NBA fantasy basketball--All-Star guards for 2009

April 23, 8:10 AMFantasy Basketball ExaminerBruce Allen

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Data from fanball.com; chart by the author.

This chart was derived from data collected at fanball.com's Free Fantasy Basketball Challenge.

Ranked by my arcane Fantasy Power Index, which takes into account a player's fantasy point production and his salary, the top guard in the NBA this past season was Ramon "Suddenly" Sessions of the Milwaukee Bucks.  Sessions stepped up around the time Michael Redd was lost for the season with a knee, and edged out Rodney Stuckey of the Pistons for this season's Monta Ellis Award, given annually to that player who comes out of nowhere to become the best value in salary cap fantasy leagues.  Last year's winner was Al Jefferson of Boston/Minnesota.

Continuing down the list, Kevin Durant had a breakout year for the Okies and will be an All-Star for the next ten years.  Devin Harris is a lock for the Most Improved Player award in the league this year.  Dwyane "Call Me Dwayne" Wade and Chris Paul are, like Lebron, rare birds who can make a list like this with their high salaries.  Like LeBron, they make the difficult look easy.  Wade looks to lead the Heat into the second round of the playoffs, but CP3 doesn't appear likely to carry the Hornets past Denver.  Mike Conley stepped up for Memphis after the All-Star game, coincident with the arrival of coach Lionel Hollins, to make sixth place on the list.  I would argue that he had a better season than his high school teammate Greg Oden, and played 82 games to boot.

Rounding out the guards are Danny Granger, who had his own breakout year for the Pacers, Mario Chalmers with an outstanding rookie year, and Marquis "Best Dreads in the League" Daniels of the Pacers, whose value in fantasy leagues was diminished by the fact that he only appeared in 54 games.

Players like Wade, Paul, Durant and Granger will be starters in any fantasy league out there.  The rest of these guys are the best of the rest, the valuable fill-in players that round out rosters and make you money.  Next up:  The Centers, Such As They Are.