Fantasy Basketball 2016: Top NBA Player Rankings and 1st-Round Mock Draft

The NBA preseason is not only a time for the league’s players to get back into their desired shape, but also for fantasy basketball players to prepare for their seasons.

Let’s take a look at a 10-team, first-round mock draft for a nine-category, standard-scoring league with the start of the regular season just a couple of weeks away. After that, we’ll dive deeper into the top 10 guards, forwards and centers, respectively.

ESPN.com’s positional distinctions will be used, but the website sometimes lists players at multiple positions. Any player who fits that bill is eligible for inclusion on any list that corresponds with one of his listed positions.

First-Round Mock Draft

Guard

SG/SF/PF Giannis Antetokounmpo (Milwaukee Bucks)

Disregard the three positions ESPN.com has given Giannis Antetokounmpo this season. The 6’11” Greek Freak will primarily play point guard for Jason Kidd’s Milwaukee Bucks this season, and he’s going to do a heck of a job there.

The absence of Khris Middleton for most of the 2016-17 campaign will hurt Milwaukee’s playoff chances, but it should push Antetokounmpo’s fantasy value up into the first-round range.

Remember that, after the All-Star break last season, he put up 18.8 points, 7.6 rebounds, 7.2 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.9 blocks per game. His efficiency may take a slight dip from 2015-16 without Middleton there to space the floor, but he’s also still young (21 years old) and has improved by leaps and bounds in each of his first three years.

Also, expect a slightly more …

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