Top 100 Players | Point Guards | Shooting Guards | Small Forwards | Power Forwards | Centers
NBA small forwards are a disparate bunch. There are threes who play like oversized point guards -- Orlando's Hedo Turkoglu, for example. There are pure scorers, like Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant, and oustanding shooters like Golden State's Dorell Wright, and "combo forwards" who are comfortable out on the perimeter or in the paint.
And then there's LeBron... he can do everything.
Players are ranked in terms of overall value in an eight-category (points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, FT%, FG% and three pointers made) rotisserie-style league. Allowances have been made for positional scarcity -- players who qualify at center are worth a bit more. Injuries and concerns over playing time are also considered.
Because of the lockout, there's a great deal of uncertainty towards the bottom of this list... players like Shane Battier and Andrei Kirilenko could potentially make big contributions, but much will depend on where they land. (Or, in Kirilenko's case, if he decides to return to the NBA at all.)
The number in parentheses is each player's rank on our Top 100 Fantasy NBA Players for 2011-12.
The Top 25 Small Forwards
1. (1) Kevin Durant: SF/Thunder - Concern over how Durant and Russell Westbrook shared the ball during the playoffs is overblown. Durant's potential is not. Scary thought: he's still years away from his physical prime.He's just going to get better.
2. (2) LeBron James: SF/Heat - Sure, James' individual numbers suffered a bit from sharing shot opportunities with the other Heatles. He was still the most valuable player in most fantasy formats last season.
3. (12) Carmelo Anthony: SF/Knicks - Melo shot more threes as a Knick than he ever did as a Nugget - and hit over 42 percent of them after the big trade.
4. (18) Danny Granger: SF/Pacers - One of the league's top players when healthy, but always seems to be slowed by nagging injuries. Name surfaces in a lot of trade rumors, but we think he's staying put in Indy.
5. (28) Paul Pierce: SF/Celtics - A top talent, but Boston's stars have long been willing to sacrifice individual numbers for team goalsâ?¦ Jeff Green's presence for an entire season (assuming he re-signs) could impact Pierce's numbers.
6. (31) Dorell Wright: SF/Warriors - Emerged as a top three-point threat last season, though the coaching change and arrival of Klay Thompson could impact Wright's numbers.
7. (42) Luol Deng: SF/Bulls - Adding the three-pointer to his offensive repertoire made Deng a more valuable fantasy option in 2010-11. His 115 made threes more than tripled his previous career high.
8. (45) Gerald Wallace: SF/Trail Blazers - "Crash" continues to be one of the league's top box score fillers when he's able to stay healthy. And his inability to stay healthy makes him a perfect Trail Blazer.
9. (58) Andre Iguodala: SF/Sixers - One of the top candidates to be traded when the league resumes business. Golden State? The Clippers?
10. (60) Danilo Gallinari: SF/Nuggets - Will have the opportunity to become Denver's primary scorer with Wilson Chandler out of the mix this season.
11. (64) Michael Beasley: SF/Timberwolves - Has put up some eye-popping numbers at exhibition games this summer, but where does he fit on a team that is absolutely loaded with forwards?
12. (71) Rudy Gay: SF/Grizzlies - Will be very interesting to see how Memphis re-integrates Gay into their offense this season; he missed their playoff drive due to injury.
13. (75) Jared Dudley: SF/Suns - Valuable fill-in should have a larger role this season, assuming Vince Carter's career in Phoenix is over.
14. (76) Nicolas Batum: SF/Trail Blazers - Could be a force. Could also wind up stuck on the bench behind Gerald Wallace and others.
15. (82) Hedo Turkoglu: SF/Magic - A better fit in Orlando than any of his other recent stops, but hard to trust for consistent production.
16. (85) Shawn Marion: SF/Mavericks - A far cry from the top-ten fantasy producer he was in Phoenix, but is having a nice second career as a fantasy "garbage man" that produces in hard-to-fill categories.
17. (97) John Salmons: SF/Kings - Baffled by the Kings' acquisition of Salmons, who is a decent enough wing scorer when healthy but certainly not an improvement over Marcus Thornton, or even Francisco Garcia to justify taking on his salary.
18. (105) Grant Hill: SF/free agent - Seems reasonable to expect he'll be back with the Suns.
19. (113) Carlos Delfino: SF/Bucks - May be a good source of threes and steals, but his role on this team going forward is unclear.
20. (115) Andrei Kirilenko: SF/free agent - Has a three-year deal to play in Russia, but reportedly has the option to opt-out and return to the NBA if he wants. Long rumored to be a target of the Nets, where he'd re-unite with Deron Williams.
21. (122) Omri Casspi: SF/Cavaliers - Big upgrade over anyone the Cavs used at small forward in their first season post-LeBron.
22. (135) Shane Battier: SF/free agent - Could really help just about any playoff contender, but his fantasy value will be tied to the number of minutes he's playing.
23. (137) Chase Budinger: SF/Rockets - Talented wing scorer could blow up if given starter's minutes.
24. (140) Corey Maggette: SF/Bobcats - Someone's has to score for Charlotte, right? Maggette is very good at getting to the line and converting.
25. (141) Trevor Ariza: SF/Hornets - Can be horribly inefficient, but is a good source of steals and threes.