Ranking top 5 power forwards in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers

The power forward position has been marked by a mixture of power and grace. An elite power forward uses a mixture of both of those attributes to be able to score in the post and also be able to step out and hit a jumper when needed.

For the Philadelphia 76ers, one of the greatest players in the history of the game played the position for them. They have seen their fair share of elite power forwards come through and don their colors and we’re going to rank the top five at the position in their history.

Here are the top five power forwards to play for the Sixers in their history:

Honorable mentions

Tobias Harris

Fans won't like this choice, but Harris was very good during his time in Philadelphia. He averaged 17.6 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 3.1 assists across his 5.5 seasons with the Sixers. Yes, the playoff numbers were up and down--and sometimes ugly--but Harris was such a productive member of this group and deserves a mention.

No 5. Thaddeus Young

Young gets the nod here mainly due to longevity. He averaged 13.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in seven seasons in Philadelphia including a career-high 17.9 points per game in 2013-14. He’s ninth in franchise history in steals and he was a consistent presence night in and night out for them.

No 4. George McGinnis

McGinnis only spent three seasons in Philadelphia, but the man was a beast during his time in the City of Brotherly Love. He averaged 21.6 points and 11.5 rebounds with 4.1 assists and 2.1 steals. He was an All-Start in 1976 and 1977 and was the leader of some pretty good Sixers teams.

No. 3 Bobby Jones

The Secretary of Defense was a huge part of the 1983 Sixers title team coming off their bench and he was all over the floor for them. He averaged 10.7 points and 4.8 rebounds with 1.1 blocks while being named an All-Star in 1981 and 1982. He is seventh in the franchise’s history in steals and he is fifth in blocks.

No. 2 Dolph Schayes

This is taking everybody back into the annals of Sixers' history. Schayes spent all his seasons with the Syracuse Nationals before the franchise moved to Philadelphia to become the 76ers in 1963. He averaged 18.5 points and 12.1 rebounds leading the Nationals to the title in 1955 and was an All-Star 12 times in his career. His 11,256 total rebounds are tops in the history of the franchise.

No. 1 Charles Barkley

Was there any doubt about who would earn the top spot? Barkley was just something special. He averaged 23.3 points and 11.6 rebounds, and 3.7 assists in Philadelphia and he was an All-Star for six of those seasons. He’s fifth in franchise history in points, seventh in blocks, fifth in steals, and third in total rebounds. He’s the franchise’s leader in both defensive rebounds and offensive rebounds.

This article originally appeared on Sixers Wire: Ranking top 5 power forwards in the history of the Philadelphia 76ers