NBA Position Rankings: Top 10 Small Forwards for 2017

8. Nicolas Batum, Charlotte

Nicolas Batum during his time with the Portland Trail Blazers was a fantasy darling. He still very much is. He can fill up a box score in a number of ways — points, rebounds, assists and even some 3-point shooting.

It was never completely clear whether he could do that in a more featured role or without some of the players that seemed to fit perfectly together in Portland.

Batum turned in perhaps his best season with the Hornets last year, guiding them to the Playoffs with one of the top defenses in the league and filling in the gaps for that team. He did what he did in Portland and supercharged it.

He averaged a career-best 14.9 points per game and a career-best 5.8 assists per game. He kept his rebounding up too. Batum was more or less the point forward for the Hornets and a big guiding force.

Batum made an impact on the ball without taking away from Kemba Walker. Moving Walker off the ball helped him blossom more and get the ball in more scoring positions. He was the perfect complement to what the Hornets were building.

Of course, there was the contract year caveat involved. Batum cashed in on this career year. This year will show just how much Batum improved or whether he upped his play for the contract he signed.

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