LeBron Is Fantasy NBA Star

Cavaliers James tops Suite101's Fantasy NBA Basketball Rankings

Nov 20, 2006

A couple of weeks of NBA basketball are complete, and it didn't take long for the fantasy NBA basketball rankings to heat up.

How is your fantasy NBA team faring, thus far? With the fantasy NBA season underway, you have likely already drafted your team. Although most of these fantasy NBA players won't be available any longer, you may want to consider a fantasy NBA trade. Here are the players you should consider, according to Suite101's fantasy NBA rankings.

LeBron James SF – Who can argue with 28.6 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 block per game? And James hasn’t even exploded for 48, 15 and 8 yet. Clearly the top fantasy NBA player in any league.
Allen Iverson PG/SG – At 28 points, 7.7 assists and nearly 2 steals, Iverson is having arguably his best-ever season.
Gilbert Arenas PG/SG – A scoring machine, Arenas also gets 2 steals per game and shoots better than 90% from the line.
Paul Pierce SF – Pierce has always been a great scorer, but he’s also getting 9 boards and 3.5 assists each night.
Dwayne Wade PG/SG – Huge numbers again for Wade, who is adding 7 assists, 5 boards and nearly 2 steals to his 27 points per game.
Yao Ming C – The pride of China is having his greatest season. Ming is averaging 26 points, 10 rebounds and shooting nice percentages. Yao is definitely the top center in the league. Having his best fantasy NBA season ever.
Zach Randolph PF – Developing into one of the best players in the NBA. With career numbers of 15 points and 7 rebounds, Randolph is posting 26 and 11, respectively in 2006-07. How’s that for improvement?
Steve Nash PG – The two-time defending NBA MVP is having another stellar campaign. Nash’s 19 points, 11 assists and 90% shooting from the free throw line are becoming the norm for him. Definitely the top fantasy NBA assist guy.
Chris Bosh PF – Another up-and-coming young star, Bosh is having a remarkable year with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 1 block per game.
Kevin Garnett – Garnett ranks second on our top 10 players list, heading into the 2006-07 season, and we still love him. At a steady 22 points, 12 rebounds, 1.7 steals and 2 blocks per night, it’s hard not to like the Big Ticket.
Dirk Nowitzki PF – Another ho-hum year for German star Nowitzki. This guy could fall out of bed and register 26 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block per night.
Carmelo Anthony SF – Weak all-around numbers placed Anthony much lower in our pre-season Fantasy Basketball rankings, but ‘Melo is offsetting his pedestrian rebound and assist numbers with 31 points, 50% shooting and 2 steals per night.
Kevin Martin SF – It’s likely you didn’t know who Martin was the first week of the season. The second-year Sacramento Kings forward averaged just 9 points as a rookie. This year, he gets 24 points per night on 54% shooting from the field and 94% from the line. The surprise fantasy NBA player of the year.
Joe Johnson G/F – Johnson is lighting it up and keeping the lowly Hawks in contention.
Jason Kidd PG – If you need a lot of points at guard, Kidd isn’t your man. If you want great production in every other category from your point guard, no one is better.
Michael Redd SG – It’s hard to argue with 30 points on 50% shooting, but you don’t get much more from the Bucks’ gunner.
Kobe Bryant SG – Hard to imagine a guy who averaged 35 in 2005-06 and scored 81 in one game being ranked this low. Bryant is a better NBA player this season, but his solid all-around play has actually hurt his fantasy basketball status. Kobe is still a fantasy NBA mainstay.
Baron Davis PG – If you can stand Davis’ poor 3-point shooting (just 30%), the rest of the numbers are solid: 21 points 8 assists and 2 steals per game.
Tim Duncan F/C – Apart from a poor showing at the free throw line, the Spurs power forward is having a very Tim Duncan-like season with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 1.6 blocks, while shooting 56% from the field.
Lamar Odom PF – When Kobe Bryant’s morphed into a team player, Odom became the beneficiary and is having a fine season with 19 points, 8.6 boards and 5 assists, while shooting 50% from the field and 40% from the 3-point arc.

The copyright of the article LeBron Is Fantasy NBA Star in Basketball is owned by Mark Barnes. Permission to republish LeBron Is Fantasy NBA Star in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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Nov 20, 2006 12:56 PM

Mark Barnes :

Is LeBron James the top fantasy player? Let's hear from the NBA fantasy basketball enthusiasts.

Nov 23, 2006 6:18 AM

eric barnes :

Joe Johnson is ranked too high. He won't get you the points your looking for and he misses too many open looks in clutch time.

I also think it's unfair to call Michael Redd a gunner. Any guard who gets almost 30 a game on better than 47% shooting and 41% beyond the arc is certainly not a gunner. He only shoots the ball 20 times a game on average and also hits 87% of his free throws, so he's very efficient.

Kobe is too high, as well, for now. He's taking only 15 shots a game, which is almost not believable... Did someone cut off one of his arms? If he doesn't start shooting it 30+ times like he's accustomed to doing, his 24 a game won't cut it in fantasy world.

Nov 23, 2006 8:20 AM

Mark Barnes :

Hey Erock,

As the season progresses, Kobe Bryant will doubtless start shooting more. I'm not sure he's dropped an arm, but it's an interesting theory. It's only a matter of time before Kobe starts chucking it 25-plus times per game.

As far as calling Michael Redd a gunner, I only meant that he shoots far more than he does anything else. Redd's fantasy value decreases because his all-around numbers are down.

Suite's fantasy basketball rankings are based on points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, and shooting percentages.

Dec 4, 2006 8:25 AM

Phil Partington :

It's not a bad ranking, but it really depends on what statistics you're factoring. What kind of league are we talking about? Rotisserie? Head-to-head? Points based? If roto, what Statistical Categories are we talking about? Are turnovers factored into it? If they are, Carmelo, Yao Ming, Iverson and Wade fall significantly as they are all near the top of the league. The ranking for an eight STAT CAT (statistical category) league will be very different from a ranking of a five STAT CAT league. Not a bad list by any means, I'm just wondering what stats are being considered.

Dec 4, 2006 8:25 AM

Phil Partington :

Regarding Joe Johnson missing clutch shots, I've never heard of that being a factor in fantasy basketball.

Dec 6, 2006 5:31 PM

Mark Barnes :

Turnovers are not considered in this ranking. In our rankings, we assume it's an 8-team league, but we're really just looking at the top 15 to 20 players, in most cases.

Dec 14, 2006 9:09 AM

Mark Barnes :

The problem with Redd is that he doesn't offer enough in the other fantasy NBA categories, like assists, rebounds and steals.

He'd make for a nice NBA fantasy reserve player.

Dec 14, 2006 11:23 AM

Phil Partington :

Makes sense. Good stuff.

How do you think Iverson's stock will be affected by a trade?

Dec 14, 2006 11:26 AM

Phil Partington :

This really depends on what the stat cats involved in the roto league are, or if it's a roto league at all. You're right though. His boards and assists are really lacking. His steals (1.5 a game) and threes (1.8 a game) are nice and he doesn't turn the ball over. Plus, his %s are great across the board. 84% from the line with 9.5 attempts is excellent.

But if you don't factor these things in your particular league, then they don't matter anyway.

Dec 29, 2006 6:49 AM

Mark Barnes :

As long as Anthony is out, Iverson will put up huge stats, as he's doing now. When Melo returns, I think Iverson's fantasy NBA statistics will decline.

There's just not enough basketballs to go around.

Dec 17, 2008 8:50 PM

Guest :

what about Ray Rallen

Dec 17, 2008 8:56 PM

Guest :

what about Ray Rallen

12 Comments