Stealing Your League

In the last rant, I talked about the art of blocking. This time around, I want to talk about the second most overlooked statistic in fantasy basketball — steals. 

Now, it’s no small coincidence that the top three NBA ranking players in the steals category are on playoff bound teams. Washington Wizards small forward Caron Butler (2.26 spg), Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors (2.37 spg) and New Orleans Hornets point guard Chris Paul (2.72 spg) are all veritable fantasy studs.

Intangibles are defined as assets that cannot be perceived by the senses. In NBA terms, that means the little things. Defense is a huge part of being an intangible player, but in fantasy, defense as a whole is not valuable. Steals, blocks and rebounds, however, are definitely important individual numbers.

These three players are not just superstars, the’re also the most valuable pieces of their team. And not just because of their lane trolling prowess; they also play a complete game. Stealing is an important fantasy statistic, and being able to pick the ball off without giving yourself away is no easy task, which is probably why all three of these people are top fantasy picks.

Fantasy GM’s often forget that (in roto-leagues) steals are just as important as rebounds or points. In a lot of leagues, steals and blocks are worth double. The term five-category stud is just as applicable here as it is in baseball. Do yourself a favor. Load up on guys who can steal and block because they can almost undoubtedly do everything else just as well.

– MICHAEL GANCI