The definitive ranking of the NBA’s best players.
by Adam Fleischer
There’s some unclear combination of factors that leave Antawn Jamison out whenever discussions of the top power forwards in the game come up. Maybe it’s that he’s never been on a true contender. Maybe it’s because his game isn’t flashy and his athletic abilities have never been wow-worthy. 
It could be because his size and skill-set make him an atypical power forward. Or, maybe it’s just because he shouldn’t be in that discussion after all, and isn’t in that top tier.
Maybe not, but he’s damn close.
I’m uncomfortable trying to let stats tell too much of the story when it comes to players. But they’re always a part of it and worth noting. So let me throw some at you. Last season, the former Tar Heel ranked in the top 11 in the NBA in points per game (11th with 22.2), minutes per game (9th with 38.2), rebounds per game (10th with 8.9) and double doubles (9th with 38).
Yes, this was during the Wizards’ woeful season during which Jamison was forced to shoulder much of the load due to Gilbert’s knee and Caron Butler missing 15 games. But it proved that he could carry that weight. And, what’s more, he’s been doing stuff like this for years—injured teammates or not.
Jamison has had a steady career, averaging 19.9 points and 8 rebounds per through his eleven seasons in the league. And he’s shown his roles can vary: he averaged a tick under 25 per in his third year in Golden State, and then headed to Dallas a few years later and took home the Sixth Man of the Year Award during the 2003-04 season.
I knew all this, but I recently stumbled on something that caught me by surprise. It tells a piece of his last five years since that one season with the Mavs, all spent in Washington. During that span, only one other player besides Jamison has averaged at least 19.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game. That player was Dirk. Neither KG, Timmy, nor anyone else can boast that. No, I didn’t make that up. It’s for real.
So now we’re talking serious consistency with no signs of yet falling off.
Since Jamison doesn’t rely heavily on his speed or athleticism, his continued journey into the land of the mid-thirties shouldn’t coincide with the kind of decline that it does for many other players. He’s different than basically every other guy at his position, and it shows. It shows in his stature and in his sub-par for a power forward field goal percentage of 46.8% last year and 45.6% for his career. It also shows in his abilities.
His is the rare type of game that allows to stretch the floor and present match up problems without sacrificing too much of what you’d be hoping to get from your power forward. Last year, Jamison hit one less three pointer than Rasheed Wallace but earned more than four times as many trips to the line, good for top 25 in the league in free throw attempts. It’s that kind of balance and threat as a scorer that makes him dangerous. And he’s willing to mix it up down low to wipe the glass, too.
This season, with a supposedly healthy Arenas and a stronger bench, the Wiz will expect Jamison to carry less of the load. That doesn’t mean he’ll be any less crucial to the team, though. No, he’ll be a key component of a team on the upswing fighting for playoff position in April.
Until then, you can keep overlooking him.
Notes
• Rankings are based solely on projected ’09-10 performance.
• Contributors to this list include: Jake Appleman, Brett Ballantini, Russ Bengtson, Toney Blare, Shannon Booher, Myles Brown, Franklyn Calle, Gregory Dole, Emry DowningHall, Jonathan Evans, Adam Fleischer, Jeff Fox, Sherman Johnson, Aaron Kaplowitz, John Krolik, Holly MacKenzie, Ryne Nelson, Chris O’Leary, Ben Osborne, Alan Paul, Susan Price, Sam Rubenstein, Khalid Salaam, Kye Stephenson, Adam Sweeney, Vincent Thomas, Tzvi Twersky, Justin Walsh, Joey Whelan, Eric Woodyard, and Nima Zarrabi.
• Want more of the SLAMonline Top 50? Check out the archive.
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Some of those guys are almost locks, while if this was last year’s last, guys like Jefferson and Brand would absolutely be there, but because of location and injury may not.
Also, I think this is about right for Jamison. He plays (generally) smart basketball, and he had that sweet dunk against Z and Varejao when the Wiz (and Gil) beat them at the end of last season.
But if it were this time last year, they’d get strong consideration.
I did kinda expect Westbrook in the 45-50 though.
Most of the guys I named would best fit in the 35-50 slots, so … mm.
Also, when I’m thinking about the list, I imagine a senior slam staffer, masked in shadow, laughing in a maniacal manner at the attempts to guess who’s coming up next. “Foolish mortals” type isht. Weird but hey.
should be broken half-way through Monday imo.
….
lol. It says so when i submit a comment on the URL bar up the top of the screen.
Just under 300 now.
Moose, I don’t know, BUT you can go and find your own comments (theres a tracking site for blogspot at least) that tells you where your name has appeared.
Google “hibachi20.” and it should be one of the top 3 links…
Also, night all, early start tomorrow morning.
But is he really a top 50 player anymore? Especially considering the team he has around him right now?
And don’t say I’m a hater, I’ve loved Ray Allen the player since his early Buck days when he was a violent dunker as well as a great overall scorer. ( Too young for the Uconn times).
Jamison shouldn’t have made the list at all. Really soft player. He just gets his points because he’s got range.
That’s why the only real centers in the league right now are Yao, Dwight, and Shaq.
Right. The inside game was truly weak when there was an abundance of hall-of-fame centers during the 80′s-90′s.
LMFAO Josh Smith could be Nique? ARE YOU JOKING OR WHAT?? No players back then could match RAJON RONDO?! No offense, but I can’t take a guy seriously when he says LeBron James could be Wilt Chamberlain, when they don’t even play the same style whatsoever.
You need to Wikipedia some other players or something because, for a guy who claims to be a “Balla”, you aren’t making much sense about basketball.
Where the heck is this myth coming from?
Well I g2g now… See ya.
Second, Wilt Chamberlain was WAY more athletic than Andrew Bynum, its not even comparable. Wilt Chamberlain was a freaking High Jumper! Saying Wilt Chamberlain would be like Andrew Bynum today is a slap in the face to basketball in general.
When Wilt went for 50 a game, what other centers were there? How about Bill Russell, then Walt Bellamy, Jerry Lucas, then while he was still owning the league, how about Wes Unseld and Willis Reed! That’s more players than what Dwight Howard has to deal with (Yao Ming).
And how do you know that the players back then wouldn’t benefit from the training that goes on today? Could you imagine Wilt Chamberlain going through Dwight Howard’s workouts?
I also see your Rajon Rondo, and raise you a Gary Payton, John Stockton, Magic Johnson, and Walt Frazier. Its not even comparable, please, just stop.
Now, away from Wilt: You’re acting like the 90′s was some primitive form of basketball. It was actually some of the best ball EVER played.
No offense, but you’re talking out of your @ss here, James.
Man lol. Okay you win. Thats exactly my point lol. Anyways. Twan is good. Good placement.
Actually, f*ck it. Slam should just have no criteria, make sh*t more controversial and bring in the comments. The 40-50 slots last year had all like 150 ish, and that got increased.
I jest here, but it’d be kinda interesting.
Jukai bugging Ryan and the other writers last year was a personal highlight of mine. And the obligatory “fu*k this guy” comment of course.
James is right by saying teams today would kill teams of yesterday… but saying players would dominate in the same way is pretty dumb.
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