From the top-five to the bottom-125, fantasy basketball surprises have come from high and low in the first two weeks of this NBA season.
Rookies, second-years’ and celebrated veterans all find themselves on this early list of fantasy contributors. And one that belongs to the more contribution-adverse category, for that matter.
Hint: a budding superstar in Chicago is not exempt from this discussion.
In any case, here are the top-five NBA fantasy surprises in the 2013-2014 campaign.
Note: These rankings reflect fantasy-point totals accrued through Sunday, November 10.
5. Nikola Vucevic, Center, Orlando Magic
A show of hands, please, for anyone who is familiar with the name Nikola Vucevic.
That’s what we thought.
Vucevic, 23, is a total unknown outside of Orlando, NBA insiders and dedicated fantasy circles. The Magic’s 7’0’’, 250-pound center, as such, has been dominating the hardwood and fantasy rosters in relative obscurity.
He ranks No. 20 overall with 227 fantasy points, but No. 1 among centers with 32.4 per game. Top-six spots in points scored (15.7), rebounds (12.1) and assists (2.6) have contributed to his lofty ranking.
Most surprising, though, has been Vucevic’s dominance in a few individual games.
He put up consecutive big-time performances against rising conference powers Brooklyn Nets and Los Angeles Clippers. Nets’ center Brook Lopez saw him compile 19 points and 12 boards, while the über-athletic front line of Blake Griffin and DeAndre Jordan wilted behind Vucevic’s outstanding 30 points and 21 rebounds.
And against the Minnesota Timberwolves in Game 2 of the regular season, he went for 22 PTS, 16 REB, 3 AST and 3 BLK. Impressive indeed.
A three-game trio of 32, 55 and 48 points places Vucevic in the top-five for NBA fantasy basketball surprises.
4. Eric Bledsoe, Guard, Phoenix Suns
This next selection comes from the marriage of floor discipline with pure basketball talent.
Eric Bledsoe has been showcasing his skills to the tune of 20.9 PTS, 4.4 REB, 7.3 AST and 1.9 STL thus far in 2013. He has earned a No. 9 overall ranking and No. 4 among guards with 37.6 fantasy points per game (263 in total).
Bledsoe’s maturation into a high-functioning point man is the most striking. The former Kentucky star has always hovered between a shooter and facilitator identity, whether at the NCAA level or NBA.
This year, however, Bledsoe has doubled his previous career-high with over seven dimes per game. That average places him in the top seven among fantasy guards.
Bledsoe’s two best outputs have produced stat lines of 26 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 38 Fantasy PTS and 26 PTS, 7 REB, 14 AST, 3 STL, 56 Fantasy PTS. The second of which came against the Oklahoma City Thunder, the team that originally drafted Bledsoe.
Most recently, he notched a 17-PT, 9-AST effort against Ty Lawson and the Denver Nuggets, yet another balanced performance.
Put Bledsoe down for the fourth-most surprising NBA fantasy player this season.
3. Michael Carter-Williams, Guard, Philadelphia 76ers
Breaking: The chase for 2013-2014 NBA Rookie of the Year is a done deal.
Well, if ROY voting ends after seven games.
The Sixers’ Michael Carter-Williams is by far and away tops among first-year players in the NBA. He has averaged 18.7 PTS, 5.9 REB, 8.1 AST and 2.6 STL. He is both scorer and distributor, with a knack for prolific defensive performances.
Carter-Williams has three games with over 20 points scored, three with double-digit assists and one with a ridiculous nine steals in his professional debut against the Miami Heat.
Said win over the reigning champs serves as a bookend with MCW’s latest outing for highest fantasy totals. He accumulated 61 points courtesy of Miami and 54 against Cleveland during the back end of a home-and-away with the Cavaliers.
The 6’6’’ former Syracuse standout finds himself at No. 5 in overall fantasy standings with 285 points. He ranks second only to the legendary Chris Paul among fantasy guards at a 40.7-per-game clip.
Not too shabby for a mid-round ‘rook on the NBA’s supposed league-worst Philadelphia 76ers—the team that currently sits at first place in the Atlantic.
2. Derrick Rose, Guard, Chicago Bulls
Rebound from ACL surgery or not—things are downright ugly in this highly anticipated comeback.
Derrick Rose, the Bulls’ unquestioned superstar, has been a great disappointment in his return to the hardwood. Suprisingly, watching him during preseason action wouldn’t have given any indication.
Rose averaged 20.7 points on .485 shooting and .424 from three-point range, 3.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 1.3 steals before the regular season began.
Now, his averages have plummeted to 14.4 PTS, 2.8 REB, 4.0 AST and 0.2 STL, including an awful .320 FG percentage and .270 from distance.
Even his turnovers have doubled from 2.6 to 5.0 per game.
Fantasy statistics only further the gloom-and-doom basketball world in which Rose calls home.
An aggregate point total of 103 buries Rose at a dreadful 71st among guards and 150th overall. He has accrued just 20.6 fantasy points per game, with an unimpressive season-high of 26 against the New York Knicks.
We certainly expect a brighter future for the sixth-year point guard. He can only get better as his basketball fluidity returns.
But as it stands, Rose has some “serious ‘splainin’ to do” to fantasy owners if he doesn’t amp up his production before long.
1. Anthony Davis, Forward/Center, New Orleans Pelicans
Positively awful branding notwithstanding, basketball in the Big Easy is all positive courtesy of one man’s ascension.
Sophomore forward/center Anthony Davis has totally exceeded expectations in his second NBA season for the New Orleans Pelicans.
Davis has racked up 21.7 PTS, 11.6 REB, 3.9 BLK and 2.3 STL through seven games. Every aforementioned average eclipses his rookie marks.
Dominating on the defensive end was a reality the NBA world expected. But running the floor and executing seamlessly on the offensive was not.
Davis has overcome his purportedly slender, 6’10’’, 220-pound non-NBA frame with consistent inside production game in and game out. He has four double-doubles to his name, including a monster 32 points and 12 boards against the Los Angeles Lakers. That doesn’t even account for his 25-PT, 8-REB, 4-AST, 6-BLK, 6-STL effort at the hands of the Charlotte Bobcats.
Give Davis 55 and 51 fantasy points, respectively, for those gargantuan outputs.
For the season, Davis owns the No. 3 spot for F/C with 41.1 points per game. He sits at No. 4 overall with a total of 288.
The kid nicknamed “The Brow” deservedly wins the early honor of top fantasy surprise in the NBA.
With an .868 free-throw percentage to boot, Dwight Howard sends a congratulatory—but highly contemptuous—brow for Davis’ efforts.
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