Ball Don't Lie has been ranking the best at each position for the past decade. And when it comes to power forwards... none had a better run than Kevin Garnett.
Despite the hype, the yelling, the commercials, the fawning on-air tributes from Bill Russell, and (a second time, just to be sure) all the yelling. I still don't think people appreciate how great Kevin Garnett has been, over these years, especially defensively.
That's OK, though. Because, despite all the yelling (have you heard the yelling?), I don't think KG cares much. I don't think he gives a toss where he's ranked, even if he is ranked as the greatest power forward of the last decade.
The discussion was going on in the comments of yesterday's post regarding Paul Pierce's ranking about who would be number 1 in the PF category. Clearly, they're ranking Tim Duncan in the centers because he doesn't appear in this list.
Garnett may go down as the most unique player in NBA history. From leaving high school before it became a huge trend... to essentially playing very often as a 7-foot small forward.... to re-defining the term "intensity". KG has done things that no one else has. He's played like no one else has. We in Boston have seen KG be awesome and lift this team like very few of us have expected... and he's been doing that while on the DECLINE. He's going into his 15th season and he's still the most important player on his team.
Do you understand how hard that is to do?
It's hard to put KG at the top of any ranking of any position because of his unique abilities. But if you're breaking it up the way BDL did... KG's the obvious choice.
For the record, Rasheed Wallace is #7. Dirk Nowitzki is #2. Pau Gasol is #3