NBA Big Board: Karl-Anthony Towns continues to climb
The Big Board takes into consideration past returns, current performance and expected future gains in determining who should be included among the top 50 fantasy basketball players. Essentially, the Big Board is a cheat sheet designed for a fantasy owner who is planning to participate in a draft today. Yahoo Sports Fantasy Basketball default scoring settings are used as the baseline for the Big Board
Big Board 50: Basketball | |||
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G | The clear No. 1 player despite sitting out 14 fourth quarters thanks to blowouts. Curry is on pace to hit 382 three pointers this season. The most in NBA history is 286. | ||
F | He’s fully back, which is huge considering just how serious his injury was last season. | ||
F | New Orleans has been one of the bigger disappointing teams in the NBA, and AD continues to deal with durability issues, but he’s still a top-three fantasy option. | ||
G | Leads the NBA in Usage Rate and has the most triple doubles (19) since the beginning of last year by a wide margin. | ||
G | Has been considered something of a let down, but his 27.8 ppg are actually a career-high. | ||
G | Has been a monster ever since Blake Griffin went down, and the latter is out for the next two months with an ugly hand injury. | ||
F | Still remains the man. His Usage Rate and PER are both Top-5. | ||
G | There’s a strong claim he’s the second best player in the NBA right now. | ||
C | He’s the real deal and has a legit argument to be the No. 1 pick if starting a franchise today. | ||
10. Kyle Lowry (TOR) | G | Showing up in “the best shape of his life” has really paid off here. | |
F | Just continues to keep getting it done. | ||
F | Has struggled shooting but should still be a top-15 option down the stretch, even if his role in Indiana isn’t quite the same. | ||
C | Has been a top-12 player despite seeing just 28.3 mpg and owning a 54.9 FT%. Leading the league in blocks (3.9) by a wide margin (next closest is 2.5) sure helps. | ||
F | Still leads the NBA in triple-doubles with 10. | ||
15. John Wall (WAS) | G | Averaging career-highs in ppg (20.0), spg (2.1) and 3pt (1.5). | |
F | Has shot 38.2 percent from the floor over the past two weeks but should be an elite option from here on out. He leads the NBA in field goal attempts per game. | ||
G | Only Stephen Curry has attempted more three pointers per game than Lillard this season. | ||
18. Al Horford (ATL) | C | Continues to shoot more threes than ever while also getting the most bpg (1.5) in his career. | |
G | Has been the No. 2 player over the past two weeks. | ||
C | Hasn’t totally lived up to the hype, but he should be a force down the stretch. He’s averaged 2.3 spg and 2.7 blocks over the past week while playing with a knee brace. | ||
21. Pau Gasol (CHI) | F | Continues to defy expectations, and injuries to Chicago’s frontcourt help secure Gasol’s value. | |
G | Hasn’t been close to this ranking so far this season but is rounding into form coming off the knee injury. Irving has been a top-20 player over the past two weeks. | ||
G | After never being a top-30 player, Walker has ranked No. 16 so far in 2015/16. | ||
F | After a slow start, Noel has been a top-20 player over the past two months, when he’s averaged 1.9 spg and 2.0 bpg. | ||
C | Has been a top-25 player each of the past two seasons and continues to do so this year. | ||
26. Chris Bosh (MIA) | F | In a major shooting slump, but Bosh should be fine moving forward. | |
F | He’s back after missing 16 games with an injury and is slowly rounding into his previous form, recently rejoining the starting lineup. | ||
F | Rebounds remain down, but his 1.1 bpg are a career high. | ||
29. Kevin Love (CLE) | F | Has thrived under new coach Tyronn Lue, as Love has been a top-15 player over the past two weeks. | |
F | There’s legitimate concern over his health in the long term. | ||
C | Continues to thrive in Milwaukee, although there’s some concern he may be traded. | ||
32. Marc Gasol (MEM) | C | Currently dealing with a foot injury. | |
33. Rudy Gay (SAC) | F | Has been a top-15 player over the last month. | |
G | Has a higher Usage Rate than Kevin Durant this season. | ||
G | Continues to be one of the league’s biggest breakout stars this season. | ||
F | One of the bigger disappointments of the year, Ibaka hasn’t been a top-75 player over the past month. | ||
G | After a rough start to the year, the third-year player has been a top-40 player over the last month. Much better things are sure to come. | ||
G | Would love more threes, and he’s slumped at the line of late, but obviously this is a future star. | ||
F | Has been a top-25 player over his last 25 games. | ||
F | A huge revelation, Crowder will go down as possibly the biggest steal in drafts this year. | ||
C | Has remained steady during a hugely disappointing season in Washington. | ||
C | This ranking might actually be too low. He’s exceeded all expectations. | ||
F | Has been a top-20 player over the last month despite seeing fewer than 30 minutes per game. Aldridge is becoming comfortable in San Antonio. | ||
G | Toronto has a bottom five Pace in the NBA, yet its Offensive Efficiency is top-six. | ||
G | Has averaged career-highs in ppg (19.8), rpg (5.1) and 3pt (1.8). Utah has by far the lowest Pace in the league. | ||
F | Crazy good longevity. | ||
F | He’s officially over his offseason knee surgery. Parsons has been the No. 27 ranked player over the past month. | ||
G | His Usage Rate has been top-10 in the NBA. | ||
G | Leads the league in assists with 11.9 per game. The next closest is 10.0. | ||
G | Leads the NBA in mpg and has been a top-10 player but will be sidelined for the next three-to-four weeks with a knee injury. |
Note: "vs. ECR" compares my rank to the Expert Consensus Rank (ECR) as compiled by FantasyPros.
ON THE BUBBLE: Nicolas Batum, GF, Charlotte; Ricky Rubio, PG, Minnesota; Mike Conley, PG, Memphis; DeAndre Jordan, C, Los Angeles; Khris Middleton, GF, Milwaukee; Dwight Howard, C, Houston; Otto Porter, SF, Washington; Nikola Jokic, C, Denver; Thaddeus Young, F, Brooklyn; Jonas Valanciunas, C, Toronto; Brandon Knight, G, Phoenix; Trevor Ariza, GF, Houston; Will Barton, GF, Denver; J.J. Redick, SG, Los Angeles; Kent Bazemore, GF, Atlanta; Ryan Anderson, FC, New Orleans; Gorgui Dieng, FC, Minnesota; Avery Bradley, G, Boston; George Hill, G, Indiana; Jeff Teague, PG, Atlanta