Fantasy Basketball 2016: 1st-Round NBA Mock Draft and Top Team Names
With the NBA preseason winding down, it's time to start getting pumped for the regular season. If you're a fantasy basketball player, you probably have a draft coming up or have recently picked your roster.
Whatever your situation is, it's important to know which NBA players are true fantasy superstars and how they stack up against each other. So let's go through a first-round mock draft for a 10-team, standard-scoring league.
After the mock and a few player breakdowns, we'll offer a handful of team names that might get a chuckle or two out of the other owners in your league.
1st-Round Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft
| 1 | Russell Westbrook | Oklahoma City Thunder | PG |
| 2 | James Harden | Houston Rockets | PG/SG |
| 3 | Stephen Curry | Golden State Warriors | PG |
| 4 | Kevin Durant | Golden State Warriors | SF |
| 5 | Kawhi Leonard | San Antonio Spurs | SF |
| 6 | LeBron James | Cleveland Cavaliers | SF/PF |
| 7 | Karl-Anthony Towns | Minnesota Timberwolves | C |
| 8 | Chris Paul | Los Angeles Clippers | PG |
| 9 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | Milwaukee Bucks | SG/SF/PF |
| 10 | Anthony Davis | New Orleans Pelicans | PF |
No. 4: Kevin Durant, Golden State Warriors
Adjustment period? What adjustment period? Through five preseason games with the Warriors, Kevin Durant has been everything the team had hoped for and more.
Durant's numbers per 36 minutes—28.4 points, 7.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists on a 75.4 true-shooting percentage, per RealGM—paint a rosy outlook for his fantasy owners in 2016-17. The 28-year-old forward has always been efficient, but things should get much easier for him this season playing alongside three All-Stars, including arguably the two best three-point shooters in NBA history.
Of course, said All-Stars are the exact reason Durant is down at No. 4 this season. The Warriors will have to keep Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green happy by involving each player in the offense, which means Durant will have games where he only takes around 10 shots. It's extremely unlikely that he'll have another 64-game streak of scoring at least 20 points like he did last season.
Also, with all that star power, the Warriors will have a bunch of games won by halftime, which means Durant's minutes will likely take a dip. Along with his decreased minutes, Durant may also play fewer games since Golden State will likely sit its stars more frequently in 2016-17 to prevent another flameout in the postseason.
No. 7: Karl-Anthony Towns, Minnesota Timberwolves
The narrative is there for Karl-Anthony Towns to become one of the NBA's top four fantasy options in 2016-17. Towns now has a year under his belt, he improved throughout his rookie season and his new head coach, Tom Thibodeau, is known for giving his star players big minutes.
There's little doubt the 7-foot phenom will post big numbers and improve on his rookie campaign, but will he be in the top tier of fantasy players? I don't believe so.
Many are projecting the Timberwolves to contend for a playoff spot in 2016-17, which is certainly a possibility. With that possibility, however, comes more attention from opponents. The Wolves started the 2015-16 season with a 14-36 record, which helped them stay off the league's radar. Opponents will key in more closely on Towns and his squad this season.
Add in the fact that Thibodeau has another young stud in Andrew Wiggins to please on offense, that the head coach has long been known for playing a slow pace and that his playing-time techniques have often caused injuries for his stars, and Towns isn't a safe enough pick to take in the top five.
No. 10: Anthony Davis, New Orleans Pelicans
Can't we just turn off injuries for Anthony Davis? The 23-year-old power forward has been spectacular when healthy, but he's never missed fewer than 14 games in a season. That doesn't include all the times he's played while being banged up.
He's on the shelf again with an ankle sprain, though it's a minor injury and shouldn't derail his season. However, it's tough to get excited about a player who seems to have a gravitational pull toward physical ailment.
If high-risk, high-reward selections are your thing, Davis would be a great first-round pick. He pulled off a 59-point, 20-rebound game last season and was a fantasy freak in 2014-15. That season, he averaged 24.4 points, 10.2 rebounds, 1.5 steals and led the league in blocks. He also posted a field-goal percentage of 53.5 and a free-throw percentage of 80.5.
There's no question the youngster can achieve those numbers again. The questions will be his health, as always, and whether his supporting cast can provide enough offensive help to maximize his assist and efficiency numbers.
Top Team Names
The best fantasy team names usually involve some sort of pun, and they're almost always cheesy. Below are a few that might be fun to use:
My Heart Will Goran
- Batum Goes the Dynamite
- Beal or No Beal
- Wall About the Money
- Bed, Bath and Biyombo
- Little Red Rodney Hood
- Watch Me Whip, Watch Me Nene
- Yi of Little Faith
