Fantasy Basketball Positional Rankings: Shooting Guards

Kevin Durant is not playing around anymore. Last season he joined the ranks of the elite fantasy ballers. Now he's hoping to make that final leap toward the top tier, which is the resting place of LeBron James and Chris Paul.

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Joining Durant just a notch below James and Paul is future Knick Heat two-guard Dwyane Wade. He blew up last season, leading the Association in scoring and posting 1.1 threes, 1.3 blocks, and 2.2 steals per game. What keeps Wade from joining the top tier is that only once in the past three seasons has he played in more than 51 games. It's still tough to own Wade and not cringe every time he slashes to the hoop.

I also need to pat myself on the back for getting through an entire paragraph on shooting guards without mentioning Kobe Bryant. Oh yeah, he's still pretty good. There's a number of first-rounders at the shooting guard position, but also plenty of value picks. Remember, Eric Gordon went undrafted last season! Well don't worry, fantasy owners won't make that mistake again.

The following rankings are based on an standard 8-category, head-to-head (H2H) scoring system: points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, three-pointers, FG% and FT%. All positional eligibility is based on Fleaflicker's fantasy basketball game.

1. Dwyane Wade
2. Kevin Durant
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Brandon Roy
5. Andre Iguodala
6. Joe Johnson
7. Vince Carter
8. Kevin Martin
9. Gilbert Arenas
10. Ray Allen
11. Jason Richardson
12. Eric Gordon
13. Monta Ellis
14. John Salmons
15. Ben Gordon
16. Jason Terry
17. Leandro Barbosa
18. Mo Williams
19. O.J. Mayo
20. J.R. Smith
21. Manu Ginobili
22. Stephen Jackson
23. Wilson Chandler
24. Jamal Crawford
25. Marvin Williams
26. Michael Redd
27. Nate Robinson
28. Ronnie Brewer
29. Anthony Morrow
30. Richard Hamilton
31. Raja Bell
32. Kelenna Azubuike
33. Ramon Sessions
34. Rodney Stuckey
35. Courtney Lee
36. Randy Foye
37. Brandon Rush
38. Louis Williams
39. Delonte West
40. Allen Iverson
41. D.J. Augustin
42. Stephen Curry
43. Tyreke Evans
44. Rudy Fernandez
45. Mike Miller
46. Corey Brewer
47. Roger Mason
48. Chris Douglas-Roberts
49. Terrence Williams
50. James Harden

- If you're in a keeper or dynasty league I would highly recommend taking Kevin Durant third overall. Not only is he six years younger than Wade, but he doesn't put the same beating on his body that D-Wade does.

- Kobe Bryant drops below Kevin Durant this season because Bryant isn't going to be asked to carry as heavy a load as Durant is. Bryant's goal is no longer winning scoring titles -- he's out to win championship rings. I would still take him in the middle of the first round, but I'm not drafting him ahead of LeBron, Chris Paul, D-Wade, Durant, Danny Granger or Dwight Howard in H2H leagues.

- Brandon Roy has moved into the first-round discussion. He's a popular pick at the turn, as you can pair him with either a big man or point guard. His game compliments either strategy.

- Kevin Martin and Gilbert Arenas need to prove that they can stay healthy before I slot them into the second round. Martin is an excellent compliment to a Dwight Howard led team. However, Martin shot 86.7 percent from the free throw line, while averaging 10.3 attempts. Aside from Howard he was the only other player to top 10 free-throw attempts per game.

- Ray Allen is about as solid as they come. Since he's joined the Celtics his scoring has dropped a little, but his shooting percentages have all gone up -- 48.0 FG%, 41.0 3PT%, and 95.2 FT% last season. Add in 2.5 three-pointers per game and once again Allen boasts great value.

- Eric Gordon was a stud last season. Still it seems that owners are having a hard time drafting a Clipper. His 82.02 average draft position, per Mock Draft Central, is a bargain.

- Steve Nash makes everyone around him better. Jason Richardson and Leandro Barbosa are "around" Steve Nash. Therefore ...

- Wouldn't it be a kicker if you were able to draft O.J. Mayo in the 9th round and Allen Iverson turns out to be nothing more than an option off the bench who maxes out at 30-40 games? Sleep on Mayo all you want, but he's not going to completely fall flat this season.

- Speaking of Allen Iverson, I have no interest in drafting him. He might want to come out and prove that he still has some game left, but I too have something to prove -- that I don't need Allen Iverson on my fantasy team in order to win.

- Mo Williams and Jason Terry are just a notch below Ray Allen as efficient scorers who can shoot the lights out from beyond the arc. For some reason efficient scorers like Allen, Terry and Williams aren't as sexy as bulk shooters. That's why you'll find that guys like Baron Davis and Stephen Jackson fall off the board ahead of Williams and Terry.

- J.R. Smith is suspended for the first seven games of the season. Keep that in mind on draft night.

- Michael Redd is another injury away from getting the T-Mac treatment.

- I wrote about Anthony Morrow, Brandon Rush, Courtney Lee, James Harden and Ronnie Brewer in my shooting guard sleepers blog. You should check that out if you're interested in my thoughts on each as a possible breakout candidate this year. If not, you could always watch Danilo Gallinari wax poetic about the upcoming season. Both are equally entertaining.

- Kurt Rambis doesn't like the idea of Ramon Sessions and Jonny Flynn playing on the court at the same time. Hey, me neither! If I were Ramon Sessions I wouldn't be too thrilled about hearing that, especially with Corey Brewer back in the mix. Sessions still might not top 30 minutes per game this season.

- Stephen Curry, Tyreke Evans and James Harden are all capable of putting up relevant fantasy numbers this season as rookies. The problem is, we don't know just how they'll be used early on. Harden has to battle with Thabo Sefolosha, Curry has to battle Don Nelson's erratic rotations, and Tyreke Evans has to survive in Sacramento. Good luck, fellas.

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