#FIBAAsia2015: The TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards Right Now

Less than two months remain between now and the 2015 FIBA Asia Championship in Changsha, China. As of this writing, most of the perceived title contenders have already begun training for the all-important competition that will reward just one country with an outright berth in the 2016 Olympics in Brazil. 

As a run-up to that tournament, I will be posting a series of articles focusing on key players with whom we need to be familiar. These range from the newcomers, the breakout ballers, the tried-and-tested veterans, the local stars, and even the naturalized players. Naturally, we will also look at the top cagers per position, which is what we will do here.

In the previous post in this series, we looked at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Shooting Guards. These are the players who more commonly known as the best snipers in the continent.

In this post, we will look at perhaps the most crowded position in FIBA Asia, at least in terms of sheer talent. There are just so many big names and great players who play small forward. This is mainly because, prototypically, a small forward is one of the heavy-hitters or scorers of a basketball team. The reason for this is that SFs, or swingmen, usually have a good combination of size, quickness, and shooting – all of which are extremely important especially in the international game.

Without further ado, I present to you my TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards right now:

The Inaugural Baller Awards: The FIBA Asia Breakthrough Player, FIBA Asia Young Gun, and FIBA Asia Player of the Year for 2013

It was a banner year for FIBA Asia, but, in lieu of an Asian hoops year-ender, I felt it would be better to go position-by-position and look at the best FIBA Asia players of 2013. These are the guys who did really well in the Asian hoops circuit, in particular in the 2013 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the 2013 Jones Cup, the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships, and the subsequent qualifying tournaments. One thing I will also factor in is the players’ performances in their respective pro leagues. Were they able to lead their teams to the title in one, or some, or all of these tournaments? What kind of mark did they leave on FIBA Asia as a whole this year?

In this post, we will look at the FIBA Asia players who surprised us, those who showed prowess beyond their years, and those who dominated all year. We will give Baller Awards to the FIBA Asia Breakthrough Player, FIBA Asia Young Gun, and FIBA Asia Player of the Year for 2013.

Quincy Davis had a banner year for Taiwan.

The Inaugural Baller Awards: The Best FIBA Asia Small Forward, Power Forward, and Center of 2013

It was a banner year for FIBA Asia, but, in lieu of an Asian hoops year-ender, I felt it would be better to go position-by-position and look at the best FIBA Asia players of 2013. These are the guys who did really well in the Asian hoops circuit, in particular in the 2013 FIBA Asia Champions Cup, the 2013 Jones Cup, the 2013 FIBA Asia Men’s Championships, and the subsequent qualifying tournaments. One thing I will also factor in is the players’ performances in their respective pro leagues. Were they able to lead their teams to the title in one, or some, or all of these tournaments? What kind of mark did they leave on FIBA Asia as a whole this year?

In this post, we will look at the top FIBA Asia frontcourts of the year and award Baller Awards to the Best FIBA Asia Small Forward, the Best FIBA Asia Power Forward, and the Best FIBA Asia Center of 2013.

Will Marcus Douthit be awarded as the Best FIBA Asia Center
of 2013?

All Roads Lead to Manila – The TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards Outside of the Philippines

In the first two posts in this series, we looked at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Centers and Power Forwards. These are the big men who are expected to man the paint of their respective teams, grab a lion’s share of the rebounds, and serve as the last lines of defense against cutters and slashers.

In this post, we will look at perhaps the most crowded position in FIBA Asia, at least in terms of sheer talent. This was, quite honestly, one of the toughest positions about which to write, since, again, there are so many big names and great players who play small forward. This is mainly because, prototypically, a small forward is one of the heavy-hitters or scorers of a basketball team. Some of the most decorated players in basketball lore played the 3 position, like Scottie Pippen, Larry Bird, and, in the more contemporary context, LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony.  The reason for this, I surmise, is that SFs, or swingmen as they are wont to be labeled, usually have a good combination of size, quickness, and shooting – all of which are extremely important in basketball.

In Part 3 of our series, we will look at the TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards. 

Fadi El-Khatib and Samad Nikkhah Bahrami are sure
to renew their rivalry in the 2013 FIBA Asia tourney.
(image from FIBAAsia.net)

Now, there are several awesome talents I deliberately chose to leave out of this list for a slew of reasons. These players are:

Zaid Abbas (Jordan) – He expressed his retirement from international basketball because his club team (Guangdong) and the Jordan Basketball Association just couldn’t agree on terms that would allow him to play again for the Jordan NT.

Tanguy Ngombo (Qatar) – Ngombo is certainly an intriguing FIBA Asia talent, but his eligibility issues cast doubt on whether he’ll even play in August. Take note that he was already deemed ineligible in Wuhan two years ago, and he didn’t even play for Qatar in last year’s FIBA Asia Cup. I’m not counting on him showing up in Manila.

Yaseen Musa (Qatar) – Musa is really a stretch forward (combo SF & PF), and he’s surely one of the best the region has ever seen, but he’s getting really old really fast. I believe the Qataris will probably choose to focus on younger talent when the Manila tourney commences.

Okay, now that those disclaimers have been expressed, here are my TOP FIVE FIBA Asia Small Forwards: