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[The day is nigh! Our Step Brothers themed league drafts tonight, and we need you to fill the last open spots! Join the league through this link here, and check out all the other RCL openings in our signup post. Can’t wait for this ish to start!]

The big men!  You can’t win without a good center!  …just tell the Sixers that…

Center offers some of the biggest variables in fantasy hoops.  E’rybody out hurr loves to punt that FT%!  But you also have Boogie making you punt TO, you HAVE to get good FG% guys if you wanna stay balanced with your shooting, and if you draft too many of the swatters early, you’re probably hurting for points later.  One thing that has become interesting – it seems like there’s more streamable blocks on the wire these days.  Biyombo, John Henson, etc. etc.  Just look how long my “Late round flier”  Tier is!  So don’t waive the white flag if you feel like your swats are too low by your final rounds, or even coming out of the draft.  Here’s the top C for the 2016-17 fantasy basketball season, in tiers:

The “First rounders” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
15Karl-Anthony Towns, MIN (20)CAlong with all the normal sexiness (Pts/FG%/Reb/Blk), he upped his Ast from 1.4 to 3.0 pre and post ASB in his rookie season. He’s unreal.
26Anthony Davis, NO (23)PF, CIf we knew Brow would play 75+ games I migggghhhht lean him over KAT, but we all know the risk. GET THE PELS NEW MEDICAL PEOPLE!
39Hassan Whiteside, MIA (27)CFinal 37 games, 3.9-5.4 FT good for 73.2%. On top of leading the league in blocks, if he hits his FT, he’s easily gonna be a first rounder. And no, this rank isn’t under the duress of an elbow to the noggin.

The “…To punt, or not to punt?!” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
416DeMarcus Cousins, SAC (26)PF, CMissed 40 games the past two seasons, FT% came crumbling down around a huge volume, and without Rondo, look for Boogie to turn it over like the good ol’ days as well. Not close to a first-rounder for me anymore.
520DeAndre Jordan, LAC (28)C4/5/3 playoff sched from a guy that almost never misses games. FT-punt is giving me a lot more interest after seeing DJ came out at 3rd overall when you take out FT% last year. Two cats in the bank for the quarters and semis of the H2H playoffs.
621Andre Drummond, DET (23)CStill emerging, love his post game, but I like DJ’s playoff sched and blocks a smidge more.
722Brook Lopez, BKN (28)CInjury risk seems to be by the wayside, but Ol’ Clownfoot is on an ugly Nets team on a fairly-friendly contract. Got shut down last year. A trade at the deadline would hurt.
823Kristaps Porzingis, NY (21)PF, CThe Posion Goose! Only rookie to score more than 1,000 points, grab 500-plus rebounds, make 75-plus 3-pointers and block more than a 100 shots. USG may hurt next to Melo/Rose, but he’ll still get his, and get dem swats on top of everything.
924Al Horford, BOS (30)PF, CThe way B-Rad runs rotations, I’m a little worried about the minutes being 29-30. Slim has more faith. His game is suited for a long career, but I worry about some early Boston meshing as well.
1025Blake Griffin, LAC (27)PF, CDisaster 15-16, but BG is playing for a contract (he’ll likely get max either way, but ya know) and I think bounces back fine, as long as you’re not on the Clip staff and clown him at dinner.
1130LaMarcus Aldridge, SA (31)PF, CSlim dislikes Aldridge with a Patrick Patterson-esque fury, but LA was 9th in per-game last year the final 31 games, and scores with a big volume of great FG% with virtually no TO. Being on the old Spurs is annoying though…

The “Some sexy young guns and some ugly ass old people (cough, Pau, cough!)…” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
1232Gorgui Dieng, MIN (26)PF, CChoo Choo! Who’s with me on the hype train?! Through games 14-82 – 10.8/7.5/2.0/1.1/1.2 with 53.9% from the field and 82.6 FT%. That was only in 28:30 MPG and not starting half those games. I think Slim is a little light on the projection with upside to play huge minutes for Tibby Tibs.
1333Rudy Gobert, UTA (24)CMonsieur Elbow was Le Poo last year, that’s for sure! FIBA ball apparently ruined his conditioning, and he tore his knee at one point. But he bounced back quick from injury – good to see for a big – and still has elite big man skills. Nice fallback FT-punt option.
1435Kevin Love, CLE (27)PF, CSmall steps up in per-minute stats, Love has gone from injury-plagued first rounder to low-upside mid-rounder. Might make your leaguemates fall asleep with this pick.
1536Serge Ibaka, ORL (26)PF, CBlocks dropping, turning into a jump shooter that is hurting FG%… He was clearly out of my top-50 pre-trade, but has some great upside for an expanded offensive role in ORL.
1637Derrick Favors, UTA (25)PF, CFavors would be 10 higher if not for back-to-back seasons with back-to-back spasms. Also the blocks didn’t come along like we thought… Love his game, hate the risk.
1741Pau Gasol, SA (36)PF, COld and Spurs, go together like hangovers and carnival rides. You just have to build in a lot of regression, especially in minutes, but he can still be top-50 serviceable.
1845Nikola Jokic, DEN (21)PF, CThe love is starting to get strong for this one! In per-game/per-36 min stats, he was 13th in the NBA last year. And not like he played mop up minutes, he started a ton, just Mike Malone wouldn’t play him. Gives you a legit 9-cat impact, even though no one stat shines.
1948Nikola Vucevic, ORL (25)PF, CI thought I was going to be a smidge above consensus on Ibaka, but turns out I don’t want any part of the Magic frontcourt after all, especially Vuch. Any lapses on D, and Bis is gonna get the Business!
2049Nerlens Noel, PHI (22)PF, CStill the allure of 2/2 STL/BLK! Sixers keep saying one of the bigs will be gone – make a deal already!

The “Major upside, but major question marks (except silly Gortat, he’s boring)” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
2156Marc Gasol, MEM (31)CThe bone in his foot he broke is a really tricky one for big men, and he couldn’t even run as of June 5th. There is confirmation there will be DNPs and minutes limits to open the season, but if he can stay healthy through winter, I expect his game to come back into form when you’re in the playoffs.
2261Jonas Valanciunas, TOR (24)CThe Luminescent Lithuanian’s per-game fantasy rank always looks purdy next to his MPG, but given an injury history, I don’t automatically think no Biyombo = 30+ MPG. I like him, don’t get me wrong! But I don’t have that Canadian love…
2363Marcin Gortat, WAS (32)CThe Ten Foot Pole is about to be an Eleven Year Pro, but that ain’t stopping me! He’s finished in the top-50 in the past few seasons – yes it’s metrics-whoreish – but even with a few less MPG, I think this is good value.
2464Jusuf Nurkic, DEN (22)CIn 17 MPG, Jamba Jus got to 1.4 BLK, 0.8 STL and has some really underrated playmaking ability as a post-passer. I think his %s take big hikes up, and even if he’s only at 24-25 MPG, I think can be a win at this rank.
2570Myles Turner, IND (20)PF, CFrom game 41-82, i.e. the “legit” 2nd half of the season, he went 12.2/6.4/0.9/0.5/1.7 in 26.6 MPG, shooting 49.7% from the field, 73.9% from the stripe, and only committing 1.4 TO. Seasonal numbers get jacked up due to low minutes out of the gate and coming off the broken thumb prior to this run.
2673Dirk Nowizki, DAL (38)PF, CI’m glad I’m including ages, because that explains the only reason why The Gerimator is this low. He stands the test of time, but we’ll see if he can hold up another full NBA season.

The “As T.I. would say, ‘You can have whatever you like!’ ” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
2782Enes Kanter, OKC (24)CAnemic in AST/STL/BLK, the upside for a 20/10 season with a good FG% keeps him well ahead of the 100 range.
2890Ryan Anderson, HOU (28)PF, CRyno, the ThraAGNOF bigman dyno! If you get 70 games of his 3PTM/C combo, you’re happy.
2995Joakim Noah, NYK (31)PF, CGoromotaro! I do like his upside for dimes continuing to play with Rose, but even if this is looking FANTASTIC through 20 games, I would sell immediately due to brittleness.
3097Greg Monroe, MIL (26)PF, CI have to rank him somewhere, although admittedly this hate might be going too far. I worry where he lands in an inevitable trade, as the Bucks hate him.
3199Markieff Morris, WAS (27)PF, CFG% went WAY up even though he took more 3s, TO way down, and same STL/BLK after getting to the Wiz. Still only 27, with a full offseason with the new crew, there could be something here.
32107Jared Sullinger, TOR (24)PF, CThe Raptors desperately need deep shooting from guys other than Lowry (and I guess Carroll), but at well under 30% from downtown in his career, I think it could get a little ugly, and I don’t think we see this huge 1+/1+ STL/BLK season either.
33108Robin Lopez, CHI (28)CWorst player in basketball! He is what he is, a nice nab for big man depth in non-FT punt builds.
34109Dwight Howard, ATL (30)PF, CObviously a fun FT punt asset if he lasts this long, but the TO issues, injury-proneness, and changing to another team worry me a smidge. I think the resurgence season last year was an anomaly to his career trends.
35112Clint Capela, HOU (22)PF, CMore D’Antoniiiii! Obviously a must-draft for FT punters; for other builds, the upside in Boards-n-Blocks is capped a little due to the drain.
36117Jahlil Okafor, PHI (20)CSurprised me as a rookie with over a block/per and a non-killing FT%, but I hate their big man mix and all the issues he had mostly off the court.

The “Late round flier” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
37121Mason Plumlee, POR (26)PF, C4.8 dimes in the postseason, and shot 64.2% at the stripe which is a big step forward. Maybe he can be a sneaky C dimes source, and has played all 82 the past 2 years.
38124Zach Randolph, MEM (35)PF, CWe know about what we’ll get, and he barely turns it over, for a PTS/REB source I would buy at this point.
39130Bismack Biyombo, ORL (24)PF, CNot investing in the ORL frontcourt, but there’s obviously Boards-n-Blocks usability with your last pick or two here. Even if he’s coming off the bench, it should be for good minutes.
40132Zaza Pachulia, GS (32)CPizza arms! Up until Feb 19th in 15-16, he was 10/10.9/2/1/0.3 before they massively scaled back his minutes. Should fit a nice boarding need for the Golden State NBA All Stars of the West Warriors.
41133Steven Adams, OKC (23)CDespite low-volume, vastly improved his %s and AST:TO last year. I’m not sure the volume goes up a ton though, making him barely above the streaming class.
42134Amir Johnson, BOS (29)PF, CSneaky punt-FT target with a great FG% and bad FTs. I was surprised to actually like Amir this year, but with no Sully, there isn’t heavy-hitting PF to really rival Amir’s role. Love dem D stats.
43136Al Jefferson, CHA (31)PF, CBig Al has big tread on the big tires, but could easily go 11/6 with low TO for a backend big. But hopefully someone else in your league nabs him higher for name value 🙂
44137Kenneth Faried, DEN (26)PF, CYou’re probably hoping for a trade to be honest… Even in a low MPG role out of the gate if he’s still in DEN, I think there’s enough for early-season ownership.
45138Alex Len, PHO (23)PF, COnly gets ranked here due to upside – he was a trainwreck when a starter last year, and projected to still come behind grandpa Tyson. More a stash-and-hope.
46142Timofey Mozgov, LAL (30)CIf he gets to 28 MPG, he could get 1.5 blocks and a few boards, but health has been an issue and I have no faith in the Lakers not to screw the pooch somehow.
47144Taj Gibson, CHI (31)PF, CWith Noah and Pau outta there, there’s a shot for 28-29 MPG with a 9/9 1.3 BLK sort of line, with a great FG%. Low end, but usable.
48148Tyson Chandler, PHO (33)CVery usable 10.1/9.4/0.9/0.6/0.8 run over his last 24 games, shooting 67.8%. Injuries and age knock him down a round or two, but I’d be fine with him as my last pick.
49150Ivica Zubac, LAL (19)CSexy upside time! Mozgov is obviously bleh, and Zubac was unreal in Summer Ball, with low TO, awesome %s, and game-changing D.
50151Andrew Bogut, DAL (31)CWe know the Bogut schtick by now – steals and blocks, bad FT, legs made of glass.
51152Cody Zeller, CHA (23)PF, CEven with Big Al replaced by a worthless Roy Hibbert, I don’t see a big climb in MPG. I think they swing Frank the Tank to some C minutes and Hawes might get some run there too. Volume is just too low to perk me up.
52155John Henson, MIL (25)PF, CWell, an OBVIOUS FT target, and a Monroe trade locked in stone boosts HIM up a bit!
53159Bobby Portis, CHI (21)PF, CShooting for the upside here – when unleashed the D stats didn’t come too strong, but he can hit FT and treys. Give him run, Rolo sucks!

The “Undraftable in 12ers” Tier:

C RANKOVERALL RANKPLAYER, TEAM, AGEPOSNOTE
54163Willie Cauley-Stein, SAC (23)PF, C0.7/1.0 STL/BLK was AWESOME in 21:23 MPG last year, but 5.3 REB? And I don’t know if we see that MPG jump with Joerger saying Matt Barnes is gonna play some 4.
55165Tristan Thompson, CLE (25)PF, CYou know what you get here – and I would’ve had him even lower if not for 82 games played the past 4 seasons – durable rock for deepers though!
56171Joel Embiid, PHI (22)CWho the F knows what’ll happen here?! A big man trade in the preseason might boost him a tad for me, but it’s not like the Sixers will ever unleash him his rookie year. Hoping to catch lighting (aka blocks) in a bottle.
57179Ed Davis, POR (27)PF, CI’d like Big Ed more if I wasn’t a Plumlee buyer, but 0.7/0.9 STL/BLK and 7.4 boards is maybe replicable, although I could see a few less minutes if they expand Mason.
58181Brandan Wright, MEM (28)PF, CGets a flier rank due to possible starts coming if Gasol misses any time or second legs of b2bs. Has injury issues of his own and can’t play a ton of minutes in a game, so even in non-Gasol games, upside is a little capped.
59183Ian Mahinmi, WAS (29)CI obviously still have faith in Gortat playing 28-30 MPG, so not much else is left for Mahinmi. Had a breakout last year as a starter, so maybe he can rack up stats in lower minutes against second units?
60193Meyers Leonard, POR (24)PF, CJust does nothing in AST/STL/BLK and is a bench player. Meh.
61200Patrick Patterson, TOR (27)PF, CMr. irrelevant! Although, he was about to be out of the ranks until The Duchess got hurt… Meh, we know what he is, blah stats but gets em across the board with low TO.