NBA Fantasy Basketball for Dummies: The Top 50 Players for 2010-11

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OKLAHOMA CITY - APRIL 30: Kevin Durant #35 of the Oklahoma City Thunder drives to the basket against Ron Artest #37 of the Los Angeles Lakers during Game Six of the Western Conference Quarterfinals of the 2010 NBA Playoffs on April 30, 2010 at the Ford C

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(Composed by Ahaviah Bessemer and Ryan Marshall.)

Although the regular season hasn't started, it’s never too early to start thinking about fantasy basketball.

For those of you who are eager to start doing research, I’ve created a five round mock draft to help give a rough estimate of where players will land. Throughout the slideshow you will come to learn player roles and their value to a team.

Please note that players do not have projected: blocks, steals, three-pointers made, three-point percentage, and turnovers.

Rules: Head-to-Head league, 10 Teams, live draft.

Please read on to start your fantasy basketball research.

1-10. (The Elite)

MIAMI - JULY 09: LeBron James #6 of the Miami Heat is introduced during a welcome party at American Airlines Arena on July 9, 2010 in Miami, Florida. (Photo by Marc Serota/Getty Images)

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The Elite

Players you want to build your team around. Provided they stay healthy, your success begins with these players. Players like LeBron James provide great numbers consistently in almost every category.

First Round

1.Kevin Durant. OKC. 6'9". SF/PF. Projected: 31.2 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 3.2 APG, 47% FG, 89% FT.

2.Chris Paul. NOH. 6'1". PG. Projected: 24.1 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 10.9 APG, 50% FG, 86% FT.

3.LeBron James. MIA. 6'8". SF/PF. Projected: 25.2 PPG, 7.9 RPG, 8.6 APG, 49% FG, 74% FT.

4.Deron Williams. UTAH. 6'3". PG/SG. Projected: 23.9 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 10.3 APG, 46% FG, 81% FT.

5.Kobe Bryant. LAL. 6'6". SG. Projected: 28.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 5.2 APG. 47% FG, 84 FT%.

6.Danny Granger. IND. 6'9". SG/SF. Projected: 27.1 PPG, 6.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 44% FG, 87% FT.

7.Dirk Nowitzki. DAL. 7'0". PF. Projected: 25.8 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 3.1 APG, 48% FG, 90% FT.

8.Dwight Howard. ORL. 6'11". C. Projected: 18.6 PPG, 13.7 RPG, 1.9 APG, 59% FG, 58% FT.

9.Carmelo Anthony. DEN. 6'8". SF/PF. Projected: 28.7 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 3.0 APG, 45% FG, 81% FT.

10.Dwyane Wade. MIA. 6'4". SG/PG. Projected: 26.1 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 6.2 APG, 48% FG, 76% FT.

11-20. (The Nobles)

LOS ANGELES, CA - JUNE 15: Rajon Rondo #9 of the Boston Celtics moves the ball while taking on the Los Angeles Lakers in Game Six of the 2010 NBA Finals at Staples Center on June 15, 2010 in Los Angeles, California. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowle

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The Nobles

Players who are almost good enough to carry a team. Often times they go under the radar because they are not apart of the "elite" group. Their contributions cannot be replaced. Players like Rajon Rondo do enough of everything to push teams forward.

Second Round

11. Amar'e Stoudemire. NYK. 6'10". PF/C. Projected: 23.3 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 48% FG, 79% FT.

12. Pau Gasol. LAL. 7'0". PF/C. Projected: 18.1 PPG, 10.8 RPG, 3.8 APG, 53% FG, 79% FT.

13. Rajon Rondo. BOS. 6'1". PG. Projected: 15.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, 9.6 APG, 48% FG, 65% FT.

14. Brook Lopez. NJN. 7'1". C/PF. Projected: 19.2 PPG, 9.6 RPG, 1.7 APG, 50% FG, 82% FT.

15. David Lee. GSW. 6'10". C/PF. Projected: 17.4 PPG, 12.2 RPG, 1.1 APG, 52% FG, 78% FT.

16. Brandon Roy. POR. 6'5". SG/PG. Projected: 23.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 4.9 APG, 46% FG, 78% FT.

17. Stephen Curry. GSW. 6'2". PG/SG. Projected: 23.4 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 7.5 APG, 46% FG, 90% FT.

18. Gerald Wallace. CHA. 6'7". SG/SF/PF. Projected: 16.9 PPG, 11.8 RPG, 2.3 APG, 46% FG, 77% FT.

19. Tyreke Evans. SAC. 6'6". PG/SG. Projected: 22.2 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 6.4 APG, 45% FG, 75% FT.

20. Steve Nash. PHX. 6'3". PG. Projected: 18.2 PPG, 3.2 RPG, 11.4 APG, 48% FG, 92% FT.

21-30. (The Commendables)

PHILADELPHIA - APRIL 24: Andre Iguodala #9 of the Philadelphia 76ers walks up court during Game Three of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2009 NBA Playoffs against the Orlando Magic at the Wachovia Center on April 24, 2009 in Philadelphia,

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The Commendables

Players who contribute in the same ways "the elite" do, just in significantly smaller portions. Players like Andre Iguodala can provide for the same categories that LeBron can, just not as efficiently.

Third Round

21. Chris Bosh. MIA. 6'10". PF. Projected: 19.8 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 2.8 APG, 52% FG, 76% FT.

22. Derrick Rose. CHI. 6'4". PG. Projected: 21.4 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 7.2 APG, 48% FG, 77% FT.

23. Josh Smith. ATL. 6'8". PF/SF. Projected: 17.5 PPG, 9.1 PPG, 4.0 APG, 52% FG, 64% FT.

24. Jason Kidd. DAL. 6'5". PG. Projected: 10.6 PPG, 5.6 RPG, 9.4 APG, 44% FG, 81% FT.

25. Russel Westbrook. OKC. 6'3". PG. Projected: 18.4 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 7.7 APG, 42% FG, 79% FT.

26. Joe Johnson. ATL. 6'5". SG/PG. Projected: 21.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 5.0 APG, 44% FG, 83% FT.

27. Al Jefferson. UTAH. 6'10". PF/C. Projected: 19.2 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.1 APG, 48%, 72% FT.

28. Andre Iguodala. PHI. 6'6". SF/SG. Projected: 18.9 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.3 APG, 45 FG%, 74% FT.

29. Al Horford. ATL. 6'10". C/PF. Projected: 16.8 PPG, 10.1 RPG, 2.6 APG, 54% FG, 80% FT.

30. Andrew Bogut. MIL. 7'0". C. Projected: 14.5 PPG, 11.1 RPG, 1.4 APG, 51% FG, 61% FT.

31-40. (The Dignified)

ATLANTA - DECEMBER 02: Andrea Bargnani #7 of the Toronto Raptors against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on December 2, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph,

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The Dignified

Players like Darren Collison, who often times prove their worth during their previous season. Also, maybe after a couple of significant offseason moves, players like Andrea Bargnani can become scoring threats every night.

Fourth Round

31. Monta Ellis. GSW. 6'3". SG/PG. Projected: 23.2 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.8 APG, 41% FG, 76% FT.

32. Andrea Bargnani. TOR. 6'11". PF/C. Projected: 20.2 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.2 APG, 45% FG, 81% FT.

33. Tim Duncan. SAS. 6'11". PF/C. Projected: 18.1 PPG, 10.7 RPG, 3.1 APG, 50% FG, 71% FT.

34. Carlos Boozer. CHI. 6'10". PF/C. Projected: 19.3 PPG, 9.1 RPG, 3.3 APG, 52% FG, 74% FT.

35. Yao Ming. HOU. 7'5". C. Projected: 16.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 4.1 APG, 55% FG, 83% FT.

36. Antawn Jamison. CLE. 6'8". PF/SF. Projected: 20.1 PPG, 8.2 RPG, 2.4 APG, 43% FG, 68% FT.

37. Paul Pierce. BOS. SF/SG. 6'6". Projected: 18.7 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 4.1 APG, 46% FG, 86% FT.

38. Rudy Gay. MEM. 6'8". SF/PF. Projected: 20.5 PPG, 5.5 RPG, 1.4 APG, 45% FG, 74% FT.

39. Kevin Love. MIN. 6'9". PF/C. Projected: 12.1 PPG, 13.4 RPG, 2.3 APG, 47% FG, 79% FT.

40. Darren Collison. IND. 6'3". PG. Projected: 16.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 7.3 APG, 42% FG, 83% FT.

41-50. (The Admirable)

ATLANTA - NOVEMBER 20: Aaron Brooks #0 of the Houston Rockets against the Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena on November 20, 2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, Us

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The Admirable

Players who often times specialize in two or three categories. Players like Aaron Brooks put up high scoring figures while making a good number of threes; he led the league in three-pointers made last year.

Fifth Round

41. Chauncey Billups. DEN. 6'3". PG. Projected: 17.8 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 6.1 APG, 43% FG, 90% FT.

42. Aaron Brooks. 6'0". HOU. PG/SG. Projected: 18.8 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 5.9 APG, 44% FG, 81% FT.

43. Zach Randolph. 6'11". MEM. PF. Projected: 17.3 PPG, 9.6 RPG. 0.9 APG, 46% FG, 76% FT.

44. Joakim Noah. 7'0". CHI. PF/C. Projected: 10.4 PPG, 11.6 RPG, 2.1 APG, 51% FG, 72% FT.

45. Stephen Jackson. 6'6". CHA. Projected: 19.3 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.1 APG, 43% FG, 82% FT.

46. John Wall. 6'3". WAS. Projected: 15.5 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 5.5 APG, 42% FG, 71% FT.

47. Marc Gasol. 7'0". MEM. Projected: 12.1 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 1.1 APG, 47% FG, 79% FT.

48. Manu Ginobili. 6'5". SAS. Projected: 14.5 PPG, 4.3 RPG, 4.9 APG, 48% FG, 84% FT.

49. Nene. 6'11". DEN. Projected: 13.2 PPG, 7.6 RPG, 2.8 APG, 53% FG%, 76% FT.

50. Raymond Felton. 6'2". NYK. Projected: 12.1 PPG, 2.4 RPG, 7.2 APG, 45% FG, 83% FT.

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