After each month of the NBA season we will compile our NBA All-Fantasy teams comprised of the top fantasy performers at each position along with a few honorable mentions that might break into the starting lineup next month.
If this month’s Western Conference All Fantasy Team looks familiar to you that is because it is unchanged from December’s squad. Not a single player gave up their spot and no player posted a significant enough fantasy month to crack the lineup. Only Dwight Howard came close and even then he would have only garnered an honourable mention.
The overall depth of the Western Conference is once again on display as the only player from the East with good enough fantasy stats to crack the West’s lineup would have been LeBron James. The fantasy depth is no more evident than it is for the guards. As good as Paul George and Kyrie Irving are in the East; they pale in comparison to the likes of Kobe Bryant, James Harden, Chris Paul and Russell Westbrook.
The player rankings used are from ESPN.com Fantasy Sports and are based on a fantasy point per game production.
Here is the January edition of the NBA All-Fantasy Team for the Western Conference.
Kobe Bryant – LA Lakers
The month of January saw Kobe Bryant fall out of top spot in terms of points per game; he slipped to third place overall. With this slight decrease in scoring; Kobe found his inner facilitator self as he nudged up his assist averages during the month which was highlighted by back-to-back-to-back games with double digit assist totals. Despite the drop in scoring, Bryant remains the top fantasy guard in the West.
James Harden – Houston Rockets
James Harden turned in yet another impressive month of fantasy stats as he averaged 25.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 5.8 apg and 1.9 steals per game. Downside to Harden’s month was the heavy minutes he logged for the Houston Rockets that likely attributed to declines in all his shooting percentages. Normally a much more consistent three-point shooter; Harden averaged a meagre .272 from beyond the arc for the month. I worry that fatigue could be setting in and with tired legs a player like Harden will struggle from the floor.
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
What an amazing month of January that Kevin Durant turned in. He absolutely lived up to his top-fantasy spot billing as he led the Oklahoma City Thunder to an 11-2 record during the month. Looking back at Durant’s December stats one would imagine that improving upon perfection would be hard; well Durant just raised the bar yet again. January’s stat line was 31.9 ppg, 6.2 rpg, 5.1 apg and 1.7 steals per game. Add in a .516 field goal percentage a .417 three-point percentage and a darn near perfect .921 free throw percentage and you have yourself the most complete fantasy basketball player in the league.
David Lee – Golden State Warriors
David Lee’s fantasy production in January was not as good as it had been in December. Nonetheless he held down his All-Fantasy squad spot by continuing to average a double-double with 18.4 ppg and 10.5 rpg. I think the decline in scoring can be attributed to the increase in shot attempts and scoring coming out of the Golden State Warriors backcourt combo of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson. The return of Andrew Bogut from injury has dampened Lee’s rebounding stats slightly; however, Lee is far more aggressive than Bogut on the glass and there is no guarantee that Bogut stays healthy the rest of the way.
Tim Duncan – San Antonio Spurs
Despite missing five games to injury during the month, Tim Duncan remains the best fantasy producing center in the conference. Duncan also managed to maintain a double-double average throughout the month as he posted stats of 16.8 ppg and 10.1 rpg. As always a nice bonus for having Duncan on your fantasy squad is the assist numbers he gives you and not wanting to let anyone down, Duncan came through with a 3.5 apg average while also averaging 3.5 blocks per game through the month.
Honorable Mentions:
Chris Paul – LA Clippers
Even with missing eight games in the month due to injury; Chris Paul was still deserving of an honourable mention on the All-Fantasy squad. The injury appears to be a knee contusion of some sort and it is not expected to keep Paul out of action for too much longer. The rest that Paul is getting now might actually benefit fantasy owners down the road as Paul will be more rested from many of his opponents.
Russell Westbrook – Oklahoma City Thunder
The second-half of the duo that has the league’s top ranked offense clicking right along, had himself a fantastic month of January. Firstly he stayed healthy and played in every game for the Thunder and secondly he contributed mightily with averages of 24.5 ppg, 5.5 rpg, 7.8 apg and 1.5 steals per game. Hard to believe that with a stat line like that Westbrook would only be the fourth best fantasy option for guards in the conference.
Blake Griffin – LA Clippers
Griffin improved on his December fantasy output by maintaining his scoring and rebounding averages through January all the while raising his assist per game average to 4.6 from 2.9. Despite the concerns coming into the season factored in with Griffin’s aggressive style of play, injuries have not been a factor thus far for him. If Griffin can avoid missing any time his spot on the All-Fantasy team could turn permanent as the season progresses.