The time of year has come around when the winter sports have begun. In this article, we will be talking about the top rookies in the NBA for the 2016 – 2017 season and why we feel you should own them in your fantasy basketball leagues.  So let’s get started.

Ben Simmons – Being the first overall pick from LSU drafted by my Philadelphia Sixers, Ben Simmons is by far the top player that we are excited to watch for this season. Unfortunately, he fractured his foot during training camp and will most likely not be playing until January at the earliest.   When he comes back much of the attention will be on him for much of the fantasy basketball action out there. Being 6 foot 10, you would think that his position limitations would just be the two forward positions. However, this is not the case with Ben Simmons. Honestly, we believe that Ben Simmons has the ability to play all five positions on the court.

This is a guy who was able to average 19.2 points per game as well as 11.8 rebounds a game last season while playing for LSU.  The only small concern that we might have with a guy like Ben Simmons is that he was not able to lead his team to victory last season. With LSU not even making the NCAA tournament.

Dragan Bender – Aside from having one of the best names of sports, Dragan Bender looks to be one of the top talents that will come out of this draft class if he does not flow like others that have followed his path before him. We would like to call him a silent treasure. Just because of the fact that 225 pounds for someone that is 7 foot 1 are a bit too lightweight for our taste. Although, if Bender is able to gain some extra weight, we feel his performance can be much better. Just through the eyeball test, Bender looks to be at least treading water throughout the NBA preseason so far.  But with enough time, Dragan Bender has the potential to come out of the gates looking strong just like Kristaps Porzingis to last season.

Thon Maker – Thon Maker has an interesting backstory behind him.  He, unlike most of his rookie counterparts, did not go to college.  Not even for one year to be a “one and done” type player.  Thon Maker has a unique set of skills for someone who is seven feet tall. Not only is he able to rebound and post up in the pain like all other 7 foot centers, but he is also able to shoot the 3 and make it at a relatively high right. He is often compared to Kevin Durant in some aspects with his skinny look and jump shooting ability.

First off, we were extremely surprised to see the Milwaukee Bucks draft 10 with the 10th overall pick in the 2016 draft. At best, I thought that he would be a second-round pick.  But he obviously defied expectations and went much earlier than we thought. We also believe that it is most likely that he will not start in the NBA immediately. Rather, start his professional basketball career in the NBA D-League.  He will be an exciting talent to evaluate not just for this season, but as a case study for many seasons to come. Just to see what will happen when a big-name talent decides not to go to college in 2016.

Kay Felder – The 5 foot 9 point guard from Oakland California might be one of the most hyped second-round draft picks that people have talked about in the last few years.  In his senior season at Oakland, Felder was able to average 24.4 points per game, 9.36, as well as 2 steals per game.   Throughout his time in college, Felder played pretty much every minute of every single game he was involved in. This means any concerns of stamina are already thrown out the window. He was also able to shoot a ridiculously high three-point percentage of 35.5% in his senior season.  This just shows the massive amount of talent that  he has, even though he is only five foot nine. This could truly be one of those situations where a small player such as Felder succeeds in a big man’s league.