Top 25 Keepers 22 Years Old or Younger

1. Kevin Durant, SG/SF, Thunder, 21

Still only 21 years old, Durant is a bona fide NBA and fantasy superstar. Hopefully you listened last year when the Lab ranked Durant No. 1 last year and ordered you to “break the bank to land him in a trade.” If not, the same advice applies right now. Durant has shown marked improvement in each season and is now fourth in the NBA in scoring at a gaudy 28.9 ppg (47.8 FG%), including knocking back the second-highest total free throws at a category-dominating 86.4% clip. Even with his 6-10 frame, he’s drilling 1.4 3PM too. But scoring isn’t all Durant can do. He’s also averaging 6.9 rpg, 3.0 apg, 1.5 spg and 0.9 bpg making him an elite fantasy talent who will dominate for the next decade, easy.

2. Brook Lopez, F/C, Nets, 21

Lopez has followed up an outstanding rookie year with an even better sophomore campaign, as he’s become the offensive focal point of the Nets with Vince Carter no longer in town. Lopez gives you everything you could want from a franchise fantasy center: he scores (18.6 ppg) at a strong clip (48.3%, down from last year’s 53.1%, proving he’s capable of more), rebounds (9.6 rpg) and blocks shots (1.9 bpg). That’s not all he does though, showing a deft touch and savvy understanding of the game at such a ripe age helping him to accumulate 2.1 apg and 0.8 spg, while also showing off a feathery touch from the stripe with an 82.9 FT%—top-notch from the C spot. Factor in his durability (never missed a game in his career) and it’s easy to see him replacing Jay-Z as the man in Brooklyn over the next decade when he averages 20 and 10 with 2 blocks and excellent percentages.

3. Tyreke Evans, PG/SG, Kings, 20

If the Rookie of the Year voting were to occur right now, Tyreke would be your winner, hands down. That’s an impressive feat considering Brandon Jennings dropped 55 in a game, but the thing with Tyreke is, he gets it done every single night. In fact, since Kevin Martin went down and Tyreke was forced to shoulder the load, the Kings are amazingly a .500 ball club when he’s in the lineup, despite many pundits’ expectations that they’d be among the league’s worst teams. Then again, how many rookies have ever averaged over 20 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists in a season, as Evans is doing now? Just four, and they’re all legends of the game: Oscar Robinson, Michael Jordan and LeBron James. If that fact doesn’t scream “keeper” to you, then you might as well stop reading this article now. How have we not even mentioned the 1.5 spg yet? Make no mistake about it, Martin might be averaging over 30 ppg in the few he’s played this year, but Tyreke is Sacramento’s franchise player already.

4. Derrick Rose, PG, Bulls, 21

Despite being slowed by a severe ankle sprain to start the year, Derrick Rose has come on strongly and is solidifying himself as one the league’s elite young point guards. Building on last year’s award-winning rookie campaign just two years removed from high school, Rose is a potent scorer at the rim who still has room to improve his jump shot, something that will happen over time given his work ethic. He also needs to work on his three-point range, but that’s typical of a player so young whose quickness has allowed him to never need that shot in his repertoire before. As it stands now, there’s a lot to like about a 21-year-old who averages 18.6 ppg, 5.8 apg and 3.5 rpg while being the unquestioned leader of his team.

5. Blake Griffin, SF/PF, Clippers, 20

Nary a single NBA game under his belt with a stress fracture in his left knee after a shoulder injury this summer, it shouldn’t be possible that Griffin is ranked this high on the list and yet here he stands, checking in at No. 6. The No. 1 overall pick in the draft this year after obliterating the NCAA the year before as a sophomore, Griffin’s combination of strength, speed and basketball IQ are dangerously potent. He has freakish athleticism (37-inch vertical, 22 bench-press reps at 185 pounds), an unparalleled work ethic and a non-stop motor on the court that will make the NBA game easy for him once he gets accustomed to it. The show is slated to begin on January 20—the first day the Clippers expect him back on the court. At first, he’ll play limited minutes while also finding himself in a logjam with Marcus Camby and Chris Kaman, but that will dissipate like the Clippers playoff chances as both bigs are prone to injuries and Camby is a prime trade target with his expiring contract. Either way he won’t be back with the team next year, which obviously bodes well for Griffin’s value.

6. Kevin Love, F/C, T-Wolves, 21

The Lab loves Love. He’s a ferocious rebounder who has the potential to lead the league in boards. In fact, he lead the league in rebound percentage last year, so it makes sense that his 9.1 rpg average last year stood to grow with the increased minutes he’s earned this year. Now Love is corralling 12.3 caroms per night in just 31.8 mpg. And he’s managing to do this while playing alongside Al Jefferson, one of the NBA’s top rebounders as well. The biggest difference this year for Love is that with his outstanding basketball IQ (his dad was an NBA player, his middle name is “Wesley” in honor of family friend Wes Unseld, and he regularly sought the advice of John Wooden and Bill Walton while at UCLA), he’s a perfect fit for new coach Kurt Rambis’ Triangle Offense. A summer spent working on his mid-range J allows him to operate effectively out of either the high or low post and find the open man leading his assist total to nearly triple from 1.0 to 2.7 per game. Plus, he’s allowed to shoot the three this year and is hitting 0.8 3pg at a tasty 46.4 percent. The only hole in his game is his shot-blocking, but he still manages a swat every other game. If that’s all that’s missing, there is still a lot to love about Love.

7. Russell Westbrook, PG, Thunder, 21

Westbrook is like a lump of clay waiting to be sculpted into a top-flight, two-way point guard, except that instead of being a ball of clay, he’s a 6’3” concoction of fast-twitch muscle fibers and jet fuel. Westbrook’s desire is his strongest trait, and right now, he desperately wants to transform from the shooting guard role he played at UCLA (where he was Love’s teammate) into a do-everything PG. It’s been a simultaneously beautiful and ugly process as Westbrook flirts with triple-doubles or pours in 30 points, while also leading the league in turnovers last year and shooting 39.8 FG% for his short career. He’s already learning to finish better at the rim (and a noticeable portion of his missed shots come from missed tips as he ferociously attacks the offensive glass) and the turnovers will drop as he matures. If he can ever gain some consistency on his outside shot, there will be no stopping him, however, he will lock down opposing PGs with his 1.3 spg and 0.5 bpg.

8. Michael Beasley, SF/PF, Heat, 21

Following a record-setting All-American freshman season at Kansas St., Beasley left school early to become the youngest player in the NBA last year at 19 years old (and just turned 21 last week). Drafted second overall, he had an up-and-down rookie campaign that saw him start the team’s first 15 games then not start again until the final four games of the year (when he had three straight efforts of at least 23 points and 13 rebounds). His off-the-court transgressions and maturity have been called into question more than once, but those generally improve with age so it’s not too much of a concern right now. Beasley isn’t dominant in any categories yet, but his skill set projects him becoming a top scorer and double-digit rebounder in the next few years—a pace that will be accelerated if Dwyane Wade leaves this summer.

9. Brandon Jennings, PG, Bucks, 20

It’s been amusing to see so many media members who are paid to cover the NBA exclaim: “Where did this guy come from?” and then will often follow that up by reeling off some less than impressive numbers from his season in Europe last year. Did they forget about his winning every major high school player of the year award two years ago while leading his team to a 45-1 record and the top ranking in USA Today’s Super 25 list of team, or are they just ignorant to everything that occurs outside the NBA, from high school accolades to European clubs poor treatment of young prospects who aren’t in their long-term plans? Whatever the case may be, his 55-point game was an eye-opener and the world is taking notice. Jennings has his team in playoff position on the strength of his 19.0 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.9 3pg and 1.1 spg with limited turnovers (2.8) for a rookie playing 35 minutes a night. Only 20 years young, Jennings has plenty of room for growth and nothing but time to work on his shot. The Bucks know they have a franchise cornerstone in Jennings; hopefully you realize that as well.

10. Anthony Randolph, F/C, Warriors, 20

This pick is sure to be a little controversial given some of the other names on the list, Randolph’s limited minutes thus far in his career, and his recent ankle injury that will sideline him for most of the year, however, there’s a pretty good chance that Randolph ends up being one of the transcendent players in NBA history with his size and skill set. The Lab doesn’t say that lightly either; Randolph simply oozes superstar potential. Nearly seven feet tall with the handle and speed of a point guard, it’s a shame that Don Nelson is insisting on the tough love process with Randolph instead of letting him learn by playing through his mistakes on the court, which he has a few of. But there’s no denying the supreme talent when he gets his minutes. In the six games that he’s seen at least 30 minutes, Randolph is averaging 17.3 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 2.2 apg, 1.8 spg, and 2.7 bpg with an 82.7 FT% on just under 5 FTA. Those are right in line with his per 36 minutes stats too. It’s amazing that he’s just the seventh youngest player in the NBA. Nelson is relenting too, finally inserting Randolph into the starting five at PF after making him play out of position at C since the start of the year due to injuries. A monsoon of fantasy goodness will rain down upon the league in the coming years. Nab him on the cheap while he’s injured if you have some roster space to stash him.

Read on for No. 11 through No. 25.