Russell Westbrook drives against Stephen Curry in game three of the 2016 Western Conference Finals. (Photo : J.Pat Carter/Getty Images)
The departure of Kevin Durant from the Oklahoma City Thunder did not only make an impact on the NBA landscape but also the fantasy basketball rankings for the 2016-17 season. According to the latest rankings, Russell Westbrook has taken over the top spot from Stephen Curry.
At the start of the offseason, Curry and Durant occupied the top two spots, per the Today's Fastbreak. But being on the same team will affect both of their fantasy value. On the other hand, it shot Westbrook at the top of the rankings leaping over Curry, Durant and James Harden.
The 27-year-old point guard is now the lone superstar in Oklahoma City and he will look to take over the NBA. He is expected to put up a triple-double every time he steps on the court which makes many fantasy basketball owners very happy.
According to ESPN, the top ten players in the 2016-17 fantasy basketball rankings are Westbrook, Harden, Curry, Durant, Karl-Anthony Towns, Kawhi Leonard, Anthony Davis, LeBron James, DeMarcus Cousins and Giannis Antetokounmpo.
Towns, the 2016 NBA Rookie of the Year, will likely produce at a higher level now that he has a year of experience under his belt. Leonard and Cousins are all going to produce consistently while Davis is a risk because of his injury history.
As for the reigning Finals MVP, he is not expected to explode off the bat and reserve his greatness for the playoffs. The Greek Freak is making a big leap as he officially takes over the point forward position for the Milwaukee Bucks while giving fantasy owners stats across the board.
Other players that made a jump in the rankings after all the transactions this offseason are Victor Oladipo, Serge Ibaka, Goran Dragic, Dennis Schroder and Darren Collison. Oladipo instantly becomes the second option on the Thunder offense while Ibaka likely increases his scoring now that he is on the Orlando Magic.
The departure of Dwyane Wade makes Dragic the first option on offense for the Miami Heat and Schroder will be the starting point guard for the Atlanta Hawks because Jeff Teague was traded to the Indiana Pacers.
The rookies that made it into the Top 130 of the fantasy basketball rankings are Ben Simmons, Brandon Ingram, Buddy Hield, Kris Dunn and Dario Saric. Players that were not in the previous rankings that are now part of the Top 130 include Jeremy Lin, Bismack Biyombo, Clint Capela, Robin Lopez and Justise Winslow.
Check out the video below for the fantasy basketball breakdown of the 2016 NBA rookies.
