Blazers’ Covington Snags Spot on List of Top Power Forwards

Robert Covington enjoyed one of his more successful NBA seasons in his first year with the Portland Trail Blazers. As a result, he earned a notable spot on HoopsHype writer Frank Urbina’s top 22 power forwards list ahead of the 2021-22 NBA season, clocking in at No. 17.

In his analysis, Urbina emphasized Covington’s versatility, and how unique of a statistical season he had in 2020-21:

Covington is one of the six players in league history to post a campaign with at least 135 three-pointers, 84 blocks and 101 steals – joining Kevin Durant, Danny Green, Robert Horry, Shawn Marion and Paul Pierce.

Covington is the only player to have done that in two separate seasons, speaking to his very unique game which fits perfectly in the scope of modern basketball.

So although he’s not a high-level scorer, Covington – who made the Blazers 7.0 points per 100 possessions better with his presence last season – is an extremely effective power forward in his role as one of the most versatile defenders in basketball.

Covington struggled through a slow offensive start out of the gate, but heated up enough to have the most efficient 3-point shooting season of his career, hitting 37.9 percent of his 5.1 attempts per game. He also notched a career-high season in rebounds (6.7), and was the only Blazers player to log at least 1,000 minutes and produce a positive defensive box plus-minus rating.