12-Team Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft

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This is the first of theScore's two fantasy basketball mock drafts for the upcoming 2016-17 NBA season.

This is an eight-category, head-to-head league (points, assists, rebounds, steals, assists, field goal percentage, free throw percentage and 3-point shots made) with the following roster spots: PG, SG, SF, PF, C, C, G, F, Bench, Bench, Bench, Bench.

Draft Participants: Josh Wegman, James Bisson, William Lou, Chris Walder, Josh Ghatak, Victoria Nguyen, Esten McLaren, Ken Conrad, Gino Bottero, Patrick Britton, Michael McClymont and Andrew Potter.

Round 1

You will see some drafts where Curry creeps up as high as the first overall selection but it is more common to see either Westbrook or Harden in that top spot. The respective stars of Oklahoma City and Houston will be the primary ball-handlers and scorers in offenses built around their skill-set, whereas Curry will have to adjust to welcome in Durant.

Durant slipped further than expected - FantasyPros' expert consensus has him going between picks two and five. Getting him after James is a steal; while LeBron has the championship hardware, Durant is decidedly at apex of his abilities and offers more upside at this point.

Round 2

There's a clear tier of small forwards that includes LeBron, Paul George, the Greek Freak and Leonard. That's the order they'll likely go in. Antetokounmpo is a wild card; he might have both the highest ceiling and lowest floor of this group. Avoid pairing him with the oft-injured Anthony Davis or an inefficient scorer like Damian Lillard. The risk outweighs the reward.

Round 3

Most owners have now selected a guard, a forward and a center, though position eligibility in fantasy basketball affords flexibility. Two talented but flawed centers, Drummond and Jordan, went off the board. They give an immediate advantage in rebounding and FG%, but Team Nguyen and Team Britton will need to balance out their awful FT% later in the draft.

Round 4

Team Bisson took the final elite passer available on the board in Rubio. He will continue to average close to nine assists per game with solid rebounding and steals totals for a guard. While his perimeter shooting is notably bad, Team Bisson drafted the Warriors' sharpshooting starting back court. That core is perfectly constructed to allow him to absorb a player's awful FT shooting.

The fourth round also saw 76ers rookie Simmons selected. With so many established players on the board, this is a big gamble, but Simmons is expected to have the ball in his hands a lot. Depending on how subsequent trades could reshape the team's rotation mid-season, Simmons could end up being a top-50 fantasy player. He just needs the minutes and the ball.

Note: This draft was completed before the injury to Middleton. As the Bucks' wing is unlikely to return before the end of the fantasy regular season, he's not going to merit much more than a mid-season waiver claim. Leave him undrafted in all but the deepest formats.

Round 5

Gay and the Kings are destined for a break-up in the next calendar year - and he won't find himself in another situation that affords him 34 minutes and nearly 15 shots per game. His defensive liabilities and spotty range hint at a possible move to a bench role in the future, which would cap his production. The possibility of a mid-season trade could dramatically alter his fantasy prospects - and not in a positive way.

Round 6

Wade might be on a new team but he did average 19 points, 4.6 assists and 4.1 rebounds last season. He's not going to be a top-40 player but could still outperform the slot where he was taken. Team Walder now has three players in Wade, Gordon Hayward and Nicolas Batum that may not average 20 PPG but will bring above average assists and rebounds, helping stabilize the team's overall floor.

Team Lou's pick of Anderson could yield big dividends. With the Rockets expected to play an extremely up-tempo attack, the pace will help make up for deficit's in Anderson's rebounding ability, while allowing him to launch 3s early in the shot clock before the defense is set.

Round 7

Turner showed promise as a 19-year-old rookie but he needs to show more as a rebounder to have a significant fantasy impact. With the additions of Jeff Teague, Thaddeus Young and Al Jefferson, the Pacers added a number of proven playmakers and scorers to the offense. It's possible that Turner takes a step back from his 10.3 PPG from 2015-16 despite an increase in minutes.

Team McClymont might have reached on Parker; he's ranked 162nd overall by FantasyPros' expert consensus and 152nd by theScore's own big board rankings. His PPG has dropped by roughly 2.5 points in each of the last three seasons and his passing skills have fallen off as he approaches his age 34 season. Parker should go in the 12th round at the earliest.

Note: This draft was completed before the full scope of Bosh's injury timeline was known. The Heat big man is virtually undraftable now.

Round 8

With Rose, the biggest concern continues to be health. Going to New York further marginalizes his role as he is the clear sidekick to star Carmelo Anthony. It will be interesting to see how he adjusts to more of a complimentary role, as he is neither an elite passer nor a perimeter scoring threat. This late in the draft, Team Nguyen could afford to take a shot on him as she had already drafted the always steady Jeff Teague.

Round 9

Enes Kanter and Adams will both go in this range. With Durant gone, expect both to take on more of the scoring responsibility. Remember that in 26 games after being acquired from Utah in winter of 2015, Kanter averaged 18.7 points and 11 rebounds per game. If coach Billy Donovan can balance Kanter's turnstile defense with Adams' intimidating presence in the paint, there is an opportunity for both to average 30-plus minutes a night.

Round 10

The 76ers have already said that they intend to rest project big man Embiid in one game of every back-to-back set. With Philadelphia scheduled to play 17 such back-to-backs, Embiid will play at most 65 games in his rookie campaign. He'll also battle heavily-monitored minutes, a logjam of a frontcourt and the potential for recurring injuries. Drafters can afford to wait a little longer before buying an Embiid lottery ticket.

Gordon has to prove that he's more than empty calories; performances in dunk contests can wow and amaze but he won't be long for this league if he can't improve his range and play-making abilities. After averaging 6.5 rebounds in 24 MPG, he may regress with the addition of both Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo to the Magic frontcourt rotation.

Round 11

Harden is expected to soak up plenty of minutes at point guard, meaning that Gordon could see time alongside him with the rest of the starters. Harden's presence on offense will suck in weak-side defenders, giving Gordon a chance to expand his role as a 3-point specialist; he shot 40.9 percent from behind the arc over his final three years in New Orleans and Mike D'Antoni's pace-space-pass offense will only increase efficiency.

Several teams looked to improve areas of weakness (or further solidify strengths) with complimentary role players. Team Lou, Team Ghatak and Team Potter added rebounding and FG percentage. Team Britton and Team McClymont targeted outside shooting specialists. Team Nguyen might not have a true PG1 but have a deep, veteran presence with Jeff Teague, Derrick Rose, George Hill and Deron Williams in tow.

Round 12

These players are disposable. Other than Holiday (who will miss an indeterminate amount of time to begin the season), none can expect to be even the third option on their team's offense any time soon, which will limit their time on the floor. Injury or trades can change that, as can natural development - maybe Nurkic becomes a rebounding machine; maybe Kidd-Gilchrist really has rebuilt his shot.