Retrospective: Where Does Tobias Harris Rank In All-Time Small Forwards?

5. Matt Barnes

“Matt Barnes will Kill you.”

Those profane t-shirts perfectly sum up what Matt Barnes was to the Orlando Magic. While kids could not exactly don them to school, they also could not repeat any of the trash talk Barnes engaged in on the court, so it is just as well.

Barnes may never have been the talent of any of the guys before him on this list, but his high placement is indicative of what he means to championship caliber teams. Given that the L.A. Lakers and now the L.A. Clippers have incorporated Barnes into their contending teams, it is fairly evident that his talents are valued around the league.

Barnes is now getting up in years at age 34, but he spent one of his prime seasons with the Magic, the 2010 season. With Orlando, he started 58 of his 81 appearances while averaging 8.8 points and 5.5 rebounds in 26 minutes a night. He shot 32 percent from 3-point range, which was just good enough to justify chucking him the ball in the corner.

Barnes disappeared in the postseason when the Magic fell to the Boston Celtics that year, hitting just 3 of 13 from the floor in the first two games, as Orlando lost them both.  He proceeded to play better in games 3 through 5, but he played 21 scoreless minutes in game 6, and that was a part of what caused his departure.

Even so, Barnes could score when called upon usually. He had three games with 20 or more points, and he had six games with 10 or more rebounds.

He is a role player, but a very vital one. The Magic cannot be said to have failed in the postseason that year on the basis of Barnes having a bad series. The problem ran much deeper than that.

Next: The HOF-er that never was