When I ask you, the reader, who the number one fantasy basketball player has been so far this season, I am pretty sure I would get answers like: LeBron James or Kevin Durant, or even names like Pau Gasol or Amar’e Stoudemire; but the answer to the question as I am writing this article is Chris Paul. Rajon Rondo has 321 assists so far this season [understanding he was injured for a little while], while Chris Paul has 353 assists and the thing that makes this very interesting is the subject of the most valuable player at the end of the season. Paul and the Hornets started out the year very strong at 11-1, and now have literally fallen off the map at 21-15. If the Hornets do not make he playoffs [they are currently at the 7 seed in the west], will that effect Chris Paul status for MVP? Probably not if Paul has over 1,000 assists this year.
At this time in the season there are a few fantasy basketball players that we just cannot ignore and we need to talk about. They are mostly the players that did not get drafted in the first few rounds in the majority of fantasy basketball leagues and are surprising many people across the league [even they are most likely not available on the waiver wire as per their early success, later I will mention some more up and coming guys].
Kevin Love, F, Minnesota Timberwolves: 756 points, 560 rebounds, 208 free throws made. Love has been an absolute monster this season, basically doing things we never thought possible when Al Jefferson was there. He has 22 consecutive double-doubles and has four games with 30 points and 15 rebounds this year… enough said.
Wilson Chandler, F, New York Knicks: 607 points, 221 rebounds, 52 blocks. Chandler has been a huge asset for the Knicks this season, with all of the trade talk around New York, you have to wonder if nothing has been done based on how good the trade pieces for New York have been playing [Chandler and Gallinari].
Dorell Wright, G/F, Golden State Warriors: 563 points, 209 rebounds, 105 assists, 90 3-point field goals made. Wright has scored double-digit points in 20 of his last 21 games, with 6 games of over 20 points in that span. He has been a huge asset to the Warriors this year and is one of the reasons they are staying afloat. Wright has also had a steal in 8 straight games, which just adds to his fantasy value.
Serge Ibaka, F, Oklahoma City Thunder: 361 points, 248 rebounds, 82 blocks. Ibaka is now a contestant in the dunk contest going on in mid-February, but now he is helping fantasy owners a ton with his production on this young team. He is averaging 9.8 points and 6.7 rebounds so far this season and has really been a nice surprise this season.
After talking about some of the surprising players who have helped fantasy owners out a ton this year, here is a list of some players that have absolutely killed fantasy owners this season and may not be out there to help owners any time soon.
Brandon Roy, G, Portland Trailblazers: He is technically out indefinitely right now with “sore knees.” To me, hearing the words “sore knees” is much worse than knowing exactly what kind of injury he really has, like even if he tore his ACL or something. Roy has not played since December 15th and is not planning on being out there for a good while, so very disappointing to fantasy owners at the moment, especially if you do not have an injury spot on your roster.
Troy Murphy, F, New Jersey Nets: He was projected to be the 57th ranked fantasy player before the season started; he is now ranked 355. Murphy has started four games so far this season, has been an absolute bust for fantasy owners, and when he is playing he is averaging 3.6 points and 4.2 rebounds this season.
Anthony Randolph, F, New York Knicks: If you are not a Knicks fan, you probably would have thought the Knicks had traded this guy already because you have not seen any signal of him seeing the floor at all. Randolph has not started a single game for the Knicks this season, his minutes high was just under 12 minutes back in November and has not played more than two minutes since the end of November. A real serious disappointment for fantasy owners and Knicks fans for a very athletic product out of LSU.
