This isn't much of an article. It's more of an observation or a thought exercise.
I don't think you can win an NBA championship with a small forward as the center of your team.
I'm looking back over the last thirty years, going back to 1980, when Larry Bird and Magic Johnson first appeared in the league. I'm not going to consider before that, because the NBA is a completely different landscape now. And to be honest, I haven't seen a lot of pre-1980 games.
So going chronologically, we can forget about all the Lakers and Celtics championship teams of the 80s. That Lakers dynasty was powered by Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabar, a point guard and a center. Larry Bird was a power forward. I'm not going to argue about it. Bird was one of the first stretch fours, and no one likes to talk about it.
The Bad Boys Pistons won through the guard play of Isaiah Thomas and Joe Dumars. Erase the six Bulls championships. Michael Jordan, shooting guard, was driving that bus. Same with the Houston Rockets who won back to back championships through center Hakeem Olajuwan. The Spurs first won through David Robinson and Tim Duncan, then through Duncan and Tony Parker. The 2000-2002 Lakers leaned on the talent of Shaquille O'Neal and Kobe Bryant.
The 2004 Detroit Pistons were one of the true complete teams, but you could say Rasheed Wallace and Chauncey Billups were the most important players on that team. The 2006 Miami Heat rode Dwyane Wade and Bennett Salvatore to the Larry O'Brien trophy. The Lakers came back again with Kobe in 2009 and 2010. And the Dallas Mavericks came out of nowhere to win the Finals in 2011 behind the shooting of Dirk Nowitzki, a power forward.
That's a pretty good sampling, but I have left a few championship teams out. Let's look at those exceptions:
1983 Philadelphia 76ers--Somebody might want to give them as an example of a team built around a small forward that won a championship. After all, Julius Erving was one of the all-time great three's to ever play in the NBA. But this team didn't win because of Dr. J. It won because the Sixers traded for Moses Malone, along with his rebounding and big booty. Erving was a key piece of that Philly team, but Malone won the ring for them. Case closed.
2008 Boston Celtics--This team is kind of tricky. After all, Paul Pierce was the man on this team, and he's a small forward. But Pierce's Celtics kind of prove my point. Pierce consistently took his team deep into the playoffs (because he's a no-doubt hall of famer), but couldn't get them over the top until Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen showed up. Not because Pierce wasn't good enough. Because you can't win a championship by building around a small forward. Like it or not, a shooting guard and a power forward pushed those Celtics into championship territory, even if it was Pierce who set it up.
2012-2013 Miami Heat--You're probably thinking this is where my theory falls apart. LeBron James is a small forward, and he's won two championships and been to five Finals. He should be proof that you can win a championship with your team built around a small forward.
My rebuttal? LeBron James is a freak of nature. He's not really a small forward. I'd say he's a point forward. He's positionless, much like Charles Barkley and Magic Johnson. So I don't think he proves me wrong. He does so many things on a basketball court, to box him in to the small forward position seems wrong. Enough said.
I don't have any good reasons why a team built around a small forward can't win a championship. But they often fall short. Think of all of Carmelo Anthony's teams, or when the Bulls and Trailblazers built around Scottie Pippen. Maybe it's the versatility of the position. Small forwards are often asked to guard three positions, as well as be a slashing scorer. That's a lot to ask of one person, especially over 82 regular season games and a punishing post-season. It's the only thing I can think of to explain why small forwards don't lead teams to championships.
What do you think?
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