{"id":2133800,"date":"2026-09-08T14:15:04","date_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:15:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2133800"},"modified":"2026-09-08T14:15:04","modified_gmt":"2026-09-08T11:15:04","slug":"the-bounce-the-nbas-best-forward-now-resides-in-miami","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2133800","title":{"rendered":"The Bounce: The NBA\u2019s best forward now resides in Miami"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The Bounce Newslette<\/b>r<\/strong>\u00a0\":basketball:\"<\/span>\u00a0| This is The Athletic\u2019s<\/em> daily NBA newsletter.\u00a0Sign up here<\/a>\u00a0to receive The Bounce directly in your inbox.<\/p>\n

Hey, I\u2019m headed on vacation! I\u2019ll be gone for the next two weeks, but do not fear. The venerable and dope Shakeia Taylor will be taking the reins of The Bounce until Sept. 28, when we\u2019ll be back to five days a week for the 2026-27 season.<\/p>\n

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Position rankings<\/h3>\n

Rookies reinvigorate forward spot<\/strong><\/p>\n

The LA Clippers getting punished by the NBA last week interrupted our position rankings in a positionless NBA. We\u2019ve ranked the top 40 big men<\/a>, lead guards<\/a>, shooting guards<\/a> and wings<\/a> so far. We wrap it up today with the top 40 forwards in the league.<\/p>\n

Mostly, when it comes to forwards, you are what you can defend. Some of these guys can defend everywhere. Some can\u2019t quite defend on the perimeter and can\u2019t be trusted for too long defending a big man.<\/p>\n

As per usual, if you didn\u2019t see someone on this list, they\u2019re either on a different position ranking list from the previous couple of weeks or they weren\u2019t quite good enough to make the top 40 this time. Each position is divided into seven tiers. Let\u2019s dive into the rankings!<\/p>\n

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Antetokounmpo is still the top player at this position, as he was last year. But it\u2019s fair to wonder how much longer that will be the case. His style of basketball is brutal, and his health (even when the Bucks weren\u2019t tanking) has been a question mark recently.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

After the top 40 wings list came out, Celtics fans questioned why Jayson Tatum wasn\u2019t on the list. It\u2019s because he\u2019s a forward. Some of that is roster construction. Some of that is just his incredible ability. He\u2019s been a forward, primarily, the last three seasons. He was lumped into the second tier with other players last year, because of uncertainty about how he\u2019d return from his torn right Achilles. He\u2019s back into a tier of his own.<\/p>\n