This article is part of our NBA Draft Kit series.
Guards, in general, will give your team three-pointers, assists, steals and give a positive contribution to free throw percentage. Big men add to your rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and if you play in turnover leagues, they offer a positive impact there as well. The last remaining category is points, but they can be sourced from any position.
The odd man out is the small forward position, as these players tend to be able to contribute a little in all categories and don't usually have such a pronounced categorical slant.
But, as with any rule, there are always exceptions. These exceptions are where you can really take advantage during your drafts, grabbing guys who produce numbers in unconventional categories for their position. Grabbing a guard who can rebound or a center who hits three-pointers. These little 'sweeteners' give these players added value and can really help flesh out your team as well as being a key focus when you are punting categories.
For example, if you are punting assists, you're going to be lower on guards than most owners. But, as a downside to that, you could also be hurting your team in regard
Guards, in general, will give your team three-pointers, assists, steals and give a positive contribution to free throw percentage. Big men add to your rebounds, blocks, field goal percentage and if you play in turnover leagues, they offer a positive impact there as well. The last remaining category is points, but they can be sourced from any position.
The odd man out is the small forward position, as these players tend to be able to contribute a little in all categories and don't usually have such a pronounced categorical slant.
But, as with any rule, there are always exceptions. These exceptions are where you can really take advantage during your drafts, grabbing guys who produce numbers in unconventional categories for their position. Grabbing a guard who can rebound or a center who hits three-pointers. These little 'sweeteners' give these players added value and can really help flesh out your team as well as being a key focus when you are punting categories.
For example, if you are punting assists, you're going to be lower on guards than most owners. But, as a downside to that, you could also be hurting your team in regard to accumulating steals and three-pointers. That's why finding a big man to help in those categories can really strengthen your team's position.
So, who were those players that provided unconventional stats? Here are some numbers from last season:
Power Forwards and Centers
| Assists Per Game | Steals Per Game | 3-Pts Per Game | Free Throw % & Attempts Per Game | |||||
| LeBron James | 7.4 | Paul Millsap | 1.8 | Robert Covington | 2.4 | Dirk Nowitzki | 88.2 | 3.8 |
| Blake Griffin | 5.3 | Nerlens Noel | 1.8 | Ryan Anderson | 2.0 | Danilo Gallinari | 89.5 | 3.2 |
| Joakim Noah | 4.6 | Thaddeus Young | 1.6 | Kevin Love | 1.9 | LaMarcus Aldridge | 84.5 | 5.1 |
| Marc Gasol | 3.8 | LeBron James | 1.6 | Danilo Gallinari | 1.8 | Nikola Pekovic | 83.7 | 4.2 |
| Draymond Green | 3.7 | Draymond Green | 1.6 | Channing Frye | 1.8 | Anthony Davis | 80.5 | 6.8 |
| DeMarcus Cousins | 3.6 | DeMarcus Cousins | 1.5 | LeBron James | 1.7 | Jeff Green | 83.3 | 3.7 |
| David West | 3.4 | Anthony Davis | 1.5 | Paul Pierce | 1.6 | Ryan Anderson | 85.4 | 2.5 |
| Josh Smith | 3.3 | Robert Covington | 1.4 | Mirza Teletovic | 1.6 | Carmelo Anthony | 79.7 | 5.9 |
| Al Horford | 3.2 | Jabari Parker | 1.2 | Carmelo Anthony | 1.5 | Brook Lopez | 81.4 | 3.8 |
| Paul Millsap | 3.1 | Markieff Morris | 1.2 | Chris Bosh | 1.4 | Marreese Speights | 84.3 | 2.3 |
You can see a guy like LeBron James appearing on multiple lists above, but we all know how good James is. He is going to get picked in the first round regardless of team building strategies. The guys to really look at are the lesser known, lesser hyped players. Robert Covington came out of the D-League last season and led all big men in three-pointers, to go along with his other contributions. Nerlens Noel, aside from being a blocking machine, was an elite thief last season as well, averaging 2.1 steals per game after the All-Star break. These guys are players who you may rate higher than the average owner due to these facts and thus get them at a bit of discounted price. These are the players you need to look at to fill out your categories.
Guards
| Rebounds Per Game | Blocks Per Game | Field Goal % & Attempts Per Game | ||||
| Russell Westbrook | 7.3 | K.J. McDaniels | 1.1 | Goran Dragic | 50.1 | 12.8 |
| Kawhi Leonard | 7.2 | Danny Green | 1.1 | Stephen Curry | 48.7 | 16.8 |
| Giannis Antetokounmpo | 6.7 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 1.0 | Chris Paul | 48.5 | 14.3 |
| P.J. Tucker | 6.4 | Klay Thompson | 0.8 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | 49.1 | 9.6 |
| Wilson Chandler | 6.1 | Kawhi Leonard | 0.8 | Shabazz Muhammad | 48.9 | 10.4 |
| Nicolas Batum | 5.9 | James Harden | 0.7 | Tony Parker | 48.6 | 12.2 |
| Jimmy Butler | 5.8 | Andrew Wiggins | 0.6 | Tony Allen | 49.5 | 7.2 |
| Kobe Bryant | 5.7 | Wesley Johnson | 0.6 | Cory Joseph | 50.4 | 5.2 |
| Ricky Rubio | 5.7 | John Wall | 0.6 | Shaun Livingston | 50.0 | 5.1 |
| James Harden | 5.7 | Nicolas Batum | 0.6 | Kyle Korver | 48.7 | 8.0 |
It's important to note with both of the percentage categories that the raw percentage isn't the be-all and end-all. The volume of attempts makes an impact as well, so that's why you'll see Giannis Antetokounmpo sitting behind Stephen Curry on the field goal percentage list, despite shooting 0.4 percent better than the MVP. Curry had an additional 7.2 attempts per game, and that volume is more valuable and impactful, making him a better contributor in that category.
But, in speaking of Antetokounmpo, he appears in the top 10 of all of these guard categories, providing big man stats from a guy who is eligible at shooting guard. That sort of production can prove invaluable and it's one of the reasons Antetokounmpo is tipped by many to have a breakout season this year.
You can also see both Kawhi Leonard and Nicolas Batum appearing on the rebounds and blocks top 10 lists. Both guys mainly play small forward but were eligible at shooting guard in ESPN leagues last season, and that dual eligibility can be a huge bonus.
Although we don't have their stats from last season to look at, there are a number of rookies who may appear on these lists in the next few years and will make interesting dynasty targets for that reason. Karl-Anthony Towns should be everyone's No. 1 dynasty target for rookies because he is an elite free throw shooter and has the ability to step out and hit three-pointers. And let's not even begin to discuss the passing ability that he displayed at Summer League.
Kristaps Porzingis is another rookie who is projected to hit his free throws at a high rate, while Justin Anderson, a wing for the Mavericks, displayed some impressive shot blocking in Las Vegas.
It goes back to one of the main tenets of fantasy basketball: know your league. That means knowing your league settings, which categories you're playing for, league depth and position eligibility. Eligibility differs depending on the site where your league is hosted, so make sure you search through and find which guys can be exploited. It can be the difference between winning and losing.
When drafting, knowing this sort of information can be invaluable in helping you grab a bargain player and really helps fill up your categories with out-of-position stats.
