Fantasy Basketball Review
Now that the basketball season is over and the Boston Celtics have been crowned NBA Champions, it is a good time to reflect on the 2007-2008 basketball season as a fantasy basketball owner.
The following is a rundown of just a few emerging starts in fantasy basketball and the NBA.
LeBron James, CLE, SF: In the "duh" category, LeBron led the NBA in points per game last season and has become every bit the player that fantasy owners hoped he would be coming out of high school.
He has averaged more than 27 points per game in each of the last four seasons, and he set career marks in rebounds per game and field goal percentage last season.
It's hard to believe that he will only be age 24 at the beginning of next season.
Chris Paul, NO, PG: Steve Nash, who? Mainstream America became aware of this former Wake Forest star in the playoffs, but the Hornets' dynamic point guard was dominant all season long.
He led the league in assists per game with 11.
6, steals with 2.
71 per game and also added 21.
1 points per game.
Paul showed what an incredibly well-rounded point guard he had become, and he should be a top pick in fantasy drafts going into the 2008-2009 season.
Marcus Camby, DEN, PF: If you need blocks, there is no one better than this veteran out of UMass.
Camby led the league in blocks per game for the third consecutive season and also finished second place in rebounds per game.
He is getting somewhat long in the tooth at age 34, but Camby should have a year or two left as a formidable player considering the career lines of other shot blockers.
Dwight Howard, ORL, C: The NBA Dunk Contest Champ has finished in the top three in rebounds per game in each of the last three seasons, but 2007-2008 was the first time in which he finished first place.
In fact, he had more than one rebound more per game than the next closest competitor, Marcus Camby.
The 22-year-old has seen his stats improve almost across the board in every season since his rookie year in 2004-2005, and he is still yet to miss a game in his NBA career.
Howard is the type of safe, solid pick that you can build a fantasy basketball team around.
Kevin Durant, SEA, SF: There was little doubt that Durant would be the NBA Rookie of the Year after Greg Oden got injured before the season, if for no other reason than opportunity.
The Sonics were truly horrendous last season, yet Durant beat the next closest rookie in points by nearly 70 percent.
Seattle can't get much worse next season, but fantasy owners may not want them to add much more talent.
Durant is absolutely the man in Seattle for points, and that is unlikely to change as long as the talent level stays at a constant decrepit level around him.
The following is a rundown of just a few emerging starts in fantasy basketball and the NBA.
LeBron James, CLE, SF: In the "duh" category, LeBron led the NBA in points per game last season and has become every bit the player that fantasy owners hoped he would be coming out of high school.
He has averaged more than 27 points per game in each of the last four seasons, and he set career marks in rebounds per game and field goal percentage last season.
It's hard to believe that he will only be age 24 at the beginning of next season.
Chris Paul, NO, PG: Steve Nash, who? Mainstream America became aware of this former Wake Forest star in the playoffs, but the Hornets' dynamic point guard was dominant all season long.
He led the league in assists per game with 11.
6, steals with 2.
71 per game and also added 21.
1 points per game.
Paul showed what an incredibly well-rounded point guard he had become, and he should be a top pick in fantasy drafts going into the 2008-2009 season.
Marcus Camby, DEN, PF: If you need blocks, there is no one better than this veteran out of UMass.
Camby led the league in blocks per game for the third consecutive season and also finished second place in rebounds per game.
He is getting somewhat long in the tooth at age 34, but Camby should have a year or two left as a formidable player considering the career lines of other shot blockers.
Dwight Howard, ORL, C: The NBA Dunk Contest Champ has finished in the top three in rebounds per game in each of the last three seasons, but 2007-2008 was the first time in which he finished first place.
In fact, he had more than one rebound more per game than the next closest competitor, Marcus Camby.
The 22-year-old has seen his stats improve almost across the board in every season since his rookie year in 2004-2005, and he is still yet to miss a game in his NBA career.
Howard is the type of safe, solid pick that you can build a fantasy basketball team around.
Kevin Durant, SEA, SF: There was little doubt that Durant would be the NBA Rookie of the Year after Greg Oden got injured before the season, if for no other reason than opportunity.
The Sonics were truly horrendous last season, yet Durant beat the next closest rookie in points by nearly 70 percent.
Seattle can't get much worse next season, but fantasy owners may not want them to add much more talent.
Durant is absolutely the man in Seattle for points, and that is unlikely to change as long as the talent level stays at a constant decrepit level around him.
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