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2015 NBA Draft Power Forward Rankings

Posted By Chris Ransom

Last Updated: November, 22, 2014 Following Our monthly 2015 NBA Mock Draft

Karl Towns: PF, Kentucky Projected Round: Top 5 Pick

Karl Towns is a 7-foot and 248-pound big man with a ton of versatility. He played center in high school before making the transition to power forward. Another guy that displayed this uncanny skill was Kevin Love. Love was the top recruit in the country when he committed to UCLA before Derrick Rose went #1 overall.

Karl Towns is much bigger than Love and is easily the best power forward at Kentucky since Anthony Davis. Towns is much better than Julius Randle who was drafted in the top 10 overall of the 2014 NBA Draft.

A big man with as much versatility as Towns is a top 3 pick. Towns can hit it from short range, mid range, or long range just like Mudiay. Towns was the Gatorade High School Player of the year even though he was listed as the third best overall prospect behind point guard Emmanuel Mudiay and center Jahlil Okafor who he played one on one against in the McDonalds All American game.
Cliff Alexander: PF, Kansas Projected Round: Top 10 Pick

Cliff Alexander is currently a bench player on Kansas as a true freshman. Still most project Alexander as a top 5 pick in the upcoming 2015 NBA Draft. I would not draft a player that is not in the starting lineup in the top 5.

Alexander reminds me of former Jayhawk Thomas Robinson. Robinson was extremely hyped as a top 5 pick, but ended up flopping in the NBA. I feel the same way about Cliff Alexander. Kansas got schooled by Kentucky on Tuesday. Alexander struggled against Towns. He may go top 5, but he will have to compete against a lot of other top 10 prospects for the final spot in the top 5 overall.
Bobby Portis: PF, Arkansas Projected Round: 1st Round

Bobby Portis weighs 6-foot-11 and 242-pounds. Ports is a talented power forward who reminds me of Taj Gibson.

Portis scored 12.3 points per game as a freshman in 2013-2014. He is averaging 16 points per game so far in 2014-2015. Portis looks like a decent first round prospect at this point. We need to see Arkansas play SEC teams to get a better idea on how good he is.
Chris Walker: PF, Florida Projected Round: 1st Round

Chris Walker got triple doubles in high school and got compared to Kevin Garnett before joining Florida. Walker has not received significant playing time. That is why Walker is a late first round pick rather than a top 5 pick.
Jordan Mickey: PF, LSU Projected Round: 1st Round

Jordan Mickey is undersized for a power forward weighing 6-foot-8 and 235-pounds. He reminds me of Antoine Walker who played power forward, but had the size of a small forward.

Mickey averaged 12.7 points per game in 2013-2014. Now he averages 14.7 points per game in 2014-2015.

Mickey averaged a .533 field goal percentage in 2013-2014. Mickey has posted a .603 field goal percentage in 2014-2015.

He averaged 7.9 rebounds per game as a freshman. Now he is averaging 8.7 points per game as a sophomore in 2014-2015. There will be more pressure on the final first round prospect at power forward to deliver in 2014-2015.
Brandon Ashley: PF, Arizona Projected Round: 2nd Round

Brandon Ashley started last year. It makes me wonder if he played small forward last year before making the adjustment to power forward. Brandon Ashley reminds me of his teammate Aaron Gordon. Whether he becomes as good as Gordon remains to be seen.
Moussa Diagne: PF, Senegal Projected Round: 2nd Round

Moussa Diagne is the best international power forward in the 2015 NBA Draft. He plays center on his team in Senegal, but weighs 6-foot-10 and 218-pounds. He plays like Nene who is one of the top power forwards in the NBA.
Shawn Long: PF, Louisiana-Lafayette Projected Round: 2nd Round

Shawn Long could be a decent backup. He reminds me a little of Draymond Green the backup power forward to David Lee on the Golden State Warriors who has been thriving as a starter lately.
Rakeem Christmas: PF, Syracuse Projected Round: 2nd Round

Rakeem Christmas reminds of DeJuan Blair coming out of Pittsburgh. There is a chance Christmas may go undrafted. If this happens there is a good chance Christmas goes to the NBA D League.
David Kravish: PF, California Projected Round: 2nd Round

David Kravish is the college basketball version of Jan Vesley. For those who do not remember, Vesely was the Washington Wizards 2011 first-round pick from the Czech Republic.