charles scoring and defensive skills helped him become a member of the 1992 Dream team and he was enlisted in the 50 greatest players in the NBA history.
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