NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 05: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Carmelo Anthony
It’s a bit of a dead art form these days. The pure scoring wing. The small forwards of today are often categorized as 3-&-D guys, think Jae Crowder, OG Anunoby, and Mikal Bridges just to name a few. Even the superstars out on the wing are variations of that same perimeter scoring/defensive-minded combo, Paul George, Jayson Tatum, Kawhi, or even Kevin Durant.
But take a look back at the mid-80s and you’ll see a much different breed of small forward populating the NBA.