GOAT Rank · 68

Greatest Basketball Forwards of all time

This ranking is led by LeBron James, Larry Bird and John Havlicek. GOAT Rank currently ranks 68 eligible Basketball forwards using verified career records across dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Quick answer

According to GOAT Rank's current model, LeBron James ranks #1 on this list with a GOAT Score of 95.6.

How the GOAT Score is calculated →

#AthleteGOAT Score

LeBron James

95.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2003–active
Country: 🇺🇸 USA

Peak: 95.0
Dominance: 94.0
Statistics: 98.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 100.0

Athlete: LeBron James

Larry Bird

91.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1979–1992
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 93.0
Statistics: 93.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Larry Bird

John Havlicek

90.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1962–1978
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 94.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: John Havlicek

Dražen Dalipagić

90.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1991
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Dražen Dalipagić

Kevin Durant

88.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2007–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Kevin Durant

Elvin Hayes

88.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1968–1984
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 92.0

Athlete: Elvin Hayes

Julius Erving

88.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1971–1987
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 91.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Julius Erving

Alex English

87.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1976–1991
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 94.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Alex English

Paul Arizin

86.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1950–1962
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Paul Arizin

Dutch Dehnert

86.7

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1917–1939
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 90.0

Athlete: Dutch Dehnert

Joan Crawford

86.7

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1956–1971
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Joan Crawford

Katrina McClain

86.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1987–1998
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Katrina McClain

Giannis Antetokounmpo

85.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2013–active
Country: 🇬🇷 Greece

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 87.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Giannis Antetokounmpo

Tamika Catchings

85.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2001–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Tamika Catchings

Swin Cash

85.7

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2002–2016
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 90.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Swin Cash

Scottie Pippen

85.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1987–2004
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 87.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Scottie Pippen

Spencer Haywood

85.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1969–1983
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Spencer Haywood

Tom Heinsohn

85.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1956–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 92.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Tom Heinsohn

Elgin Baylor

85.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1958–1972
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 92.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Elgin Baylor

Tina Thompson

85.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1997–2013
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 88.0

Athlete: Tina Thompson

A'ja Wilson

85.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2018–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: A'ja Wilson

Candace Parker

85.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2008–2023
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Candace Parker

Bob Pettit

85.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1954–1965
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 76.0

Athlete: Bob Pettit

102

Billy Cunningham

84.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1965–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Billy Cunningham

103

Denise Curry

84.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1990
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Denise Curry

104

Chamique Holdsclaw

84.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1995–2010
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Chamique Holdsclaw

108

Connie Hawkins

84.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1961–1976
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Connie Hawkins

111

Pop Gates

84.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1938–1955
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Pop Gates

114

Yolanda Griffith

84.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1997–2009
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Yolanda Griffith

124

Tom Gola

83.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1952–1966
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Tom Gola

125

Radivoj Korać

83.6

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1958–1969
Country: 🇷🇸 Serbia

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 82.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Radivoj Korać

130

Toni Kukoč

83.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1985–2006
Country: 🇭🇷 Croatia

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 86.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Toni Kukoč

132

John Beckman

83.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1910–1932
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: John Beckman

133

Cheryl Miller

83.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1982–1986
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 96.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 55.0

Athlete: Cheryl Miller

140

Draymond Green

83.0

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 80.0
Honours: 88.0
Longevity: 84.0

Athlete: Draymond Green

146

Maya Moore

82.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2011–2018
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 89.0
Dominance: 84.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 87.0
Longevity: 70.0

Athlete: Maya Moore

149

Nneka Ogwumike

82.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2012–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Nneka Ogwumike

152

Breanna Stewart

82.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2016–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 83.0
Statistics: 85.0
Honours: 85.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Breanna Stewart

154

Angel McCoughtry

82.4

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2009–2022
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Angel McCoughtry

160

Bernard King

82.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1977–1993
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 90.0
Honours: 76.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Bernard King

161

Paul George

82.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2010–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 82.0

Athlete: Paul George

166

Bailey Howell

81.9

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1959–1971
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 80.0

Athlete: Bailey Howell

167

Kawhi Leonard

81.8

Sport: Basketball
Career: 2011–active
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Kawhi Leonard

170

Cliff Hagan

81.7

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1956–1970
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 88.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Cliff Hagan

174

Dennis Rodman

81.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1986–2000
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 86.0
Dominance: 80.0
Statistics: 82.0
Honours: 82.0
Longevity: 78.0

Athlete: Dennis Rodman

176

Joe Fulks

81.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1946–1954
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 92.0
Dominance: 86.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 62.0

Athlete: Joe Fulks

177

Gus Johnson

81.5

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1963–1973
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 78.0
Statistics: 88.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 74.0

Athlete: Gus Johnson

183

Hank Luisetti

81.3

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1935–1941
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 94.0
Dominance: 88.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 80.0
Longevity: 58.0

Athlete: Hank Luisetti

185

Paul Pierce

81.2

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1998–2017
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 84.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 84.0
Honours: 78.0
Longevity: 86.0

Athlete: Paul Pierce

191

Rebecca Lobo

81.1

Sport: Basketball
Career: 1991–2003
Country: 🇺🇸 United States

Peak: 90.0
Dominance: 76.0
Statistics: 86.0
Honours: 84.0
Longevity: 72.0

Athlete: Rebecca Lobo

#	Athlete	Sport	Country	Career	GOAT Score
1	LeBron James	Basketball	🇺🇸 USA	2003–active	95.6
10	Larry Bird	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1979–1992	91.2
17	John Havlicek	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1962–1978	90.5
20	Dražen Dalipagić	Basketball	🇷🇸 Serbia	1971–1991	90.2
29	Kevin Durant	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2007–active	88.8
34	Elvin Hayes	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1968–1984	88.4
44	Julius Erving	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1971–1987	88.0
48	Alex English	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1976–1991	87.5
53	Paul Arizin	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1950–1962	86.9
56	Dutch Dehnert	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1917–1939	86.7
57	Joan Crawford	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1971	86.7
59	Katrina McClain	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1987–1998	86.5
65	Giannis Antetokounmpo	Basketball	🇬🇷 Greece	2013–active	85.9
66	Tamika Catchings	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2001–2016	85.8
70	Swin Cash	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2002–2016	85.7
72	Scottie Pippen	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1987–2004	85.6
74	Spencer Haywood	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1969–1983	85.6
78	Tom Heinsohn	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1965	85.4
81	Elgin Baylor	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1958–1972	85.3
82	Tina Thompson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1997–2013	85.2
88	A'ja Wilson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2018–active	85.0
89	Candace Parker	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2008–2023	85.0
90	Bob Pettit	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1954–1965	85.0
102	Billy Cunningham	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1965–1976	84.5
103	Denise Curry	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1990	84.5
104	Chamique Holdsclaw	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1995–2010	84.4
108	Connie Hawkins	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1961–1976	84.2
111	Pop Gates	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1938–1955	84.1
114	Yolanda Griffith	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1997–2009	84.0
124	Tom Gola	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1952–1966	83.6
125	Radivoj Korać	Basketball	🇷🇸 Serbia	1958–1969	83.6
130	Toni Kukoč	Basketball	🇭🇷 Croatia	1985–2006	83.4
132	John Beckman	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1910–1932	83.3
133	Cheryl Miller	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1982–1986	83.3
140	Draymond Green	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2012–active	83.0
146	Maya Moore	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2011–2018	82.8
149	Nneka Ogwumike	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2012–active	82.8
152	Breanna Stewart	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2016–active	82.5
154	Angel McCoughtry	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2009–2022	82.4
160	Bernard King	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1977–1993	82.2
161	Paul George	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2010–active	82.1
166	Bailey Howell	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1959–1971	81.9
167	Kawhi Leonard	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	2011–active	81.8
170	Cliff Hagan	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1956–1970	81.7
174	Dennis Rodman	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1986–2000	81.5
176	Joe Fulks	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1946–1954	81.5
177	Gus Johnson	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1963–1973	81.5
183	Hank Luisetti	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1935–1941	81.3
185	Paul Pierce	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1998–2017	81.2
191	Rebecca Lobo	Basketball	🇺🇸 United States	1991–2003	81.1

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LeBron James vs Larry Bird

Read the full methodology

Sport lists use the raw In-Sport GOAT Score. Cross-sport lists use the official competition-depth adjustment. No scores are recalculated for this page.

Read the full methodology

Frequently asked questions

How is this ranking calculated?

Five verified components are weighted consistently: dominance, peak, longevity, honours and statistics.

Who is included?

According to GOAT Rank's current data model, only verified athletes with sufficient career history, metrics, honours and independent sources are eligible. Rank and score are read live.

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