Fantasy rankings: Small forward
For more fantasy basketball coverage, check out theScore's 2017 Fantasy Draft Kit, with player rankings and new content released daily.
These rankings reflect standard scoring formats, taking into account a player's expected production in the following categories: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-point shots made, field-goal percentage, free-throw percentage and turnovers.
Position Rankings
PG | SG | SF | PF | C | Top 150
Tier 1
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Giannis Antetokounmpo | MIL |
| 2 | Kevin Durant | GSW |
| 3 | Kawhi Leonard | SAS |
| 4 | LeBron James | CLE |
What more can be said about LeBron James? He only misses a handful of games each year, and usually just for rest. While people were losing their minds over Russell Westbrook's triple-double season, James was quietly putting up averages of 26-9-9 while shooting 54.8 percent from the field. With Kyrie Irving now in Boston and Isaiah Thomas facing a lengthy recovery from a hip injury, he'll have to shoulder the load in Cleveland once more.
On the other hand, James is coming off a 2016-17 campaign in which he led the league with 37.8 minutes per game, and there's really no precedent for an athlete playing as much as James has and at his level through 14 seasons. Could his luck finally run out? Maybe, but James has shown absolutely no sign of slowing down. You can still feel confident drafting the best player on the planet between Nos. 6-10 in your fantasy drafts.
Tier 2
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Paul George | OKC |
| 6 | Draymond Green | GSW |
| 7 | Jimmy Butler | MIN |
| 8 | Klay Thompson | GSW |
| 9 | DeMar DeRozan | TOR |
| 10 | Gordon Hayward | BOS |
| 11 | Otto Porter | WAS |
| 12 | Carmelo Anthony | OKC |
| 13 | Khris Middleton | MIL |
| 14 | Nicolas Batum | CHA |
Predictably, Draymond Green's per-game production fell across the board after his 2015-16 campaign. The addition of Durant pushed Green a peg lower on the offensive totem pole, causing his shooting and passing opportunities to decrease along with his rebounding totals. Alarmingly, Green's production dipped even lower while Durant was out for much of March.
Though he may never average 20 points per game, his defensive contributions, passing, and rebounding maintain his fantasy floor - and status as the greatest "role-player" in the league. Given the Warriors' success with last season's distribution of roles and responsibilities, don't expect much to change for Green, even if Durant misses time this upcoming season.
Tier 3
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Andrew Wiggins | MIN |
| 16 | Harrison Barnes | DAL |
| 17 | Tobias Harris | DET |
| 18 | Trevor Ariza | HOU |
| 19 | Ben Simmons | PHI |
| 20 | Danilo Gallinari | LAC |
| 21 | Wilson Chandler | DEN |
| 22 | Jae Crowder | CLE |
| 23 | Markieff Morris | WAS |
| 24 | Dario Saric | PHI |
| 25 | Evan Fournier | ORL |
| 26 | Robert Covington | PHI |
| 27 | Tim Hardaway Jr. | NYK |
| 28 | Marcus Morris | BOS |
| 29 | James Johnson | MIA |
| 30 | Rudy Gay | SAS |
| 31 | Wesley Matthews | DAL |
| 32 | Dion Waiters | MIA |
Coming off a lost year, "redshirt rookie" Ben Simmons is a wild card, though it's reassuring that there will be no restrictions on Simmons' playing time to start the year. There is some recent precedent for a super-athletic rookie point forward having a monster fantasy season after missing a campaign with injury - specifically, Blake Griffin, who averaged 23-12-3 in Year 1.
The key difference is the Clippers' nearly barren roster afforded Griffin more touches than a rookie big should usually expect. The 76ers will have to balance Simmons' development with that of other young blue-chippers, Markelle Fultz, Joel Embiid, and Dario Saric. If the team intends to deploy Simmons as a point forward, having the ball in his hands will assure reasonable mid-tier fantasy production, so draft Simmons expecting a line closer to 15-7-3. Anything beyond that is gravy.
Tier 4
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM |
|---|---|---|
| 33 | Ersan Ilyasova | ATL |
| 34 | Brandon Ingram | LAL |
| 35 | Gary Harris | DEN |
| 36 | Marvin Williams | CHA |
| 37 | Kent Bazemore | ATL |
| 38 | Aaron Gordon | ORL |
| 39 | Nikola Mirotic | CHI |
| 40 | Rondae Hollis-Jefferson | BKN |
| 41 | Rodney Hood | UTH |
| 42 | Justise Winslow | MIA |
| 43 | Will Barton | DEN |
| 44 | Thaddeus Young | IND |
| 45 | Bojan Bogdanovic | IND |
| 46 | T.J. Warren | PHO |
| 47 | Al-Farouq Aminu | POR |
| 48 | Moe Harkless | POR |
| 49 | Jaylen Brown | BOS |
| 50 | Josh Jackson | PHO |
Marvin Williams does a little bit of everything. The veteran has averaged 10.1 points, six rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.8 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 1.6 3-pointers per game in his three years with the Hornets. Adding Dwight Howard to the frontcourt puts more pressure on Williams to provide some floor spacing; if he can get back to being the 40.2 percent 3-point shooter he was in 2015-16, he'll return plenty of value as a late-round flier.
Honorable mentions: Courtney Lee (NYK), Tyreke Evans (MEM), Terrence Ross (ORL), C.J. Miles (TOR), Jayson Tatum (BOS), Norman Powell (TOR). J.R. Smith (CLE), Jonathon Simmons (ORL)
(Photos courtesy: Action Images)