2023-24 Vendetta Sports Media NBA Fantasy Basketball: Team Rankings
Welcome, this is the first NBA fantasy league that Vendetta Sports Media has ever done, and boy it’s already a doozy and we only just drafted. I, personally, am in 3 NBA fantasy leagues this year and I am excited to learn as much as I can.
I volunteered to rank the teams right after our draft, much like how Jack Sabin erroneously rated me last in this year’s NFL fantasy football league. This will be fun, let’s get into this! Here’s the video for the Vendetta Sports Media NBA Fantasy League if you need something to watch while we draft.
First, the league settings for the Vendetta Sports Media NBA Fantasy league.
- 10 teams
- Head-to-Head Fantasy Points
- Roster: 1 PG, 1 SG, 1 SF, 1 PF, 1 C (limit 4), 1 G, 1 F, Utility 3, Bench 4, and 2 IR spots.
- Scoring: Standard
The picks for each team are in order of when draft (that’s about to become REAL important)
10th: ME (CHICKSTER):
- Joel Embiid
- Anthony Davis
- CLINT CAPELA (LET ME EXPLAIN)
- James Harden
- Kawhi Leonard
- Ja Morant
- Deandre Ayton
- Khris Middleton
- Nic Claxton
- John Collins (another accident)
- Terry Rozier
- Immanuel Quickley
- Collin Sexton
- Jeremy Sochan
I rated myself last for a couple of reasons. I am far too arrogant and would have ranked myself 1st because I always have to believe that I’m going to win in everything I do. 2. WHO THE F#$% PICKS CLINT CAPELA IN THE 3RD ROUND? OH … MY DUMBASS! I was trying to queue my players later on in the draft and I had Clint Capela rated as my 70th player, got him at 35 because as I was queuing, I accidentally drafted him. I was livid but the guys get a good laugh out of it starting at the 14:10 mark in the video.
I truly am a Las Vegas Raiders fan because of how far of a reach that was. Anyway, in some real basketball analysis, I did get some big names other than Capela on my team, such as Joel Embiid, James Harden, Anthony Davis, Kawhi Leonard and Ja Morant. What will kill me is that if injuries become a factor. If my team gets the injury bug, my team may not survive.
Morant missing 25 games will hurt early on in the season as well. Clint Capela won’t help my team as a 3rd round pick should, whoever picked him that high. This is a very risky team, but you have to risk it for the biscuit.
9th: Team Walker (Boring name Jerry Walker):
- Tyrese Haliburton
- LeBron James
- Nikola Vucevic
- Pascal Siakam
- Dejounte Murray
- Zach LaVine
- CJ McCollum
- Fred VanVleet
- Jakob Poeltl
- Tobias Harris
- Chris Paul
- Jusef Nurkic
- Malcolm Brogdon
- Kevon Looney
There are some decent picks on Jerry Walker’s team, but not enough of them to overcome the bad ones. I never bought into the Tyrese Haliburton top 10 fantasy hype. If I’m wrong on that, I’ll eat my humble pie, but I don’t see it at all.
LeBron is aging but in the 2nd round isn’t bad for Jerry. Nikola Vucevic in the 3rd is horrible, almost worse than Clint Capela in the 3rd (won’t ever be as bad). Jerry actually has some great value in the middle rounds. Siakam, Dejounte, LaVine, CJ, FVV, Poeltl and Tobias are pretty good picks for the rounds they were chosen. But, Vucevic and Tyrese Haliburton are make-or-break picks for his team. I also hate the Chris Paul pick.
8th: Team Bagdonas (boring name Chris Bagdonas):
- Nikola Jokic
- Jalen Brunson
- Kevin Durant
- DeMar DeRozan
- Julius Randle
- Jrue Holiday
- Chet Holmgren
- Christian Wood
- Marcus Smart
- Kevin Huerter
- Jaden Ivey
- T.J. McConnell
- Mike Conley
- Kelly Oubre Jr.
The more I look at this, the more I think this might have been 9th, so sorry Jerry Walker but I already started writing the post and I’m not changing it.
Bagdonas would have had some great picks and followed it up with a wtf pick. Nikola Jokic? Awesome. Jalen Brunson? WTF. Kevin Durant might not be a trusted asset in fantasy. I love the Chet pick and the Kelly Oubre pick. The rest are just eh picks. This draft was hard to love after the Brunson pick. Jerry should have been the real 8th team, I apologize.
7th: Baseline Baddies (Jackson Law):
- Damian Lillard
- Jordan Poole
- Kristaps Porzingis
- Desmond Bane
- Jalen Williams
- Franz Wagner
- Brook Lopez
- Michael Porter Jr.
- Jabari Smith Jr.
- Jordan Clarkson
- Anthony Black
- Aaron Gordon
- Tim Hardaway Jr.
- Ziaire Williams
I actually like a lot of players that Jackson has, but the problem is I felt like he reached on a shit ton of them. I would know about reaching, I took Clint Capela in the 3rd round. I’m also a Raiders fan so I have that going for me.
There are a lot of players I think he could have gotten later in the draft by a few rounds. I understand getting your guys, but there was better value on the board almost every time. I like the Dame pick, I felt like Poole could have waited until the next round. Kristaps is a great pick.
Desmond Bane in the 4th round? Why? Jalen Williams and Franz Wagner? Those guys could have been taken later. MPJ and Brook Lopez were great value. Clarkson, Aaron Gordon and THJ are also of great value. The other players I felt like Jackson reached on. But, if it works out, it works out.
6th: Bucket Club (Jiarmani Depena):
- Domantas Sabonis
- Stephen Curry
- Jaylen Brown
- Josh Giddey
- Walker Kessler
- Evan Mobley
- Jarrett Allen
- Ben Simmons
- D’Angelo Russell
- Buddy Hield
- Derrick White
- Josh Hart
- Ausar Thompson
- Draymond Green
This draft started out really well, Sabonis and Curry are a great start. Jaylen Brown should be good and Giddey is a sleeper, maybe a tad too high but still good. Then, Walker Kessler? I didn’t understand that one. Felt like that was a guy he could have gotten three rounds later.
I really like the Mobley and Jarrett Allen picks though. The rest are all guys I feel meh about. Ben Simmons is a high risk at where he was drafted–would have loved him later on. DLo, Josh Hart and Derrick White are all meh to me at this point. Love the Ausar pick. This draft started awesome, but it kinda went downhill in the later rounds.
5th: Barnes And Nobles (Garrett Burroughs):
- Anthony Edwards
- Donovan Mitchell
- Bam Adebayo
- Brandon Ingram
- Scottie Barnes
- Tyrese Maxey
- Tyler Herro
- Devin Vassell
- Andrew Wiggins
- Anfernee Simons
- Wendell Carter Jr.
- Shaedon Sharpe
- Onyeka Okongwu
- Jonathan Kuminga
There’s not a lot of huge names on here, but I like this team regardless. There’s a lot of super underrated guys on here that will do well on this team.
A casual would see this team and would think it’s the worst in the league and that’s kinda why I think it’s pretty good. Donovan Mitchell might do really well with the Cavs after an off-season with them. Bam is awesome, I’ve always loved Brandon Ingram. I’m not big on Scottie Barnes, but I can see why some are.
Maxey and Herro will flat-out score the ball and getting them will provide consistent fantasy production. Garrett sniped me on Devin Vassell; I love his potential this year. Wiggins and Simons will have great years. The last three picks are flyers. The only knock I have on this is the lack of superstar names/values, but this team will be good and carry him to a lot of wins.
4th: Toothpaste (Griffin Crest):
- Jayson Tatum
- LaMelo Ball
- Victor Wembanyama
- Kyrie Irving
- Jaren Jackson Jr.
- Kyle Kuzma
- Spencer Dinwiddie
- Russell Westbrook
- Keegan Murray
- Jonas Valanciunas
- Tre Jones
- Herbert Jones
- Robert Williams
- Al Horford
This is a good draft. It could have been better, but I do like what Toothpaste has. I think Wemby in the 3rd was really high, but he did land Jaren Jackson in the 5th round ,which is superb value. Some picks I think he chose too high were Kuzma, Dinwiddie and Westbrook. But other than that it’s a good draft. I do fear for his wing depth but his bigs and guards should carry his team.
3rd: LXIX…Nice! (Jarrod Prosser):
- Luka Doncic
- Trae Young
- Lauri Markkanen
- Zion Williamson
- Jimmy Butler
- Alperen Sengun
- Austin Reaves
- Jalen Green
- Keldon Johnson
- Bobby Portis Jr.
- PJ Washington
- Mark Williams
- Markelle Fultz
- Norman Powell
This team is worthy of a top 3 team in the league. I didn’t like the Lauri pick in the 3rd round or the Austin Reaves pick in the 7th, but everything else is very good value and very good picks. His wing depth is nasty. He does have some versatile bigs that will play PF and C. I would have liked a little more star value in that aspect. His guard depth is concerning but there are no complaints from me, this team will be very good.
2nd: 99 Problems Winning Is One (Matt Hanifan):
- Giannis Antetokounmpo
- Mikal Bridges
- De’Aaron Fox
- Darius Garland
- Scoot Henderson
- Myles Turner
- Paul George
- OG Anunoby
- Rudy Gobert
- Daniel Gafford
- Klay Thompson
- Jerami Grant
- Bojan Bogdanovic
- Caris LeVert
This is a very solid draft. There are some guys I wouldn’t have chosen as high, like Mikal Bridges, Fox and Garland. But this draft and team have no weaknesses. It has star value, underrated players, and about equal depth all around. It’s a nasty team. Getting Jerami Grant, Bojan, and LeVert the last three picks feels illegal. If it wasn’t for No. 1 on this list, this would be the favorite to win the whole thing. Hanifan might still win the whole thing anyway.
1st: Team Herrick (boring name James Herrick):
- Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
- Devin Booker
- Paolo Banchero
- Cade Cunningham
- Jamal Murray
- Karl-Anthony Towns
- Tyus Jones
- Bradley Beal
- Cameron Johnson
- Brandon Miller
- Jalen Duren
- Amen Thompson
- Naz Reid
- RJ Barrett
Really well-done draft by James Herrick here. There were a couple of guys I would have drafted higher than what he drafted, like Bradley Beal over Tyus Jones. But, this draft has a lot of position versatility on this team, and really good late-round value in Brandon Miller and Barrett. This draft has no risks and all production. I really like his team and I think it should be the favorite to win the inaugural season for the Vendetta Sports Media NBA fantasy league.
That concludes the rankings for the Vendetta Sports Media NBA Fantasy teams. Let’s see how we all do and who comes out on top at the end of the year.
