NBA Barometer: Playing Time is Key

Playing Time is Key



Playing time is the most important factor in fantasy basketball. I’ve long held the belief that about 90 percent of NBA players would be able to post numbers worthy of fantasy consideration if given enough playing time. Only six players who averaged less than 30 minutes per game last season cracked Yahoo’s top-50 ranked players based on per-game averages. Those six guys consisted of categorical specialists who dominate one category (Serge Ibaka), proven veteran performers who had their minutes limited to preserve their health and effectiveness (Elton Brand, Manu Ginobili) or young players who were on the cusp of a full-scale breakout but weren’t given a full compliment of minutes yet (Paul George, Ersan Ilyasova). Stephen Curry was the sixth player in this group, but he only played less than 30 minutes per game due to injury.

In the end, it’s pretty simple math: the more minutes a player logs, the more opportunity they’ll have t

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