2013 Fantasy Basketball Awards


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Fantasy Basketball 2013 Awards

Fantasy Basketball 2013 Awards
Kevin Jairaj - USA Today Sports

There are still a few weeks left in the 2012-’13 NBA season, but the majority of fantasy basketball leagues crowned their champions a few days ago.

The end of the fantasy season means it’s time to hand out the season awards. There have been many pleasant surprises, terrific performances and disappointing injuries during this season. There have been rookies who were everything expected and more, and some that didn’t even come close to projections. A few players also took the next step into great and elite status this year.

We’ve seen stars like Kevin Durant, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant live up to their lofty draft statuses, while other top picks such as Kevin Love, Rajon Rondo and Andrew Bynum fell victim to injuries to disappoint fantasy owners.

Some players were busts even without injuries as Andre Iquodola, Tyreke Evans and Andrea Bargnani did not come close to expectations and likely cost many owners a shot at the title.

We will hand out a variety of fantasy awards including MVP, Best Rookie, Breakout Player, Biggest Surprise, Best Big Man and Biggest Bust. Some of these award winners may be obvious, some may come as a surprise, but all will be well deserved.

A few months ago, we also handed out some of these awards at the halfway point. Who held onto their trophy and who fell off as the year wound down? Look back at the first half awards here.

Without further ado, here are your fantasy basketball award winners for the 2012-’13 season.

Rich Arleo is a fantasy sports expert with Rant Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Rarleo, ‘Like’ him on Facebook and add him to your networks on Google.

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Most Valuable Player: SF Kevin Durant

Most Valuable Player: SF Kevin Durant
Mark D. Smith - USA Today Sports

This award came down to two players: Durant and James. Click here to read why Durant takes the crown.

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Breakout Player: SG James Harden

Breakout Player: SG James Harden
Thomas Campbell - USA Today

Harden earned this award right out of the gate and never let up. Likely taken in the second or even third round of many drafts, Harden emerged after being traded to the Houston Rockets just before the season began. He’ll finish with career-highs in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and even blocks and will certainly not be available after the first round next season.

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Best Rookie: PG Damian Lillard

Best Rookie: PG Damian Lillard
Jaime Valdez - USA Today Sports

Anthony Davis made a late push, but it wasn’t enough to equal the fantasy value of Lillard over the entire season. The likely Rookie of the Year finished as a top 10 PG and finished first among all rookies in scoring with 18.8 per game. He is also the top rookie in minutes and assists and will be one of the first point guards off the board next year

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Biggest Surprise: C Nikola Vucevic

Biggest Surprise: C Nikola Vucevic
Howard Smith - USA Today Sports

Heading into the season, Vucevic was viewed as nothing more than a so-so sophomore center worth nothing more than a late-round pick on the off chance he can replace Dwight Howard for the Orlando Magic. Those who spent a late round pick on the big man got one of the best fantasy values of the year. He will likely finish the year averaging a double-double and will finish among the leaders in double-doubles this season having already recording over 40. One of the keys to winning a fantasy championship is getting early-round value with one of your last picks, and it’s very likely that Vucevic was on many championship teams.

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Best Big Man: PF, C David Lee

Best Big Man: PF, C David Lee
Troy Taormina - USA Today Sports

Having dual eligibility at power forward and center is certainly a plus, but Lee’s value would have been through the roof even without that. At seasons end Lee will far and away have the most double-doubles in the league and in his eighth season continues to be one of the surest things in the league.

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Biggest Bust: PG Steve Nash

Biggest Bust: PG Steve Nash
Cary Edmondson - USA Today Sports

Despite obviously getting up there in age, many were still excited at the prospects of the veteran Nash playing with Kobe Bryant and Howard. Taken as early as Round 3 in many drafts, Nash was hurt early in the season and missed about a month and a half. He recovered but never really got it going and will average less than 9.5 assists per game for the first time since the 2003-’04 season. It appears the sun has set on a very good career, and he will only be worth a late round pick next year.


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