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Kevin Simon ranks the top 50 fantasy NBA players for the rest of the season. His fantasy basketball rankings as of Week 8, along with analysis of the top 50 players.
Welcome back, RotoBallers. Below you will find our updated fantasy basketball rankings for Week 8 of the NBA season, looking at the rest-of-season fantasy values.
I will be ranking the top 50 players for fantasy basketball, along with my analysis. Let's get to it.
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Fantasy Basketball Top 50 Player Rankings (Week 8)
| Rank | Previous Rank | Name | Team | Pos | Notes |
| 1 | 1 | Kevin Durant | GSW | SF/PF | Dropped to #2 on the season behind Anthony Davis, but he's still the much safer option in terms of durability. |
| 2 | 2 | Stephen Curry | GSW | PG/SG | His steals totals have bounced back, mainly due to his seven steal game against the Clippers on 12/7. He's ranked #3 on the season and is putting up typical Steph Curry numbers. |
| 3 | 4 | Anthony Davis | NOR | PF/C | He's been on injury reports for shoulder, knee, foot, ankle, back, and quad ailments so far this year, and it's cost him two games now. Owners are praying he doesn't miss a significant amount of time. If only he were durable he'd be the unquestioned #1. |
| 4 | 3 | James Harden | HOU | PG/SG/SF | Harden has shot pretty horribly the past couple weeks, and his turnovers are still astronomical. Otherwise the production he's dropping each night is unreal. |
| 5 | 5 | Chris Paul | LAC | PG | CP3 continues to churn out elite numbers on a super consistent basis. You could argue for him to be ranked #1 and it wouldn't be all that crazy. |
| 6 | 6 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL | PG/SG/SF | Had a minor hiccup against the tenacious Atlanta Hawks' defense on 12/9, but outside of that game has kept up his stellar play. Will be interesting to see how he meshes with Khris Middleton if he returns late in the season. |
| 7 | 7 | Kawhi Leonard | SAS | SG/SF | At risk for a rest day here or there with the Spurs second best record in the league. That keeps him behind Antetokounmpo for now. |
| 8 | 10 | Draymond Green | GSW | SF/PF | As predicted, his FG% and PTS have been creeping back up towards his career norms. Durant's arrival has actually helped his fantasy game by lowering his turnover rate. He's a safe top 10 player who helps everywhere. |
| 9 | 9 | LeBron James | CLE | SF/PF | The drop in FT% is keeping his season rank down, but expect it to normalize as it's currently the lowest of his career. |
| 10 | 12 | Jimmy Butler | CHI | SG/SF | His FG% has regressed a bit but he's still a top 10 player on the season. It's time for his ranking to reflect that. |
| 11 | 13 | Damian Lillard | POR | PG | If only he could add more value in steals he'd be a borderline top five player. |
| 12 | 11 | Kemba Walker | CHA | PG | His shooting percentage has come down a bit, so it doesn't look like he has taken that jump. Still an elite point guard. |
| 13 | 8 | Russell Westbrook | OKC | PG | Averaging a triple-double but he's currently not even ranked in the top 20 on the season. He hurts you too much in FG% and TOs to be considered an elite fantasy option for now. |
| 14 | 14 | DeMarcus Cousins | SAC | PF/C | If he was more efficient, his stats would look a lot like AD's. |
| 15 | 17 | Paul George | IND | SF/PF | Has shown no signs of rust after missing seven of ten games due to ankle and back injuries. |
| 16 | 19 | Al Horford | BOS | PF/C | Those who doubted him when he was injured couldn't have been more wrong. He's a top five fantasy center. |
| 17 | 21 | Kristaps Porzingis | NYK | PF/C | KP's FG% has regressed, but the threes and blocks he gives are unmatched. |
| 18 | 22 | John Wall | WAS | PG | Career high in points is legit. The FG% and high turnovers keep him from reaching Chris Paul status. |
| 19 | 23 | Kyle Lowry | TOR | PG | Lowry has been lights out from the field during the past couple weeks, bringing up his value to top 15 on the season. Expect closer to his career 42% the rest of the way, but he's still good enough to be a top 20 player. |
| 20 | 20 | Kevin Love | CLE | PF/C | Owners will have to take the occasional rest day with the elite production. |
| 21 | 15 | Karl-Anthony Towns | MIN | C | KAT has been in a bit of a shooting slump the past couple weeks. He'll need his elite FG% from last year to be a top 15 fantasy player. |
| 22 | 16 | Hassan Whiteside | MIA | C | The FT% has just been too detrimental to his fantasy value. Not a top 20 player if it's under 60%, especially with the regression in blocks. |
| 23 | 24 | Myles Turner | IND | PF/C | Myles Turner doesn't have eye-popping stats, but his 2.3 blocks with top-notch shooting percentages have been enough to keep him among the top 25 players this season. |
| 24 | 27 | CJ McCollum | POR | PG/SG | Like Turner, it's the shooting percentages that have really elevated his game. The nearly three 3's per game don't hurt either. |
| 25 | 35 | Paul Millsap | ATL | PF/C | After missing a few games with a hip injury, Millsap has returned with a vengeance. Let's see if it lasts a couple more weeks before declaring him back to being a top 15 player. |
| 26 | 25 | Isaiah Thomas | BOS | PG | A groin injury has kept him out the past few games. Looks like nothing to worry about though. |
| 27 | 40 | Marc Gasol | MEM | C | The only worry here is rest, but he's been one of the best players in the game during the past couple weeks. A rare big man all-around contributor. |
| 28 | 28 | DeMar DeRozan | TOR | SG/SF | He was unlikely to average 30 points per game for the whole season. He's still extremely valuable as a FT% anchor and mild contributor everywhere else. |
| 29 | 18 | Kyrie Irving | CLE | PG/SG | The steals have completely disappeared this season. Without them he's not a top 25 player. |
| 30 | 29 | Blake Griffin | LAC | PF/C | He's in a shooting slump and missed a couple games with a sore knee. He'll bounce back, don't panic yet. |
| 31 | 33 | Trevor Ariza | HOU | SG/SF | His combination of 3's and steals while not dragging you down in any category makes him a lock for a top 40 finish. |
| 32 | 32 | Rudy Gobert | UTA | C | His free throw shooting looks legit, as he proclaimed it would be during the preseason. He's been scoring in the mid-teens lately, but with Favors back it may regress a bit. |
| 33 | 31 | Otto Porter | WAS | SF | The field goal attempts and rebounding are down as of late, but the rest of his numbers are in line with his full season averages. |
| 34 | 39 | Gordon Hayward | UTA | SG/SF | The scoring will likely dip with Favors, Hill, and Hood all nearing or already returned from injury. |
| 35 | 30 | Carmelo Anthony | NYK | SF/PF | Melo is in a big time shooting slump with a FG% under 40% the past couple weeks. He's bound to snap out of it sooner rather than later. |
| 36 | 34 | Rudy Gay | SAC | SF/PF | Gay's scoring has been down lately, but he'll break out of his slump. |
| 37 | 36 | Brook Lopez | BKN | C | Another player in a minor shooting slump right now. Don't panic. |
| 38 | 38 | Klay Thompson | GSW | SG/SF | A 60 point effort on 12/5 should have erased concerns that he forgot how to shoot. The numbers still aren't quite what they were pre-Durant. |
| 39 | 44 | Eric Bledsoe | PHO | PG/SG | Bledsoe has been doing it all lately, and we'll see if it can continue when TJ Warren returns. Still, the biggest concern for him is the injury risk. |
| 40 | N/A | Serge Ibaka | ORL | PF/C | Ibaka has seen his numbers increase across the board since Vucevic was benched. His 3's and BLKs combination looks a lot like Porzingis. |
| 41 | 45 | Avery Bradley | BOS | PG/SG | Bradley's numbers have been pretty consistent all season, though the rebounds were never going to stay as high as they were to start the season. |
| 42 | 43 | Jeff Teague | IND | PG | The scoring is a bit lower than his ATL days, but everything else looks the same. |
| 43 | 49 | Jae Crowder | BOS | SF/PF | The FG% has stayed aloft, but the steals are still depressed. He's still good for top 50 on the season. |
| 44 | 42 | George Hill | UTA | PG/SG | Hill has been slow to recover from a toe sprain, but he's just been too good when on the court to drop him any further. He could return any day now. |
| 45 | 41 | LaMarcus Aldridge | SAS | PF/C | Another veteran in a shooting slump. Another guy not to worry about yet. |
| 46 | N/A | Nikola Jokic | DEN | PF/C | Jokic has been showing glimpses of his full potential lately, even though he's playing about 25 minutes per game. If Mike Malone ever rightfully decides to consistently give him 30 minutes, this dude could be on par with his 21 year old Porzingis counterpart in terms of fantasy value. |
| 47 | N/A | Zach LaVine | MIN | PG/SG | LaVine is essentially McCollum-lite. Scary that he's just 21 years old. |
| 48 | 37 | Victor Oladipo | OKC | PG/SG | There's a lot wrong with Oladipo right now, with the latest being a wrist injury. Perhaps the rest will help his FT%, which has been 78% of above each season of his career. He's a frustrating player to own, but it wouldn't be wise to sell now. |
| 49 | N/A | Bradley Beal | WAS | SG | Beal has taken a major jump this season. It's mostly due to an increased volume of shooting, which means it's likely sustainable. |
| 50 | 48 | Jrue Holiday | NOR | PG | Jrue has been all over the place this season, and he's likely still shaking off the rust. Look for the FT% to normalize and the points and assists to creep up. |
Next Five:
Nicolas Batum, Tobias Harris, DeAndre Jordan, Gorgui Dieng, Andre Drummond
On The Bubble:
Derrick Favors, Joel Embiid, Marcin Gortat, Dwayne Wade, Clint Capela
