In 2005, the fantasy NBA season could only be discussed properly while one also drew "I Love Boris" in the top corner of the page like a teenage girl dreaming of Chad Michael Murray or the latest guy to succeed to the mantle first held by Elvis's hips in the 1950s. Diaw exploded in '05 as a third year pro to average 13 points (on 52.6% shooting), 7 board, and 6 assists in 25 minutes of play each night, entering fantasy sporting folklore as one of the great sleeper picks of our time.
With one month gone in the NBA, and most rosters looking fairly set for the first half of the season at least (with apologies to Memphis Grizzlies fans, and cruel mocking laughter directed at anyone holding Knicks season tickets), it seems fair to name the Diaw All Star line-up: a group of the ten players whose names have entered the fantasy hoops lexicon, and who are responsible for many a roto-league owner waking up sweating at 3am with thoughts of their unexpectedly wonderful outputs.
(N.B. In the spirit of the new "small ball" craze, we have three guards in the team because they've all been too good to ignore.)
PG - Monta Ellis: the 6'3 Ellis came straight from high school and despite his seemingly tiny build has shown incredible athleticism and highlight-reel ability in averaging 18 points. Baron Davis' creaking joints thank Monta for stepping out of the shadows this season.
SG - Leandro Barbosa: on the Brazilian scale, for the first weeks of the season he was as hot as Adriana Lima, but with the Suns restoring their 2005 starters he is the 6th man and therefore only as hot as the women on beaches in Rio. That's still hot.
SF - Kevin Martin: despite an awkward-looking jumper and an equally awkward-looking haircut, Martin has exploded into one of the league's best pure shooters. Only Adam Morrison is more effective at scoring and doing nothing else but shoot all night, but no one who owns Martin is complaining. They're too busy rejecting trade offers involving All Stars that actually undervalue him!
PF - David Lee: usually when you play 25 minutes a night, you are either a fairly average low first-round pick who will never star, or a serviceable veteran. In New York, you can be a human pogo stick who is 5th in the league with boards per 48. Lee is finally getting the starter's role after going close to a triple double in 30 minutes on November 24.
C - Andris Biedrins: with the advent of small ball the Euros are back in business. Zaza Pachulia, Andrea Bargnani, Jorge Garbajosa, Darko Milicic. These are NBA basketball players, and good ones at that. Biedrins earned this spot from Andrew Bynum when he blocked Tim Duncan, the owner of several rings and MVP trophies, three times in a recent match.
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