Fantasy basketball rankings: Top 50 PFs

For more fantasy basketball coverage, check out theScore's 2018 Fantasy Basketball 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 - Fantasy Superstars

Only three players in the league last year averaged at least 1.5 blocks and 1.5 steals per game: DeMarcus Cousins (1.6 and 1.6), Andre Drummond (1.6 and 1.5), and Anthony Davis, who not only swiped 1.5 steals per game but tallied a league-leading 2.6 blocks per game for good measure. And that's only one facet of his all-around dominance; Davis also ranked second in the league with 28.1 points per game, seventh with 11.1 rebounds, and has even begun integrating 3-point shooting into his arsenal, connecting at a rate of 34 percent on 2.2 attempts per game. With back-to-back seasons of 75 games played, it appears that some of The Brow's early career injury concerns are behind him.

Kevin Durant's outlook suffers from his team's front-runner status. He's now missed 34 games since joining the Golden State Warriors two seasons ago. As with teammate Stephen Curry, there's little reason to wrack up the mileage on Durant's body during the regular season; any basketball fan with a pulse knows this Warriors team is the odds-on title favorite as long as it can get to the playoffs healthy.

On a per-game basis, however, Durant's statistical profile - elite scoring efficiency from everywhere on the floor, solid rebound and assists totals, and steadily improving block totals - are hard to match. Just don't count on him playing more than 65 games; Steve Kerr will find an opportunity to shut Durant down for a week or two to limit his wear and tear.

Tier 2 - Starters

Draymond Green offers a little bit of everything without standing out as an elite scorer. In the two seasons since Durant joined the Warriors, Green has averaged 10.6 points, 7.8 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.7 steals, 1.3 blocks, and 1.1 made 3-pointers per game. If you're not forced to draft for statistical need, selecting Green with a late third- or early fourth-round pick will raise your floor across most of the standard categories.

Predictably, Blake Griffin's production fell off a bit after his mid-season trade to the Detroit Pistons. Not only did he have to adjust to a brand new system on the fly, he had also battled injuries through much of the first half of the season. The chief concern for Griffin as he enters Year 9 remains his health; over the past four seasons, the oft-injured forward has missed nearly 27 games per season on average. Adjusting to playing with Andre Drummond shouldn't be too tall a task. After all, Griffin has spent most of the last decade playing alongside a similar player in DeAndre Jordan.

Tier 3 - Depth

As a rookie, Chicago Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen had his rule of the roost. The early-season fracas between Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic thinned out his competition for frontcourt minutes while the latter recovered from a fractured jaw, and with Zach LaVine recovering from an ACL injury, coach Fred Hoiberg had little reason not to test the Finnish phenom early. Markkanen responded with 15.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 2.1 made 3-pointers per game, good enough for All-Rookie First Team honors.

The Bulls have since managed to complicate the development of Markkanen's fantasy profile, first by drafting another frontcourt player in Wendell Carter Jr., then by choosing to match the Sacramento Kings' offer sheet to LaVine, and finally by signing former Milwaukee Bucks forward Jabari Parker. Add holdovers like Portis, Kris Dunn, and Justin Holiday, who each emerged as viable fantasy assets to varying degrees last season, and it's hard to see where Markkanen stands in the pecking order.

If LaVine and Parker continue to see their young careers derailed by injury, Markkanen could once again emerge as the team's focal point on offense. But there's also a possibility that he's relegated to a supporting role while the team prioritizes the development of other young pieces. The Bulls have certainly paid LaVine and Parker as if they're high-usage stars.

Tier 4 - Bench

The Miami Heat rotation is just as complicated as the Bulls', but arguably without the same blue-chip youngsters. Hassan Whiteside saw his playing time decrease by nearly 25 percent last year, as the team experimented with frontcourts featuring combinations of Kelly Olynyk, James Johnson, Bam Adebayo, and Justise Winslow. The latter two are more promising in the long term, while the former two are better suited to the team's mandate to remain competitive. In the event the Heat were actually able to move Whiteside via trade - or even gathered enough gumption to bench the cantankerous center altogether - enough minutes could open up for one of the less heralded bigs to break out.

Honorable mentions: Marvin Bagley III (SAC), Domantas Sabonis (IND), Dirk Nowitzki (DAL), Taj Gibson (MIN), Gorgui Dieng (MIN), Jarrett Allen (BKN), Jerami Grant (OKC).

(Photos courtesy: Getty Images)