Fantasy Basketball: The numberFire Hoops Writers' Draft
Round 1
| Pick | Overall | Player | Team | Position | Writer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | SF/PF | Dale Redman |
| 2 | 2 | Kevin Durant | GS | SF/PF | Alan Goldsher |
| 3 | 3 | Russell Westbrook | OKC | PG | Abe Schwadron |
| 4 | 4 | James Harden | HOU | SG/SF | Jay Kim |
| 5 | 5 | Kawhi Leonard | SA | SG/SF | Austan Kas |
| 6 | 6 | Karl-Anthony Towns | MIN | C | Russell Peddle |
| 7 | 7 | Stephen Curry | GS | PG/SG | Sam Hauss |
| 8 | 8 | Nikola Jokic | DEN | PF/C | Jordan Sharp |
| 9 | 9 | Anthony Davis | NO | PF/C | Alex McDonald |
| 10 | 10 | John Wall | WAS | PG | Shae Cronin |
| 11 | 11 | Chris Paul | HOU | PG | Brett Oswalt |
| 12 | 12 | Damian Lillard | POR | PG | Brandon Gdula |
Our first round was pretty close to consensus with the industry.
Dale Redman grabbed Giannis Antetokounmpo with the first overall pick and it's hard to fault him for it. Antetokounmpo's seemingly infinite ceiling is hard to pass up this year, and I've been seeing him go first in most of my industry leagues and mock drafts. He's only ranked seventh per our projections, but you can't go wrong with any of Giannis, Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook, or James Harden at or near the top. Don't overthink any of the stars having new star teammates, as we tend to exaggerate the impact that has on a stud's fantasy production. They may lose a bit of juice in some categories, but that tends to even out in others.
I was happy to see Jordan Sharp take Nikola Jokic with the eighth pick. Jokic's lack of a lengthy track record might scare off some people in the first round this year, but he's for real. He's exactly eighth by our projections and was 11th in nine-category leagues over the last three months of 2016-17. Take him with confidence.
Chris Paul might end up being a steal for Brett Oswalt at 11. Paul hasn't ranked outside the top-10 in nine-category leagues since 2007 and we might be overthinking the negative impact that playing with James Harden will have on his fantasy outlook.
My pick: I was thrilled to get Karl-Anthony Towns with the sixth overall pick, considering the fact that I would've been ready to grab him anywhere from pick one onward. Over the last three months of last season, Towns was the top fantasy player in nine-category leagues, averaging an otherworldly 28.2 points, 1.3 triples, 12.7 boards, 2.4 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 2.5 turnovers per game, while shooting 59.0% from the field and 84.9% from the line. Yes, please.
