2009-2010 Top 15 NBA Fantasy Players

Chris Paul Edges LeBron James as Best Fantasy Player

© Phil Partington

Sep 25, 2009

One thing ought to be clear from the start about NBA fantasy basketball--everything depends on the set up of the league. A player with a high value in head-to-head may not be as valuable in a rotisserie-based league. Keep that in mind when assessing these rankings. For the purpose of this article, these players were ranked with primarly roto in mind.

1. Chris Paul, New Orleans Hornets - While this pick might cause outrage from LeBron James supporters, it makes sense to pick Paul over James. Point guards are typically nabbed pretty early in drafts, and Paul fills more categories than even James does, while not hurting a fantasy team in any particular category. Though Paul won't block many shots, he led the league in assists and steals last season, while keeping his turnovers down to a minimum. He also scored more than 20 ppg, and shot around 50% from the field and in the mid-to-high 80s at the line.
2. LeBron James, Cleveland Cavaliers - Whichever player you choose, James and Paul should be the most no-brainer picks of your fantasy draft. James is a monster, filling stats across the board. He even improved his free throw shooting last year to 78%.
3. Dwayne Wade, Miami Heat - Wade was a beast last season, and should build upon that. The biggest concern for him is that he has a history of injury problems. He did cut his turnovers down from 4.4 per game to 3.4, which is huge in fantasy.
4. Dirk Nowitzki, Dallas Mavericks - Sure, Kobe Bryant is still on the list, but he may see fewer touches than last season. Dirk is consistent year in and year out and with Jason Kidd passing him the ball, he should be able to provide fantasy owners with another season of great stats.
5. Kobe Bryant, LA Lakers - His free throw attempts decreased last season from 9.1 per game to 6.9. The addition of Ron Artest should help him save energy, as he won't have to guard the opposition's best perimeter player as often, but it also means he'll have another player to share the ball with. Also, if a healthy Andrew Bynum starts earning more minutes, he could take away from Kobe's touches, too.
6. Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers - Granger was a stud last season, but his health has come into question. He missed 15 games last season.
7. Kevin Durant, Oklahoma City Thunder - Durant's not even 21 yet, and he's already one of the league's top scorers. Expect big things from this kid.
8. Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns - The Suns should be going back to a run-and-gun format, which will greatly help Stoudemire's game.
9. Chauncey Billups, Denver Nuggets - Sure he's getting older, but he's aged like a fine wine. His best stat? 91% from the line in 5.8 attempts per game.
10. Chris Bosh, Toronto Raptors - Bosh finally has help again, with the additions of Hedo Turkoglu, Demar DeRozan and others, like Marco Bellineli. Turk especially should help open the court and feed him the ball in spots he's most comfortable.
11. Pau Gasol, LA Lakers - Gasol doesn't dazzle in any particular stat, but he provides a balance of solid numbers without hurting fantasy owners in anything.
12. Brandon Roy, Portland Trail Blazers - Mr. Versatile...Roy has shown his ability to fill a stat sheet at a consistent pace.
13. Al Jefferson, MInnesota Timberwolves - If Jefferson can stay healthy, he provides great numbers for a big. Word is he'll be asked to play more defense this season, which means his scoring might dip, but his boards and blocks should increase.
14. Steve Nash, Phoenix Suns - Nash's numbers should go back up again, as the Suns will be running the ball more.
15. Deron Williams, Utah Jazz - It would be nice if Williams would do more - cut down on turnovers, steal the ball more and hit more threes. However, he's a solid player who brings one important stat to the table; assists.

It should be important to note that, while Dwight Howard's stats are very intriguing, he can single-handedly kill a fantasy team with his horrendous free throw percentage. It would take five Jose Calderon's shooting 98% from the line to balance Dwight Howard's 59% from the line...and that would give you a balance of only 78.5%, which isn't good enough to be on the high side of the FT% category in most fantasy leagues. In head-to-head leagues, where this isn't as much of a factor, Howard's stock rises quite a bit. Otherwise, it's an important stat to consider.

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