A Take on ESPN's NBA 2014-15 Fantasy Projection Rankings

As an avid sports fan, the fantasy world surrounding sports is mouth-watering, as one is presented the opportunity to create a team full of statistical greatness and become a champion, whether it be of the office, household, group of friends or college dorm. ESPN's NBA fantasy game can be both simple and difficult. Many factors come into play when one looks at which players they want on their team. By the time the draft comes around, fantasy players should have a list of players they want ready from the beginning. Personally, I take into account many things when it comes to fantasy basketball, often those which are not statistically relevant, but should be accounted for. These factors are:

• Games Played
• Minutes Played
• Team
• Points
• Shots Taken
• Field Goal % and Free Throw %
• Rebounds
• Assists
• Blocks
• Steals

All of these come into play when scouting players for your lineup. Ideally you would want someone that covers all of these areas. However, it is important to be wary of players that are a jack of all trades, but a master of none. Although these players may seem like a sure-thing, often they can disappoint as they often give mediocre returns. So without getting to technical, let's take a look at this season's top projections.

1. Kevin Durant

2. LeBron James

3. Anthony Davis

4. Stephen Curry

5. Chris Paul

6. James Harden

7. John Wall

8. Russell Westbrook

9. Carmelo Anthony

10. DeMarcus Cousins

11. Serge Ibaka

12. Blake Griffin

13. Kawhi Leonard

14. LaMarcus Aldridge

15. Kevin Love

16. Al Jefferson

17. Damien Lillard

18. Chris Bosh

19. Ty Lawson

20. Nicolas Batum

Other notables:

24. Kyrie Irving

34. Dwight Howard

37. Kobe Bryant

38. Derrick Rose

52. Dwayne Wade

There are plenty of question marks looking at this list. Obviously this is not the official ranking of the players, purely the projection of statistical production, therefore ESPN are not saying that Nicolas Batum is a better player than Kobe Bryant, but rather that they expect him to have a more productive season than the 5 time champion. That point alone is very debatable.

Ignoring the notable absentees from the top 20, the list is reasonably solid. The top two are obvious, while Anthony Davis at 3 and Stephen Curry at 4 are interesting selections. Both are great players and I'm not arguing their ability, but to say that they are going to be the third and fourth most productive players in the league this season is a minor stretch. I had both on my team last season and both were great for me. However, Davis was injury-prone and I struggled to maintain my position in the league while he recovered. As great as Steph Curry is on his day, I found that he was inconsistent in his performances. He could go long stretches without having a 'premier' performance, and was suspect to turnovers and sometimes a lack of both assists and rebounds. Personally, I would agree with ESPN on Anthony Davis at 3, hoping he stays healthy, but would swap Curry for Chris Paul, who I believe is more of a sure thing when it comes to fantasy basketball. Taking risks is a big part of fantasy sports, but you want your 'franchise player' aka. first pick, to be consistently putting in top-class performances.