Fantasy Basketball 2016: Top NBA Player Rankings and Underrated Sleepers

The 2016-17 NBA season finally gets underway Tuesday night. By now, you've read all that there is to read on the internet.

There has been a litany of Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant profiles for your perusal. The Utah Jazz are the belle of basketball Twitter's ball. Kris Dunn is rapidly becoming an early favorite for Rookie of the Year. The Los Angeles Lakers and Philadelphia 76ers may be half of a dumpster fire this season.

Oh, and fantasy basketball is happening.

By now, most leagues have already run their drafts. But for those remaining stragglers who haven't or are for some reason waiting for the Halloween weekend, here is a look at some potential sleepers to target and rankings for every position.

Sleepers to Target

D'Angelo Russell, PG/SG, Los Angeles Lakers

It's unfair to call a second-year player a sleeper. Guys typically make massive leaps between Year 1 and Year 2. Grading on a regular performance curve, something like 17 points, five assists and five rebounds with a pair of threes per game seems like a bare-minimum expectation for Lakers guard D'Angelo Russell this season.

But there's reason to hope for more. Gone are Kobe Bryant and former head coach Byron Scott, who seemed at times determined to not allow Russell to blossom. Bryant hogged a ton of shots that should have gone to developing players, while Scott was the worst coach in professional basketball last year. His antagonistic relationship with Russell alone seemed like a fireable offense.

Luke Walton, a players-first guy who absorbed Steve Kerr's philosophies during his stint as an assistant with the Golden State Warriors, has replaced Scott. Walton's fluid style of basketball should open things up for Russell, a left-handed Brandon Roy clone with a higher ceiling as a ball-handler.

I would rather have Russell as a shooting guard over the long term, but he looked like a no-doubt-about-it offensive juggernaut at times during the preseason.

Devin Booker, SG, Phoenix Suns

Admittedly cheating again here, but Phoenix Suns guard Devin Booker's preseason was so wonderful that it's impossible to not acknowledge his breakout potential. Booker was among the preseason scoring leaders, averaging 19.6 points in 26.4 minutes per game.

Making matters more interesting, Booker wasn't even hitting threes at a high rate. He did most of his work in the mid-range or by creating off the dribble, two facets of his game that seemed years away when he came out of Kentucky. It's clear the injuries that forced Booker into a primary ball-handling role last season have expedited his growth.

"He scored every way possible, so you like everything that he did," head coach Earl Watson said, per Tyler Emerick of NBA.com. "You can tell 19 years of age and his maturity and patience in the half court and the way he can score is very unique. I'm not sure there's a lot of people his age or a lot of people in the NBA who can do that."

The Suns have already given him a vote of confidence by handing him a starting spot. Watson will have his hands full while trying to find a happy medium of minutes between Booker, Eric Bledsoe and Brandon Knight. With Leandro Barbosa also looking for playing time, Booker might be limited to 28 minutes per game.

That's the only knock here, though.

Enes Kanter, C, Oklahoma City Thunder

No one is going to fall out of his or her chair when you take Oklahoma City Thunder big man Enes Kanter, but he could wind up being a 20-10 guy this season.

Durant's departure left a massive offensive void, and while many expect Victor Oladipo to emerge as the breakout star, Kanter is Oklahoma City's second-best offensive player. The minutes distribution between Kanter and Steven Adams might be a problem, with the latter primed to emerge as an All-Defensive selection in 2016-17.

But Kanter should push for 30 minutes per game with most of the Thunder's small-ball options now playing basketball in other cities. Domantas Sabonis' promising preseason could lead to some decisions down the road, and Kanter is the most likely rotation player to be on the move by February. For now, though, the Thunder are going to need him as a high-volume scorer in the middle.

Dion Waiters, SG, Miami Heat

The Miami Heat's points have to come from somewhere. Goran Dragic is the most obvious benefactor of the post-Dwyane Wade era: The Heat plan on cranking up the tempo, and Dragic put up All-Star numbers whenever he played without Wade last season.

Dion Waiters, who signed a cheap one-year contract, will be a high-usage offensive player, whether the Heat want him to or not, slotting into Wade's role in the offense.

Waiters has never shown a modicum of consistency during his NBA career, and he's not going to have the same free rein to dribble out the shot clock as Wade. Mid-range chucks will lead to seats on the bench, not pats on the back.

But if Waiters can find his smile anywhere, it's in Miami.

Rankings

Ranking	Player	Team	Position(s)
1	Russell Westbrook	OKC	PG
2	Stephen Curry	GS	PG | SG
3	Damian Lillard	POR	PG
4	Chris Paul	LAC	PG
5	John Wall	WSH	PG
6	Kyrie Irving	CLE	PG | SG
7	Kyle Lowry	TOR	PG | SG
8	Kemba Walker	CHA	PG | SG
9	Isaiah Thomas	BOS	PG
10	C.J. McCollum	POR	PG | SG
11	Victor Oladipo	OKC	PG | SG
12	Eric Bledsoe	PHX	PG | SG
13	Goran Dragic	MIA	PG | SG
14	D'Angelo Russell	LAL	PG | SG
15	Brandon Knight	PHX	PG | SG
16	Reggie Jackson	DET	PG | SG
17	Dennis Schroder	ATL	PG
18	Ricky Rubio	MIN	PG
19	Emmanuel Mudiay	DEN	PG
20	Mike Conley	MEM	PG

Ranking	Player	Team	Position
1	James Harden	HOU	SG
2	Stephen Curry	GS	PG | SG
3	Paul George	IND	SF | PF | SG
4	Giannis Antetokounmpo	MIL	SF | SG
5	Kemba Walker	CHA	PG | SG
6	Kyrie Irving	CLE	PG | SG
7	Kyle Lowry	TOR	PG | SG
8	C.J. McCollum	POR	PG | SG
9	Jimmy Butler	CHI	SG | SF
10	Klay Thompson	GS	SG | SF
11	Gordon Hayward	UTAH	SG | SF
12	Nicolas Batum	CHA	SG |SF
13	Victor Oladipo	OKC	SG | PG
14	Eric Bledsoe	PHX	SG | PG
15	DeMar DeRozan	TOR	SG | SF
16	Goran Dragic	MIA	PG | SG
17	Bradley Beal	WSH	SG
18	D'Angelo Russell	LAL	PG | SG
19	Brandon Knight	PHX	PG | SG
20	Reggie Jackson	DET	PG | SG

Ranking	Player	Team	Position
1	Kevin Durant	GS	SF | PF
2	LeBron James	CLE	SF | PF
3	Kawhi Leonard	SA	SF
4	Draymond Green	GS	SF | PF | C
5	Paul George	IND	SF | PF | SG
6	Giannis Antetokounmpo	MIL	SF | SG
7	Jimmy Butler	CHI	SG | SF
8	Klay Thompson	GS	SG | SF
9	Gordon Hayward	UTAH	SG | SF
10	Nicolas Batum	CHA	SG |SF
11	DeMar DeRozan	TOR	SG | SF
12	Carmelo Anthony	NY	SF | PF
13	Andrew Wiggins	MIN	SG | SF
14	Chandler Parsons	MEM	SF
15	Jae Crowder	BOS	SF
16	Tobias Harris	DET	PF | SF
17	Jabari Parker	MIL	SF | PF
18	Danilo Gallinari	DEN	SF | PF
19	Trevor Ariza	HOU	SF | SG
20	Harrison Barnes	DAL	SF | PF

Ranking	Player	Team	Position
1	Kevin Durant	GS	SF | PF
2	Anthony Davis	NO	PF | C
3	LeBron James	CLE	SF | PF
4	Karl-Anthony Towns	MIN	C | PF
5	Paul George	IND	SF | PF | SG
6	Draymond Green	GS	SF | PF | C
7	DeMarcus Cousins	SAC	C | PF
8	Blake Griffin	LAC	PF
9	Hassan Whiteside	MIA	PF | C
10	Paul Millsap	ATL	PF
11	LaMarcus Aldridge	SA	PF | C
12	Al Horford	BOS	C | PF
13	Serge Ibaka	ORL	PF | C
14	Derrick Favors	UTAH	PF | C
15	Carmelo Anthony	NY	SF | PF
16	Kristaps Porzingis	NY	PF
17	Kevin Love	CLE	PF
18	Tobias Harris	DET	PF | SF
19	Jabari Parker	MIL	SF | PF
20	Danilo Gallinari	DEN	SF | PF

Ranking	Player	Team	Position
1	Anthony Davis	NO	PF | C
2	Karl-Anthony Towns	MIN	C | PF
3	Draymond Green	GS	SF | PF | C
4	DeMarcus Cousins	SAC	C | PF
5	Hassan Whiteside	MIA	PF | C
6	LaMarcus Aldridge	SA	PF | C
7	Al Horford	BOS	C | PF
8	Serge Ibaka	ORL	PF | C
9	Derrick Favors	UTAH	PF | C
10	Marc Gasol	MEM	C
11	Rudy Gobert	UTAH	C
12	Pau Gasol	SA	PF | C
13	Andre Drummond	DET	C
14	DeAndre Jordan	LAC	C
15	Nikola Vucevic	ORL	C
16	Jahlil Okafor	PHI	C | PF
17	Nerlens Noel	PHI	C | PF
18	Enes Kanter	OKC	C | PF
19	Dwight Howard	ATL	C
20	Jonas Valanciunas	TOR	C