NBA Rookie Draft Ranking and Fantasy Outlook: Anthony Davis

It was no surprise that the New Orleans Hornets took Anthony Davis with the first pick in the 2012 NBA Draft.  Davis will hopefully man the power forward or center position and become the face of the franchise for years to come.

Career college stats at Kentucky:

40 Games, 14.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 4.7 blocks, 1.7 steals, 62.3 FG%, 70.9 FT%

Fantasy Advice:  The Hornets traded away Emeka Okafor earlier in the week, which was clearly a move to open up a space for Davis.  With his defensive talents, he should step right into a starting role and be one of the rookies with the highest amount of playing time this year.   But, like most young big men, his defensive game is way ahead of his offensive game.  His most impressive stat at Kentucky was the 4.7 blocked shots per game and this will likely be the one stat that fantasy drafters focus on this season.  Everyone is looking for the next Serge Ibaka to help their fantasy teams dominate the blocks category.

His offensive game is still raw, but he’s got all the basic tools to be a great offensive player in time.  Let’s face it, other than Eric Gordon, the Hornets still don’t have much talent to put around Davis and it’s going to be hard to hit the ground running in any type of established offense.  Early on it will be a tough learning process for Davis, but the one bright spot is that somebody has to put up the points on this team, so why not Davis?

Much like the real life NBA draft, if you are looking for the best fantasy rookie, then Davis is probably the pick.  Unfortunately though, the hype of the number one pick always makes fantasy drafters pay more than is warranted, but that could surely be justified in keeper leagues.

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