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.
Not unlike the Eastern Conference All-Fantasy Team, the Western Conference welcomes five first-timers to the ranks of the fantasy elite. February was a fun month to play fantasy basketball as it wasn’t just the usual suspects leading the charge in terms of production and value. Golden State’s Stephen Curry had an unreal month of ball while Ty Lawson in Denver showed everyone that he too should be taken seriously in the deep pool of Western Conference guards.
The biggest change among the top fantasy performers came at the forward and center spots as LaMarcus Aldridge managed to unseat David Lee, Al Jefferson beat out Tim Duncan and DeMarcus Cousins beat out James Harden for the final honorable mention spot.
The player rankings used are from eDraft.com and reflect total fantasy points accumulated by the player during the month of February.
Here is the February edition of the NBA All-Fantasy Team for the Western Conference.
Kobe Bryant – LA Lakers
By Kobe’s standards, February was not a great month. It was still good enough for Bryant to maintain his spot among the top performing guards in the Conference; however, it certainly wasn’t a Kobe-esque month of huge fantasy numbers. February saw Kobe average a season low 17.8 shot attempts per game which contributed to his season low monthly scoring average of 23.9 ppg. Despite taking fewer shots, Kobe actually posted his best field goal percentage over the month with a .489. The nice surprise for fantasy GM’s this month was Bryant’s increased rebounding and assist numbers; he averaged 6.7 rpg and 6.6 apg over the month, both of which are season highs. Kobe is shouldering a huge load in Laker Land as he is going all out to get the Lakers into the postseason. Keep running Kobe out there as we could see some monster games out of him down the stretch here.
Stephen Curry - Guard, Golden State Warriors
Aside from LeBron James, there is no other player who is just absolutely more on-fire than Curry. February was just plain ridiculous for Curry as his last two games he went off for a combined 32-48 from the field and 18-23 from three-point range. Curry was just lights out shooting the basketball and it reflected in his point totals as he tossed in a career high 54 points against the New York Knicks in Madison Square Garden. Not surprisingly, Curry had his best month of the NBA season as he averaged 25.4 ppg, 4.7 rpg, 6.9 apg and 1.8 steals per contest throughout February. Don’t expect Curry to cool off just yet, ride this sharpshooter well into March as his confidence is sky-high.
Kevin Durant – Oklahoma City Thunder
Durant makes yet another appearance on our All Fantasy Team for the month. Despite seeing a slight dip in his scoring average; Durant posted his best monthly averages for rebounds and assists. With the increase in rebounding and assists, Durant registered two triple-double games in February. Durant’s stat line for the month was 24.4 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 5.5 apg, 1.2 blocks and 1.3 steals per game.
LaMarcus Aldridge - Forward, Portland Trailblazers
February was not a kind month to the Portland Trailblazers, as they dropped nine of twelve games and slid down the Western Conference rankings. For his part, LaMarcus Aldridge played well and matched his season averages for the month. There weren’t any huge fantasy games for Aldridge; mind you, if you own Aldridge in your league you know that Aldridge doesn’t get those huge nights very often. Regardless of the production, Aldridge’s month was still good enough to surplant David Lee from the list.
Al Jefferson - Center, Utah Jazz
Yet another solid month of fantasy basketball out of Jefferson as he shot a season high .527 and averaged 19.9 ppg, 8.7 rpg and 2.3 apg in February. The solid and consistent fantasy production continues to come from Jefferson and while many believed Jefferson would have been dealt at the trade deadline, he instead stayed put and continues to lead the Utah Jazz in their quest for a playoff appearance.
Honorable Mentions:
Ty Lawson - Guard, Denver Nuggets
Every so often you get a player who gets hot and is able to sustain his elevated play for an extended period of time. That is exactly what Ty Lawson did as he put together an impressive month of February. He managed to outscore his season average by over seven points per game, strung together nine consecutive games with 20 or more points and set a new high for assists per game over the month. If it weren’t for an even better month by Curry, Lawson would have cracked the starting five.
DeMarcus Cousins - Center, Sacramento Kings
Cousins had a wicked start to the month of February as he had games of 31, 28 and 29 points all in the first six games; add in a 20 rebound performance against the Toronto Raptors and Cousins was poised for a monster fantasy month. Unfortunately things cooled slightly as Cousins finished out the month on a bit of a low note as he failed to register double digit rebounds in four straight games and managed a woeful three points against the Denver Nuggets. The real Cousins lies somewhere in between these two stat lines as he's usually fairly consistent for 17 points and around 10 boards per game.
Blake Griffin – LA Clippers
Griffin has been the model of consistency this season as he doesn’t seem to vary too greatly from his standard 18 ppg and 9 rpg. February was no different as he put up similar numbers despite missing two games due to injury. I would like to see the explosive games out of Griffin, the ones where he grabs 25 boards or goes off for 30-plus points; I like the consistency from a fantasy perspective but to really distance yourself from your fellow GM’s you need the explosive stat nights.