Fantasy Basketball Positional Rankings: Power Forwards

The power forward position is the deepest of all positions. Much like I mentioned how many of the the best power forwards are eligible at center, many small forwards and centers have dual eligibility at power forward. The range of ability consists of some of the league's best rebounders, scorers, three-point specialists, and efficient shooters. Some fantasy owners load up on power forwards and slot them into their center and utility positions. This position runs so deep, so deep that 50 players may not be enough to cover each and every fantasy relevant power forward. The depth leaves great value toward the end of drafts, but there's no reason to sleep on the players atop the draft board.

Again, I followed Fleaflicker's fantasy basketball positional eligibility. The rankings are based on standard, 8-category head-to-head (H2H) scoring: points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, three-pointers, field-goal percentage, and free-throw percentage.

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1. Dirk Nowitzki
2. Amar'e Stoudemire
3. Pau Gasol
4. Chris Bosh
5. Al Jefferson
6. Tim Duncan
7. Brook Lopez
8. Antawn Jamison
9. David West
10. Kevin Garnett
11. Troy Murphy
12. David Lee
13. LaMarcus Aldridge
14. Josh Smith
15. Rashard Lewis
16. Shawn Marion
17. Elton Brand
18. Carlos Boozer
19. Charlie Villanueva
20. Anthony Randolph
21. Andrea Bargnani
22. Al Harrington
23. Paul Millsap
24. Boris Diaw
25. Al Horford
26. Jeff Green
27. Emeka Okafor
28. Luis Scola
29. Tyrus Thomas
30. Nene Hilario
31. Lamar Odom
32. Rudy Gay
33. Thaddeus Young
34. Spencer Hawes
35. Jason Thompson
36. Marcus Camby
37. Michael Beasley
38. Andrei Kirilenko
39. Marvin Williams
40. Channing Frye
41. Zach Randolph
42. Al Thornton
43. Carl Landry
44. Joakim Noah
45. Rasheed Wallace
46. Brandon Bass
47. Kenyon Martin
48. Hakim Warrick
49. Blake Griffin*
50. Kevin Love

- As you can see, many of the top guys on this list also have eligibility at center. Still, Dirk Nowitzki is the cream of the crop, even though he's only eligible at power forward. He's a steady option and once again won't fall out of the Top 10 this season.

- The next six guys following Dirk Nowitzki all have center eligibility. That gives you the freedom to insert them into a number of positions -- C, PF, F and UTIL.

- Antawn Jamison has missed just 28 games over the last nine seasons and only four over the past two. Considering the amount of injuries that have piled up in Washington over the past few seasons, Jamison should have gotten consideration to become the next Surgeon General. That was until he strained his shoulder recently. Follow his status as early indications are that surgery is not required.

- David West hooked up his owners last season by shooting 88.4 percent from the free-throw line on 5.5 attempts. He finished second to Nowitzki in free-throw shooting at the power forward position. You have to love that kind of production from a big.

- Rashard Lewis would have moved up a few notches if it weren't for his 10-game suspension to start the season. His shot attempts, free-throw attempts and points have all declined since he joined the Magic in '07-'08, but his three-point shooting is far too valuable to drop him outside of the Top 15. While Lewis is out you should take a flier on Brandon Bass. He's an efficient big with a nice ability to score inside and out. He might even clean up the rebounds that Dwight Howard somehow misses.

- Between Josh Smith, Anthony Randolph and Tyrus Thomas you are looking at three guys who have the potential to post two or more blocks per game. Randolph has been the hottest name in drafts. His current average draft position per Mock Draft Central is 109.94, however his draft range is 69 to 126. I'm comfortable drafting Randolph somewhere around pick No. 75, maybe a few spots later. He seems to be the one stable Warrior with guaranteed playing time.

- Boris Diaw doesn't get enough credit for his fantasy contribution. He does a little bit of everything, save for hitting free throws on a consistent basis. However, he doesn't get to the line enough -- 1.8 times per game -- to hurt your free-throw category. With an ADP of 104.9 you're getting a complete player in the 10th round. Nice value.

- Dear Mike D'Antoni, there are no words to express how much I appreciate your offensive scheme. The money I'm about to earn next summer would not be there if it weren't for you. I know no other way to express how grateful I am to you other than thanking you in letter form. So, here's my letter. Big ups, Al Harrington.

- Jason Thompson has tremendous potential. He can easily post double-digit rebounds. The frontcourt in Sacramento is a little thin, so expect him to log serious minutes, pulling down plenty of boards, a block and a decent field-goal percentage.

- Blake Griffin has tons of talent and it wouldn't surprise anyone if he were to post a double-double in his rookie season. My one concern is that he shot just 59 percent from the free-throw line on just over 10 attempts per game in his final season at Oklahoma. Due to his aggressive style of play, if he shoots below 70 percent from the line as a high-frequency free-throw shooter, he's going to put a drain on your FT%. Unless you're prepared to take on a high-volume, low-percentage big man take caution with Griffin. There's nothing to say he won't or can't improve his free-throw shooting -- we just haven't seen it yet. Update: With Griffin sidelined for 6-8 weeks, he drops down to No. 49 on the list. Should he come back healthy in mid-December you're still looking at value from the rook. I suspect he'll climb a few spots once he returns.

- I'll stick with my guns and reiterate that guys like Michael Beasley, Carl Landry, Channing Frye and Joakim Noah make for great late-round value picks.

- Kirilenko added muscle this summer and may have gotten good news as the wing positions in Utah continue to thin out. That is unless Jerry Sloan follows through and gives Paul Millsap some run at the small forward position. Millsap is going to get 28-plus minutes whether Boozer is in the lineup or not. Sloan will find a way. AK-47 is a nice option as a filler for defensive categories. Other than that, though, I don't see where he fits into the offense or how he'll fill out the other categories with such a loaded lineup in Utah.

- Again, Love is out for up to six weeks. Damn, baby.

If you have any fantasy hoops questions you can send them my way on Twitter: @RotoLorenzo