2027 Top 10s Part 3 - SFs

2027 Top 10s Part 2 - SGs - Go Vote!!
2027 Top 10s Part 1 - PGs

Glossary:
fbb_oRtg - a player's points produced per 100 possessions used, taking into account shooting efficiency, turnover rate, and offensive rebounding. League average is 111.8.
Poss% - The percentage of a team's possessions that a player used, primarily by taking a shot, getting to the free throw line, or turning the ball over.
TS% - A true measure of shooting efficiency, similar to eFG% except it also factors in free throws. League average is 53.5%.
TO/poss - The percentage of possessions a player turned the ball over. Again, assists are not factored into possessions. League average is 11.6%.
REB% - The percentage of available rebounds a player grabbed while on the court. League average is 10%.
BLK% - Percentage of the opponents shots a player blocks. League average is .33%.
STL% - Percentage of opponents possessions that a player ends with a steal. League average is .33%.


SF Top 10 Rankings
These rankings do not take contract or age into account, only who the best players in the league are right now, at this very moment. To decide that, I've used stats primarily from this season combined with ratings and a given player's statistical history.


1.Dean Hollis SF 27 6'10'' 223 B+ A+ C B+ B+ C
-So yeah, the Hornets had the top SF, SG, and PG this year. It's not exactly difficult to figure out why they were the best offense the league has seen in some time. My love for three point shooting is well known, and the Hornets are a great example of why. If you can get three shooters at PG, SG, and SF, your team is going to put up a hell of a lot of points. Hollis, from a shooting perspective, was the least efficient of the bunch, but made up for it with his low turnover rate, awesome rebounding, and solid defense. Definitely a top five player in the league, Hollis may have been the third best player on the Hornets this season. That's scary.

2.Bobby Cook SF 35 5'10'' 158 B+ A C+ B- C+ C
-All of Cook's rates this season were nearly identical to last year, the only difference statistically is he didn't get quite as many minutes. He's still one of the best in the league at limiting turnovers, he still blocks an absurd number of shots for a 5'10 guy, and he still can put up bunches of points in a pretty damn efficient manner. He saw minutes at PF, SF, SG, and PG this season, and didn't seem to have any problems holding his own against much, much larger players defensively. One of the coolest players in the league, I'm thrilled he'll be spending another year in Orlando. Should be interesting to see how he ages since he came into the league over 30.

3.J.D. Quincy SF 28 6'5'' 228 A- A- B B+ A- B
-I was torn on where to put Quincy on this list. On one hand, his defense is absolutely exceptional. On the other, his offensive efficiency doesn't quite stack up to the elite scorers on this list. Defensively, what's not to love? He blocks shots at a tremendous rate for a swingman, picks up plenty of steals, and is one of the better rebounders at his position in the league. It's tough to know how deep his impact goes defensively because he plays for a Knicks team that was damned good defensively before he got there, but there's no doubting that he's one of the better SFs in the league in that regard. Offensively he had a career year shooting the ball and rebounded quite well from last year's mediocre shooting performance. Still, the turnovers are relatively high, and that prevents him from being as efficient of a scorer as a guy like Hollis, or Cook, or even a J.T. Irish. Despite that, he's still well above average offensively both in efficiency and volume, he may not be an ideal #1 option, but he won't kill you in that regard either, and his defensive impact is immeasurable.

4.Perry Jones SF 37 7'0'' 230 B A- A- A+ A- D
-It's been an interesting career for Perry Jones. For a long time he's had some of the best all around ratings in the league, there's nothing on the basketball court that Perry can't do. He scores, he rebounds, he blocks shots, gets some steals, plays great man to man defense, passes, he really can do it all. Still, as good as Perry is, he's not quite the scorer a lot of these other SFs are in terms of efficiency, he's still damned good, but like Quincy he's not quite elite in that regard. Like Quincy however, he's as high as he is on this list because he's an elite defender, and at the end of the day I think Perry helps a team win more than any of the guys below him on this list. I wouldn't recommend him as a first option any longer, he can still get the job done in that regard, but your offense probably won't be especially good if you have to rely on him in that position. In the short term though, he's a great fit next to Marcus Jay, greeme really did a nice job picking up those two mid season this year. Hard to know how much time Perry has left, but I'm sure he's still got at least another stellar season in him.

5.J.T. Irish SF 28 6'6'' 206 C+ A C A B C
-Insane made a couple of rather large moves this season, but acquiring J.T. Irish was easily my favorite for him. Irish hasn't gotten a ton of recognition around the league, he went somewhat unnoticed quietly putting up great numbers in Boston for a while now. Not much changed in Miami, where with Barker and Austin Rivers he helped form one of the better offensive trios in the league. He's an efficient shooter who may not be able to carry the load as a number one option, but can certainly fill in as a second or third fiddle, he doesn't turn the ball over, and he rebounds quite well. He's not a true superstar, but it's hard to ask for much more in a second option than what J.T. Irish gives you, he's a perfect piece to have next to a big scorer.

6.Albert Smith SF 25 6'10'' 225 A- A- C+ B C+ C
-You wouldn't expect a guy as good as Albert Smith to play for three times in one season, but that's exactly what happened to him this year. The Spurs moved him to the Knicks in a deal for Brady Cooper, and the Knicks, who were unsatisfied with his inability to defend SGs, moved him in a deal to the Raptors. Regardless of who he played for, Smith put up great numbers. Like Irish, he probably isn't going to carry the scoring load on his own, which is the main reason the Knicks dealt him for big time volume scorer Ben Rollins, but he's more than capable of giving you 20+ points per game on awesome percentages without turning the ball over, all while playing solid defense at the SF spot and doing a fine job of rebounding the ball.

7.Lennie Rosenbluth SF 25 6'4'' 190 C+ A- A C A- B
-The rookie SF had a big first TC and looks like he's on the verge of stardom. Despite his inability to defend in man to man situations, Lennie is one of the better shot blockers and ballhawks at the SF position, and he didn't seem to hold the Jazz defense back in any way this season. Offensively he didn't score at an especially high rate, but put up points in a very efficient manner, doing an excellent job of limiting turnovers while shooting the ball fairly well. It'll be interesting to see how Rosenbluth's career unfolds, he's certainly an intriguing player who's capable of doing pretty much anything you can ask of someone on the basketball court. I'm sure Jah was thrilled to have gotten him in last year's lotto, outside of Wilt he may have a shot at being the best player in that class.

8.Sam Jones SF 25 6'5'' 203 A- C+ C A- B- A
-I could easily flip Jones and Rosenbluth, it comes down to whether you prefer the extra offensive efficiency Rosenbluth adds with his superior TS%, or Jones obviously far superior man to man defense. Both are excellent rebounders, shot blockers, and ball hawks for their position, there really isn't much difference between the two players. Neither turns the ball over, with Jones featuring the lowest turnover rate I've seen out of a small forward. The only complaints with Jones are the lack of three point shot and that he doesn't put up HUGE volume, though that's hardly his fault on a team that featured O'Mara and Alf. It'll be interesting to see what he does for the Bucks this season, presumably as their first or second option.

9.Kevin White SF 27 6'7'' 227 A- A- C B B+ D
-Kevin White's a damned good player, in terms of productivity the best on the Clippers. I forgot to move one of him or Baylor to SG for my rankings, so they were sort of directly competing against each other on this list, but statistically White just edges out Baylor. White shoots the ball as well as pretty much anyone on this list, he rebounds, and he'll pick up the occasional block which is nice. Defensively he's not great man to man, and offensively his turnover rate could stand to be better, but on the whole White's a quality starting SF in a league full of a lot of really, really good SFs.

10.Elgin Baylor SF 24 6'5'' 225 A- B+ B B+ A- A
-Elgin was a tough player for me to rank. He rebounds, he plays good defense, he passes, he puts up pretty big volume. On the surface, Elgin's a pretty complete player, edging towards guys like Quincy and Perry. His offensive efficiency does leave something to be desired, his TS% of 56.1% is good but not outstanding, and on the low end for the SFs on this list. His turnover rate of 9.8% is good, but again, not outstanding. The result is that his offensive efficiency is, well, good but not outstanding. He seems on the verge of putting together a nice outside game however, and as that happens he'll quickly move up this list, but for now he just squeaks in.


Honorable Mention:
Calvin Fewell - Efficiency is top notch, doens't put up big volume though.
Wayne Worthington - One of the few efficient inside scorers in the league, and a hell of a shot blocker.
Jarrett Jordan - Could easily have made the list, efficient, but not quite as big of a volume guy anymore.
Chase Connors - Awesome for the Mavs off the bench in limited minutes.
Cliff Hagan - Hagan puts up big volume for the Wolves, and the 119 oRtg that goes with that is a big reason they weren't the worst team in the league this year.
Ricky Roe - Still a great offensive player, defensively...eh.
Jason Paulson - Still real good, just not elite offensively.
Tom Gola - Had a really solid year, Mavericks didn't lose much swapping Perry out for him surprisingly.
Jack Twyman - The Ben Rollins of SFs. His efficiency needs to step up if the Jazz want more than a mediocre offense.

Dishonorable Mention:
Randy Sharpe - Still really, ereally inefficient.
Boris Nachamkin - Awesome defensively and on the glass, but real rough on offense.
Nolan Ellison - Helping teams tank since he entered the league, whether they knew it or not.