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There is no offseason when it comes to Anthony Edwards being Anthony Edwards. He is in China and met with Yao Ming. Took a picture with him and posted “I wud dunk on Yao shout out to one of da greats.”
Rank ‘Em!
The Bounce’s top 40 forwards
First off, let’s be respectful to our basketball ancestors by saying Rest In Peace to the power forward position. In the era of “positionless basketball,” the NBA has phased out the power forwards of basketball’s past. Guys like Dale Davis, Antonio Davis, Charles Oakley, Buck Williams, Otis Thorpe and more would now either have to play center as the only big or guard the perimeter while knocking down corner 3-pointers.
I don’t think the position will ever come back, although Anthony Davis’ refusal to be a full-time center might single-handedly keep it alive in some manner. When you’re unsure about a position in today’s NBA, there’s a pretty good adage to help you figure out what they play: “You are what you can guard.” Can you guard centers? You’re a big man. Can you guard wings? You’re a wing. Can you do neither? Hey, congrats! You’re a “forward!” Technically, it could still just be a power forward designation, but that’s like calling an ATM a “Versateller.” You know … if we pretend people still carry cash on them.
Over the last few Bounce editions, we’ve been ranking players at each position. These rankings have been universally accepted as flawless. Do not read the comments. We ranked big men, lead guards and shooting guards so far.
Today, we tackle the forward position (wings on Friday!). Some of these guys are stars who can play multiple positions but are best served as forwards. Some of these guys are boxed into this. Either way, these 40 forwards are broken down into seven different tiers.
Of course, Giannis is in a class all by himself. That’s not a knock on Tatum, Banchero or Zion, either. But Giannis is one of the two or three best players in the world. We have to categorize him separately like we did with Nikola Jokić in the big-man rankings. Tatum is staying at two here, despite the Achilles injury. I’m just assuming/hoping he’ll get back to full strength in the next year or so. Banchero, still just 22, is on his way to superstardom, and I included Zion here 🚨 because when healthy 🚨 he’s one of the most dynamic forwards in the game.
As for the third tier, Draymond could have been ranked as a big man, but I still think he’s more of a forward who can play big. Randle is comfortably right behind him, as long as he channels whatever he was doing at the end of last season. Siakam has proven to be a great forward in Indiana. As for including Cooper Flagg essentially sight unseen … it feels right to include him in the top 10, based on the hype.
I’m excited to see what a healthy Jalen Johnson does this season, and I’m curious how Jabari Smith Jr. fits into the mix with Kevin Durant on the Rockets now. We’ve seen the impact Washington can have, and Finney-Smith is a big difference-maker wherever he goes. If Grant stays healthy (he has played 13 total games in March in three seasons with the Blazers and zero games in April), we know he can have a big impact.
The Tier 5 quartet could be the difference between a big playoff run and a short one for each situation. The Bucks need Portis to be a star role player. The Pistons would benefit a lot from Harris being consistent in the postseason. The Lakers will definitely need Hachimura to stay locked in with Finney-Smith gone. And Collins … I’m not sure how he fits in L.A., but they’ll need him to at least get them through the regular season with health.
Even though there is a logjam, I’m fully prepared for Eason to make 21st on this list look preposterous. He’s one of my favorite players at this position. Aldama has proven to be an excellent role player for Memphis. Kuzma was good for a couple years, but that was a couple years ago. And I’d really like to see what Buzelis has in store for his sophomore season.
If I had to bet on anybody moving from Tier 7 to Tier 6 quickly this season, it’d be Niang and Walker. I’d love to see Niang on a contending team, and thought the Celtics shedding his salary was a mistake. Walker has an opportunity to prove himself on an Indy team needing some cohesiveness with Myles Turner gone and Tyrese Haliburton out for the year.
The Last 24
Is Beasley free from the gambling investigation?
💰 What’s next? Malik Beasley’s lawyer says his client is no longer a target of the federal investigation into gambling by players. So … did he flip?
🏀 Knicks making a trade? Many are wondering if they’ll trade Mitchell Robinson. James Edwards III has answers.
🗃️ Most expensive ever. This Michael Jordan-Kobe Bryant card just broke the sale record. $12.9 million for this autographed patch card.
⏳ Hold on. The Indiana Fever are trying to hold on until Caitlin Clark is back. Are they going to make the playoffs?
Euro Trip!
Let’s get you ready for the 2025 EuroBasket
Have you been wondering about the next time you’ll get to watch Jokić, Giannis, Luka Dončić or Vít Krejčí (just checking to see if John Hollinger is reading this) play basketball? Think you have to wait until NBA preseason? You’re wrong! Tomorrow is the beginning of the 2025 EuroBasket, and it’s running for the next two and a half weeks! You may be questioning what this is and whether you should watch it. Let me break it down for you.
What is EuroBasket? It’s an international tournament-style competition for 24 European countries. It now happens every four years (COVID messed it up a bit). It is being hosted in four different countries, which include Cyprus, Poland, Finland and Latvia (where the medal games will be). It runs until Sept. 14.
The 24 countries are broken down into four groups of six teams. After group play, the top four in each group move on to the single-elimination rounds. Here are your four groups:
- Group A: Serbia, Czech Republic, Turkey, Latvia, Estonia and Portugal
- Group B: Germany, Lithuania, Finland, Montenegro, Sweden and Great Britain
- Group C: Spain, Greece, Italy, Georgia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Cyprus
- Group D: France, Slovenia, Poland, Israel, Belgium, and Iceland
What are they playing for? Pride! That’s literally it. Results do affect international ranking for these countries, but all 24 teams have already qualified for the 2027 FIBA World Cup qualifying rounds. So this is simply European bragging rights.
Where can you watch it? There is a paid service called Courtside 1891 that has all the games. Some might be on ESPN streaming. You can definitely find them online, one way or another.
Who are some NBA players participating? Jokić, Nikola Topić and Bogdan Bogdanović (Serbia); Dončić (Slovenia); Giannis (Greece); Lauri Markkanen (Finland); Krejčí (Czech Republic); Kristaps Porziņģis (Latvia); Alperen Şengün (Turkey); Franz Wagner and Dennis Schröder (Germany); Jonas Valančiūnas (Lithuania); Nikola Vučević (Montenegro); Santi Aldama (Spain); Goga Bitadze (Georgia) and Zaccharie Risacher, Bilal Coulibaly and Alex Sarr (France).
There are roughly 30 current NBA players in this, and a few more dozen who are former NBA players or former draft picks. And I’m sure you were wondering, so I’ll flat-out answer: Yes, Thanasis Antetokounmpo is on the Greece roster, you sickos.
Who are the favorites? According to BetMGM, the betting favorites are Serbia (+130), Germany (+500), France (+700) and Greece (+1000). I’ll remind you that France will not have Victor Wembanyama, Rudy Gobert, Nicolas Batum or Evan Fournier. They’ve got the rest of their youth movement piloting this thing.
Spain won this back in 2022. Slovenia won it in 2017.
Who is going to win? It’s a boring pick, but I’ll roll with Serbia. They have the best player in the world, and that team is loaded with NBA talent. My dark-horse pick is Turkey (+2000) with Şengün going on a Luis Scola-like tear.
Want to know more about EuroBasket? I’ve got a full breakdown for you right here.
7-foot-5 ⚽ Player
NBA Draft legend is the tallest footballer ever
Full disclosure: I did not do anything to fact-check the next paragraph, but I’m just going to assume it’s correct for one simple reason: How could it not be true?
Former NBA Draft legend Pavel Podkolzin is the biggest, tallest soccer player we’ve ever seen. He’s also the biggest and tallest soccer player we will ever see. He’s 7-foot-5, and he was listed at 260 pounds back in his brief NBA days. Wikipedia lists the 40-year-old Russian at 305 pounds. Who among us hasn’t put on 45 pounds from our 20s to our 40s?
Podkolzin recently made his professional soccer debut for FC Amkal Moscow while participating in the Russian Cup. Just look at the potential set-piece weapon Podkolzin could be on the pitch (look at me sounding like Phil Hay)!
If the name Pavel Podkolzin isn’t entirely familiar to you, let me take you back to 2004. Oh, what a time it was! “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” was duking it out with “Shrek 2” at the box office. “Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story” had us laughing uncontrollably. “Yeah!” by Usher, Ludacris and Lil Jon had “The Reason” by Hoobastank breathing down its neck on the Billboard charts. Shaq and Kobe were playing their last games together as teammates.
And we were looking for the next international big man to take the NBA by storm. Yao Ming had proven to be a legitimate superstar on the court. Darko Miličić had just been taken No. 2 in the 2003 draft, and while he wasn’t Carmelo Anthony, we didn’t know if he was terrible yet. And he was about to win a championship, Mark Madsen style.
Most of us learned about new prospects through Chad Ford’s reporting and analysis on ESPN. That’s where we were introduced to Podkolzin. Some of my favorite highlights from that introduction:
- “Scouts have secrets. Lots of them. They are also paranoid as hell. They all believe other scouts have 7-foot-6 point guards hidden away in the hills of Siberia. Of course, none of them will admit to doing it themselves.”
- “Of course, because he’s tucked away, no NBA scouts have seen him play. Besnati swears that if he were scouted like Darko has been, he’s an easy top 10 pick in next year’s draft. ‘I’m serious about this. He’s that good. He makes Slavko Vranes look like a toothpick.’” For reference, Slavko (drafted 39th in 2003, played three minutes in the NBA) was listed at 7-foot-5, 275 pounds.
- “He’s pulled up a copy of this year’s team picture. Standing in the back row, in the middle, is the biggest guy I’ve seen since Shaq. He’s standing two players away from former NBA center Shawnelle Scott. This kid makes the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Scott look like Kerry Kittles.”
Podkolzin ended up being drafted 21st in 2004 by the Utah Jazz. He was traded to the Dallas Mavericks on draft night for Linas Kleiza. He was waived two years later after appearing in just six games. He went back to Russia to play. And he joined this Russian soccer team because a former teammate is now the president of the club.
To put his size into perspective, he’s a foot taller than Man City goal-monger Erling Haaland and 10 inches taller than Tottenham and Liverpool forward Peter Crouch. Maybe this is just some publicity stunt, but it has me wanting to see Pavel go to work in the Russian Cup.
(Photo: Benny Sieu / Imagn Images)