Fantasy Basketball Small Forward Rankings 2025-2026
My small forward rankings for the 2025-2026 season, ranked in tiers.
My Positional Rankings For The 2025-2026 season:
Truth be told, when I started these rankings I did not expect small forward to be the weakest position group of the bunch. That has proven to be true, though, especially if strength is established at the top.
I was very surprised to find there is not a single elite player with small forward eligibility this season. That’s right, there’s no top-5 caliber small forward. Or top-10. Or maybe even top-15, depending on your rankings!
In recent seasons, we could depend on LeBron, KD, and more recently, Jayson Tatum, as elite options at the position. Unfortunately, Tatum is out for the season, and LeBron and KD have started to succumb to old age and Father Time.
This leaves us with a number of good, not great options at the position.
Fortunately, there is a fair amount of depth here, but a lot of it comes late in the draft. That means you’ll need to try to fill the position early if you want high quality players. Check out my list below and you’ll see what I mean.
Tier 1
Jalen Williams
Jalen Johnson
That these two are the best the position has to offer says a lot. Not that they aren’t really good, but it just goes to show there are no elite, or even top-12 options, at the position. I know many will argue for LeBron and KD in this tier, but due to their advanced age, injury risk (especially KD), and likely skill deterioration, I prioritized ascending players, as I have throughout my position ranking series. The reason for that is risk mitigation. Sure, there is a chance LeBron or KD could be better, but not so much better that I’ll regret it. I will, however, regret it if LeBron and KD demonstrate higher levels of decline this season. There’s literally no upside there. They will never be better than they were last season. If anything, they will continue to get worse, and I do expect some skill regression from both of them once again this year. Meanwhile, the Jalens will give you a little bit of everything — solid percentages, above-average scoring, rebounding, assists, and threes, plus above average STOCKS. And they’re getting better — every single year, with more room to grow still. I personally have no qualms about either of them being the second best building block on my roster, in part because of their upside and also because of how well-rounded their production already is — again, with a strong chance for improvement.
Tier 2
LeBron James
Scottie Barnes
Kevin Durant
I already spoke my piece about LeBron and KD in the tier above. I have nothing against them and have always been a huge fan of both, KD especially. But at ages 41 and 37, this is where they belong. Barnes seemed destined for Tier 1 status heading into last season, but surprisingly sputtered a bit last season. He still had a nice season and you should still be able to bank on across-the-board production from him again in ‘25-26. I just wish the Raptors were constructed in a way that sets him up better for success. They suddenly have multiple ball-dominant players in Brandon Ingram, RJ Barrett, and Immanuel Quickley. What that will look like when everyone is healthy is anyone’s guess, but it’s hard to envision Barnes thriving when all of those guys are on the court together. Fortunately, a lot of his value is in his effort, motor, and selflessness, so he should still provide plenty of fantasy value. Just not as much as he could under different (better) circumstances.
Tier 3
Franz Wagner
Jaylen Brown
There’s a pretty sizable gap between Tiers 2 and 3, but a relatively small one between Tiers 3 and 4. I put Franz and Brown in their own tier because they provide very high levels of across-the-board production and I just think they’re safer bets with clearer, more established roles than the players listed below.
Tier 4
Trey Murphy III
Amen Thompson
Dyson Daniels
Lauri Markkanen
Desmond Bane
Deni Avdija
Cooper Flagg
This tier will win some leagues this year. It also might lose a few. There is so much talent in this group, but also so much unpredictability. Will New Orleans allow TM3 to thrive this year? Can Amen and Dyson Daniels build on last year’s breakouts? What will the offensive outputs look like this year? Will Markkanen miss a ton of games to injuries and rest? How many shots will be available for Bane in Orlando? Is Deni as good as he looked after the All-Star break? Will Cooper Flagg be great out of the gate? We all want these guys, and many of us will reach for them over perhaps safer, more proven players. It will be fascinating to see who in this tier meets, exceeds, and falls short of expectations.
Tier 5
Brandon Miller
Josh Hart
Michael Porter Jr.
Miles Bridges
Demar DeRozan
Cameron Johnson
OG Anunoby
Mikal Bridges
This tier is almost identical to the one in my power forward rankings, so most of this will be a copy-and-paste job. The only difference is the addition of DeRozan in the middle, who I think is a safe bet to decline this year, but not egregiously so. You know what you’re getting with him, and he has been awesome throughout his 30s, but I don’t love his situation in Sacramento or the fact that he’s 36, so I’d rather roll with younger options. Overall, this is my glue guy tier. Nobody here stands to be a star, but they all should be very important pieces for fantasy managers. The kinds of pieces you need to bridge the gap between the studs you accumulated in rounds 1-4 and the back-end of your roster, which will be full of solid players who provide specialized production. Hence them being the glue. Miller is the one player here who could jump to Tier 6 if he’s healthy and continues down the path he seemed to be on prior to last season — fringe All-Star status. There is still plenty of room for him to blossom into a stud in Charlotte and you better believe the team will do what it can to get him there. The rest of the players here stand to be top 50-75 players this season. They are all different types of players who will provide value in different ways, but at the end of the day you will need one of them to ensure you have the depth needed to win your league.
Tier 6
Jimmy Butler III
Kawhi Leonard
Zion Williamson
Paul George
Another nearly identical grouping, and another copy-and-paste, this is my “buyer beware — but too good to ignore” tier. I am definitely the low man on some of these players. It’s not because I don’t think they’re very good or that they won’t have strong stretches of play this season. What it really boils down to is durability, or a lack thereof. I’m simply not willing to pay a premium for players who are highly likely to play 55 or fewer games. Jimmy Butler in particular deserves to be higher, but he’s 36, no longer his team’s number one option, and he hasn’t played over 65 games in a season since Obama was still president. If you want to take a chance on these guys, go for it. I’ll do my shopping in Tier 7 instead.
Tier 7
Normal Powell
Andrew Wiggins
Cam Thomas
RJ Barrett
Brandon Ingram
This is a scorer’s tier, albeit not a very efficient one. In many ways, I prefer to roster the players in Tier 8, but there’s a lot of points coming from this group this year. Probably a fair bit of frustration too.
Tier 8
Christian Braun
Toumani Camara
Jaden McDaniels
This is one of my favorites groupings, small as it may be. Christian Braun is another one of my favorites this year, and if the Nuggets had not added so much depth this offseason, I think there’s a good argument for placing at least a tier higher. All three of these guys give you a little of everything, including above-average defensive stats, which I love. I always seem to find myself looking for steals and blocks after drafts. I think we all do. These are the types of players to grab to ensure you don’t come up short.
Tier 9
Keegan Murray
De’Andre Hunter
I have to distinguish these two from the next tier, because frankly they’re just safer and more dependable. Most people will prefer some of the players in Tier 10 and honestly I can’t fault them for it. It’s the difference between investing in savings bonds and cryptocurrency. Both can make you rich, but only one can burn you. These guys, if healthy, won’t burn you.
Tier 10
Shaedon Sharpe
Quentin Grimes
Bennedict Mathurin
Ausar Thompson
Bilal Coulibaly
Zaccharie Risacher
Matas Buzelis
Ahh, the crypto tier! This is such a fun collection of players, just oozing with talent and upside. So many managers will reach for them, and if you pick correctly, you’ll get rewarded handsomely for it. If not, you might not end up homeless, but you’ll be asking your friends for money. That’s crypto! I do like Sharpe and Ausar a lot this year, and there’s a chance we get meaningful breakouts from Risacher and Buzelis. Bilal’s finger injury is a bummer, but hopefully he doesn’t miss much time. I’ve never been a big Mathurin believer, but he’ll have every opportunity imaginable in Indiana this year as they seek to develop an identity without Tyrese Haliburton. Somehow, even under these unique circumstances, I don’t see Rick Carlisle giving him the green-light to do whatever he wants. There will still be limits and odds are he still will be an empty calories scorer, much like he’s been throughout his relatively brief career. That’s why he’s here in the crypto tier. The real wild card here, at least for me, is Quentin Grimes. Are we really going to pretend he wasn’t a monster for the Sixers last season? He averaged 22-5-4 with 3 threes and 1.5 steals over 28 games. He also shot the ball pretty well despite the massive uptick in usage, registering a .469 FG% and well-above-average .559 eFG%. The Sixers will be healthier this season and he probably won’t have a 27.5 usage rate again, but there’s no way they’re burying this guy on the bench after all he did to close out the year. He’s one of my absolute favorite sleepers right now and Yahoo somehow has him rated 257. Get this guy and thank me later.
Tier 11
P.J. Washington
Herbert Jones
Tari Eason
Ayo Dosunmu
Devin Vassell
Naji Marshall
Kelly Oubre
All these guys, if healthy, will provide value. They’re similar to the players in Tier 9, just with either more warts or a bit less expected production. Several will outperform the crypto tier, but the crypto tier offers more upside. I would definitely be sure to grab at least one or two of these guys towards the end of your draft. They will provide meaningful value, if healthy.
Honorable Mention
Aaron Nesmith
Rui Hachimura
Gradey Dick
Aaron Wiggins
Kyshawn George
Alex Caruso
Luguentz Dort
Dillon Brooks
Klay Thompson
Grayson Allen
Caris LeVert
Keldon Johnson
Derrick Jones Jr.
Jonathan Kuminga
Jerami Grant
Jaylen Wells
Cam Whitmore
Brice Sensabaugh
Kon Knueppel
Taylor Hendricks
That’s it for my small forward rankings. I decided to stop providing analysis after 50 this time. As I stated in the lead, while this position lacks elite talent at the top, there are tons of solid and intriguing options who will be available at the end of drafts and in free agency to the start of the season.
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I hope you’re enjoying my positional rankings series. I plan to close it out with shoot guards and point guards later this week, so please subscribe to my Substack if you’re interesting in reading more. Thank you!