While the NBA has become more of a point guard-driven league, some of the biggest names still play in the frontcourt. Guys like LeBron James, Kevin Durant, and James Harden have become perennial MVP candidates.
Here are the top-5 projected starting frontcourts (small forward, power forward, and center) in the NBA for the upcoming season.
(To see the top-5 projected starting backcourts, you can follow this link here.)
Those who just missed the cut are the Boston Celtics (Gordon Hayward, Marcus Morris, Al Horford), Minnesota Timberwolves (Andrew Wiggins, Gorgui Dieng, Karl Anthony-Towns), New Orleans Pelicans (Darius Miller, Tony Allen, or Dante Cunningham?, Anthony Davis, DeMarcus Cousins), Oklahoma City Thunder (Paul George, Patrick Patterson, Steven Adams), and Milwaukee Bucks (Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Thon Maker).
5. Denver Nuggets - Wilson Chandler, Paul Millsap, Nikola Jokic
Chandler missed the entire 2015-16 season but bounced back in excellent fashion last season. His scoring average (15.7) and Rebounds Per Game (6.5) were both the best of his nine-year career. He has been a steady, consistent scorer throughout his career, averaging 13 Points Per Game in seven of his last eight seasons.
After spending four seasons with the Hawks, Millsap joins a potent Nuggets frontline. He made the All-Star Game in all four years with Atlanta and is a strong defender who made the All-Defensive Second Team in 2016. Last season, he finished with new career-highs of 18.1 points and 3.7 assists per game.
The Nuggets led the NBA in scoring per 100 possessions in 2016-17 once Jokic was inserted into the starting lineup on December 15.
He compiled six triple-doubles last season and averaged 16.7 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 4.9 assists per game. He also shot the ball impressively as evidenced by his 57.8 field goal percentage and 82.5 free throw percentage.
4. Los Angeles Clippers - Danilo Gallinari, Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan
Gallinari joins the Clippers after spending 6.5 seasons with the Nuggets.
He does a superb job drawing fouls and going to the line which he shot at a 90.2% clip last season. He averaged 18.2 points per game in 2016-17 on career-highs (other than his rookie season when he appeared in just 28 games) of 44.7% shooting and 38.9% on threes. Health has been an issue though, as he has appeared in at least 70 games in a season only twice.
Griffin was an All-Star in each of his first five seasons, but injuries have caused him to miss out in the last two. He is still a very productive player though, as in 61 games last season, he posted per game averages of 21.6 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 4.9 assists. Free throws were an issue early in his career, but he shot a career-high 76.0% from the charity stripe last season. He has averaged 20+ points per game in six of his seven seasons.
Jordan was named to his first All-Star Game last season and was named to the All-NBA Third Team (First Team the previous season). He led the NBA in field goal percentage for the fifth straight year. His free throw struggles are well-chronicled, but he shot 48.2% in 2016-17 which was his best mark since 2011-12.
He finished last season with averages of 12.7 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 1.7 blocks per game.
3. San Antonio Spurs - Kawhi Leonard, LaMarcus Aldridge, Pau Gasol
Leonard finished third in MVP voting in 2016-17, after finishing second in the previous season. He finished third in Defensive Player of the Year voting, after winning the award in the previous two seasons. Entering his seventh year, he averaged career-highs in scoring average (25.5), assists per game (3.5), and free throw percentage (88.0) last season.
Aldridge was not named to the All-Star Game for the first time in six seasons in 2016-17, but he was still productive. While he had moments in the playoffs where he seemed invisible, in the regular season he posted per game averages of 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds, and 1.2 blocks.
Now 37 years old, Gasol's skills may have deteriorated a tad, but he is still a nightly double-double threat. In 64 games last season, the six-time All-Star finished with per game averages of 12.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks.
2. Golden State Warriors - Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Zaza Pachulia
Durant's first season with the Warriors saw him win his first NBA championship and take home the Finals MVP. The 2014 MVP and four-time scoring champ averaged 25.1 points per game last season, the ninth straight year he has averaged 25+. He also added per game averages of 8.3 rebounds (career-high), 4.8 assists, and 1.6 blocks (career-high), while shooting a career-high 53.7% from the field in 2016-17.
After finishing as the runner-up to Kawhi Leonard for Defensive Player of the Year in 2015 and 2016, Green finally broke through and won the award last season. He also earned a spot on the All-NBA Third Team in a season in which he posted per game averages of 10.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 7.0 assists, a league-leading 2.0 steals, and 1.4 blocks.
Pachulia's role on the star-studded Warriors is to occasionally score, grab rebounds, and be a presence in the middle. Last season, he averaged 6.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers - LeBron James, Kevin Love, Tristan Thompson
A four-time MVP, James has participated in the last seven NBA Finals (winning three). Largely seen as still the best player in the league, his fourth-place MVP finish last season was his lowest since 2008.
He averaged 26.4 points per game on 54.8% shooting in 2016-17, the 13th straight year he has averaged 25+. He also averaged career-highs last season in rebounds per game (8.6) and assists per game (8.7).
Love's numbers aren't quite what they were with Minnesota, but he is still one of the best power forwards in the game. He made his fourth All-Star appearance last season, nd averaged 19.0 points and 11.1 rebounds per game. Both averages were his best during his three-year tenure with Cleveland.
Thompson is a superb offensive rebounder, averaging at least three a game in all six of his seasons (3.7 in 2016-17). On the year, he finished with per game averages of 8.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks on 60% shooting.
