Kevin Durant is an impressive talent, but this is still LeBron James' league. King James might have relinquished the scoring lead at small forward to Durant a season ago, but the assists are the clincher to keep the titleless James atop the position, and all positions for that matter.
The best news of all: James turns 27-years old at the end of this month (no, the Chosen One wasn't born Dec. 25; his birthday is Dec. 30).


Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/eric_mack/12/15/fantasy-basketball-preview-sfs/index.html#ixzz1jMaLNyOE  

 

 

 

  When it comes to discussing small forwards in the game today, the names LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony rise to the top of conversations. The star-studded trio finished 1-2-3 in player efficiency rating in 2010-11, and were the only three SFs who finished with a rating better than 20 in John Hollinger's metric.

 LeBron James. He may not have a ring so far, but can anybody really question LeBron's greatness? He has the playmaking talent and vision of a Jason Kidd, the athleticism and jumping ability of Vince Carter (the younger version) and the power and strength of a smaller version of Dwight Howard. Durant is a great scorer -- maybe the best in the league -- but LBJ is one of the greatest all-around talents the NBA has ever seen





Kobe Bryant's got the rings and an MVP, but Dwyane Wade is beloved by the stats geeks (and has one blinged-out finger himself). And what about Ray Allen, the all-time 3-point leader? Or Manu Ginobili and Monta Ellis, two cat-quick guards who can fill it up with ease?
D-Wade. Who else produces on the court and recruits two of the game's best players to come play with him?

 Dwyane Wade. The argument for Kobe Bryant is, like Kobe himself, losing its effectiveness. Wade's a slightly better scorer, a hugely superior rebounder and a marginally better passer and defender. It's not a huge surprise that he'd surpass Kobe at this point in their respective careers. What is a huge surprise is that Kobe has somehow become the more likable one.

 

Wade gets the slightest of nods over Kobe, because he does more of his damage in the kill zone these days, while Bryant lingers on the perimeter. Wade's also more consistently capable on defense simply because he's got fewer miles on his odometer.
 He earns the slight edge over 15-year veteran Kobe Bryant, who no longer has the energy to defend at an elite level or play as much as Wade does. When you're among the best in the game, minutes played matter. Kobe spends too much time on the bench, which hurts the Lakers, so Wade takes the top spot.