Here it is, the end of the era, the turning of a page. This is my last fantasy basketball article for this season. If you’re just finding this, well, I guess that kinda sucks for you since I won’t be on basketball for a while. Or great for you if you think I’m just another internet dolt.
Ending a season reminds me of my first ever fantasy league. I was a sophomore in college, the year was 1997. No, there were no phones or really any websites devoted to fantasy sports. My friends and I got together and made handwritten picks in an in-person draft.
Saturday mornings were dedicated to hand calculating the stats for the week. Yes, that was me. I didn’t see myself as particularly nerdy at the time, but here I was, crunching numbers. We all paid 15 bucks to get in, and if I remember right there were ten of us. And now, almost 30 years and a weakened memory later, the roster includes:
Myself, an esteemed fantasy writer and mediocre teacher, believer that Steve Kerr was valuable.
A very smart engineer/business guy in Seattle who loved Karl Malone with a passion.
A high level police officer in Tampa who wears shorts like John Stockton.
A graphic designer for our college, resident Bucks fan and Big Dog Robinson defender.
Construction worker from Wisconsin who never actually paid even though he said he would many times.
A real estate agent who uses a ton of exclamation points, Bulls fan even though the T-Wolves existed.
A basketball coach in California, point guard for the college team.
A teacher in Chicago named Burger, still brokenhearted about the Sonics and not accepting Shawn Kemp’s bloated form.
A guy I’ve totally lost track of who said someone was consistent because they scored 2 points one game and then 25 the next.
I don’t remember who won, I do remember getting third and that I only cheated on the stats just a little bit. We had a great time watching our guys on TNT (remember Tuesday-Wednesday-Thursday?) It’s how I watch the NBA, trying to evaluate guys for my fantasy team. I didn’t even care what people did, I was watching basketball at 11 on a Friday night, getting ready for the waiver pickups.
The basketball league continued after graduation, moving to Yahoo! and still going today, basketball, football, baseball. Most fell off over the years, replaced by family members and friends. Actually, for a year the hoops league went dormant, leading me to Razzball leagues and signing up for the Writers’ League, then writing, then here.
It’s amazing how easy the game has gotten to play. If you ever had to use dial-up in a public internet space, you know. It’s not always been so easy if you’re old enough to remember what this was like before cell phones, let alone smartphones.
It’s also mind-blowing to me the opportunities this community gives. I was asked by Yahoo! Dan Titus to be in their new fun format, High Score, with a bunch of other writers/podcasters. Furthermore, Titus and I put together a 14 team industry Friends & Family league. Seventh place isn’t bad right?
https://basketball.fantasysports.yahoo.com/League/friendsandfamily2025
That’s the link if you have unc status.
Thanks for reading all season, and hopefully in the future. Catch me on Wednesday afternoons for fantasy baseball!
So anyway, here’s a list of lists summarizing this year in fantasy hoops.
Next Year Top 10: yes, Cooper Flagg is that good.
- Victor Wembanyama
- Nikola Jokic
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Cade Cunningham
- Luka Doncic
- Tyrese Maxey
- Anthony Edwards
- Scottie Barnes
- Donovan Mitchell
- Cooper Flagg
Can’t Draft Due to Age/Injuries: Joints don’t get better with age
- Stephen Curry
- Giannis Antetokuonpo
- Kawhi Leonard
- Anthony Davis
- Jimmy Butler
- Top 5 Incoming Rookies:
- Cameron Boozer
- AJ Dybantsa
- Caleb Wilson
- Daryn Peterson
- Darius Acuff
- Next Year’s Breakouts:
- Stephen Castle
- Matas Buzelis
- Ajay Mitchell (if he gets traded)
- Cedric Coward
My Best Call:
Jalen Johnson produces at a first round level. Yes, he did that. I will say I was right.
Jalen Johnson can average 20-10-4-1-1 with low turnovers. That’s first round production. He won’t be the top rated player, but based on where you can get him, like in the third round, he’s one of the few blokes who is capable of returning first round value. It’s a definite risk; he hasn’t finished a season healthy yet. But one year was the ankle, last year a shoulder injury. It’s not like it’s a back condition, knee arthritis, or something chronic.
That’s me quoting me!
My Worst Call:
Most Likely to be Rage Dropped and Scooped Up: Donovan Clingan
Clingan is better than I thought. My bad, my bad.
That’s all folks! Thanks for reading, and we’re cooking up more next season! It’s harder now without the ability to subtract a rebound or add one assist with the internet doing everything. To my former and current leaguemates, I truly enjoyed it, and I hope you guys enjoy my drivel going forward.
