Fantasy Basketball 2016: Breakout Stars Ready to Be Among the NBA's Best

The NBA fantasy landscape is always changing. Superstars begin to decline with age, and bright young stars take their places.

Some young studs such as Karl-Anthony Towns, Kawhi Leonard and Giannis Antetokounmpo have already shown themselves to be first-round-caliber fantasy players. Other youngsters who are below them on most draft boards have a lot of potential, but they might not quite be ready for superstardom.

Let's recognize three talented young players who are ready to take a leap in their developments. All three have the potential to become the linchpin of a fantasy team one day.

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic gradually earned respect around the league as the 2015-16 season wore on. The second-round pick from 2014 put up great numbers early, but then he just kept producing at a high level. His fantastic rookie campaign was not a fluke.

The next step for Jokic is continuing to fill the stat sheet at the same rate despite playing a bigger role. He only played 21.7 minutes per game for Denver as a rookie—partly because of the Nuggets' crowded frontcourt, and partly because of his occasional foul trouble (4.3 fouls per 36 minutes).

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There's no doubt Jokic will get more burn in 2016-17. The Nuggets traded Joffrey Lauvergne, Kenneth Faried has been a mainstay in trade rumors and Darrell Arthur is struggling with a knee injury. Fellow young European big man Jusuf Nurkic (22 years old) has played well in the preseason, but head coach Michael Malone has shown a willingness to play them together.

Compared to other centers, the 21-year-old Jokic provides uncommonly strong production in several categories, including assists, steals, three-pointers and free throws.

Projected per-game stats: 13.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.1 steals, 0.9 blocks, 1.7 turnovers, 0.6 three-pointers, 50.9 field-goal percentage (9.8 attempts), 80.8 free-throw percentage (3.6 attempts)

Dennis Schroder, Atlanta Hawks

You'll have to live with ups and downs if you decide to select Atlanta Hawks point guard Dennis Schroder in your fantasy draft. He's young, brash and new to a starting role, and his performance has been known to swing wildly from game to game.

Overall, though, he'll turn in big numbers for the Hawks. The rest of the team's key perimeter players are low-usage offensive options, which means Schroder will have to create a lot of offense. He'll achieve major career highs in scoring and assists.

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As far as his playing time, there isn't a whole lot keeping him from earning around 33 minutes per game. Jeff Teague's minutes as Atlanta's starting point guard were never that high with Schroder on the team, but Schroder's backup is Jarrett Jack, a veteran clearly on the downside of his career. Jack is also still recovering from a knee injury and won't be ready to start the regular season, per the Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Chris Vivlamore.  

Turnovers are a weak point for the 23-year-old speedster. However, he'll provide solid enough value in other major categories to make him one of the better fantasy starting point guards in the league.

Projected per-game stats: 16.7 points, 7.1 assists, 3.2 rebounds, 1.4 steals, 0.2 blocks, 3.3 turnovers, 1.5 three-pointers, 43.0 field-goal percentage (13.9 attempts), 80.1 free-throw percentage (3.9 attempts)

D'Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers

With all due respect to Kobe Bryant and his illustrious career, the Black Mamba's farewell tour in 2015-16 made Los Angeles Lakers point guard D'Angelo Russell's rookie season a lot harder than it needed to be.

Bryant's tendency to dominate the ball took away reps from Russell, forcing the rookie to play off the ball more than he was used to. According to NBA.com, the 20-year-old floor general averaged 14.9 points and 3.7 assists per 36 minutes when Kobe was on the floor. When Bryant was on the bench, those numbers jumped to 18.7 points and 4.8 assists per 36 minutes.

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Russell is now the unquestioned leader of the offense, and his numbers will show it. He does still have several players he'll have to share possessions with, such as Jordan Clarkson, Brandon Ingram and Julius Randle, but the former Ohio State standout should put up the gaudiest stats on the team. He's certainly looked confident during the Lakers' preseason slate.

In the future, look for Russell to become a true fantasy superstar. His main weakness is positional defense, but that hardly shows up in the stat sheet. The young guard is an expert at running pick-and-rolls, thanks to his 6'5" size and a diverse offensive skill set.

Projected per-game stats: 16.2 points, 5.0 assists, 3.9 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 0.2 blocks, 2.7 turnovers, 2.1 three-pointers, 41.5 field-goal percentage (14.0 attempts), 76.3 free-throw percentage (3.3 attempts)