It was a summer the NBA won't soon forget.
It went from Kevin Durant leaving Oklahoma City for Western Conference rival Golden State, to Tim Duncan deciding to join Kobe Bryant in retirement, to an assortment of high-profile coaching changes, to the U.S. taking home an Olympic gold in Rio.
And we haven't even mentioned the infusion of talent the June draft added to the league, as Ben Simmons (Philadelphia 76ers), Brandon Ingram (Los Angeles Lakers), Jaylen Brown (Boston Celtics), Dragan Bender (Phoenix Suns) and Kris Dunn (Minnesota Timberwolves) comprised the top five picks.
Indeed, there's a lot to digest as we prepare for another season.
The good news is there's never been a better time to play fantasy hoops at ESPN, as the August release of the all-in-one ESPN Fantasy Sports app now enables you to participate in mock drafts and real drafts for the first time ever.
Here are some of the main takeaways from the updated rankings heading into the 2016-17 NBA season:
The Durant factor: Durant's move to the Warriors might hurt his fantasy value only slightly -- after all, he had already been playing alongside Russell Westbrook all these years -- but his impact is significant on the rest of the Warriors' stars. Stephen Curry would have been the sure-fire No. 1 pick had Durant stayed with the Thunder, but Curry's usage rate, shot attempts and minutes are all likely to go down with KD on the roster.
That elevates Westbrook to No. 1 as he now carries the load for the Thunder as the team's lone superstar. Curry (4) and Durant (5) slip behind not only Westbrook but also James Harden (2) and Karl-Anthony Towns (3). Meanwhile, fellow Warriors Draymond Green (17) and Klay Thompson (27) slide down about 10 spots from where they would have been without Durant.
Big risers: Aside from Towns, who put up ridiculously good numbers (18.3 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2 APG, 1.7 BPG, 54.2 FG%, 81.1 FT%, 34.1 3PT%) on his way to Rookie of the Year honors last season, a number of other emerging stars move up the rankings. Rangy Milwaukee swingman Giannis Antetokounmpo (14) is now a good bet to be an early second-rounder, while Isaiah Thomas (22), C.J. McCollum (26), Victor Oladipo (28), Khris Middleton (33), Kristaps Porzingis (36) and Nikola Jokic (47) are others who rank much higher than they've been previously.
Where art Brow? If Anthony Davis could stay healthy, he'd be right there in the discussion with Westbrook and Harden for the top overall pick this season. Problem is, the 23-year-old big man has yet to play more than 68 games in any of his first four NBA seasons and was limited to a career-low 61 games last season. As great as he is and as much as he stuffs the box score each night, he's a major risk with these durability issues. He drops to No. 9 in the rankings, behind not only Westbrook and Harden but also Towns, Curry, Durant, Chris Paul (6), Kawhi Leonard (7) and LeBron James (8).
Rookie impact: Simmons (76), Ingram (113), Dunn (133), Jamal Murray (156) and Bender (177) are the top-ranked rookies, but you can probably count on Simmons and Ingram to be drafted higher because of the buzz that comes with their arrival to the league.
The D'Antoni influence: The fast pace that new Houston Rockets coach Mike D'Antoni has his teams play always provides a nice fantasy boost, which not only helps Harden but also every other player in the team's rotation. Trevor Ariza (51), Ryan Anderson (75), Eric Gordon (137), Clint Capela (140), Patrick Beverley (150), Michael Beasley (173) and Josh Smith (185) are all worth a closer look this season with D'Antoni onboard.
Other new faces in Philly: Simmons isn't the only big-name rookie to join the 76ers this season. Versatile center Joel Embiid, the third overall pick in 2014, and 6-foot-10 forward Dario Saric, the 12th overall pick in 2014, are two others you can't forget about. We've ranked them back-to-back, 131 and 132, and they are both intriguing talents who offer upside in the later rounds.
Where's Bosh? One of the toughest decisions to make in the rankings was where to put Miami power forward Chris Bosh, who missed parts of the past two seasons with blood clots. If he manages to stay healthy and repair his relationship with the Heat, the 32-year-old Bosh is undoubtedly a top-50 fantasy player. At this stage, though, the risk outweighs the upside, and that is reflected by his ranking (120) as a late 10th-round pick in 12-team drafts.
Other observations: Devin Booker (78) finished last season looking like one of the brightest young stars in the league, so why is he ranked so low? Because Eric Bledsoe (24) and Brandon Knight (56) are both back in the fold, and unless one is traded, the same opportunities might not be there for the up-and-coming shooting guard. ... In Minnesota, the early returns indicate that Dunn is expected to be one of the favorites for Rookie of the Year this season. If that's the case, you can count on him taking away some of Ricky Rubio's playing time, which is why Rubio is ranked down at 79. ... Harrison Barnes (94) has never been a very strong fantasy player, as his game revolves around mostly scoring, 3-pointers and rebounding, but he's now on a max contract on a new team in Dallas and will be a more prominent part of the offense than he ever was in Golden State. He enters his fifth NBA season and is still only 24.