NBA Power Rankings: Tiering all 30 projected starting small forwards for 2023-24

Tier 4: The young budding stars

In tier 4, we’ll get to the small forwards that should be considered young budding stars in the NBA. These are the players who have shown the ability and have the potential to be star players in the league one day. Whether or not they eventually get there is an entirely different conversation, but these players have all the talent in the world to become household names in the Association.

14. Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

Scottie Barnes has somewhat surprisingly become one of the more polarizing players in the NBA. After winning the NBA’s Rookie of the Year away two years ago, the expectation was that Barnes was going to have a huge sophomore season. That didn’t exactly happen this past season. Barnes showed flashes of the palyer that he could be but was unable to consistently put it together.

As you would expect, some of the hype and excitement surrounding Barnes has died a little. However, I don’t think that’s entirely fair. The talent is still there and Barnes is expected to have a bigger role with the team this season.