The Mini Lebrons are back and ready to contribute across the board for your fantasy basketball teams, much like King James himself, but not.  We discussed this concept once before, so if you missed it, go ahead and check it out.  We’ll wait…As we wait for the others, let’s again review the definition of a Mini Lebron:

1.      Mini Lebron

A player who contributes quality numbers for all eight fantasy basketball (standard) categories (but not quite like Lebron James).

2.      Mini Lebron

According to Goran Dragic, “Eric Bledsoe” is Mini Lebron.

To those who were reading the original piece, welcome back.  As for the definition, I’m still holding out hope that my fellow fantasy basketball enthusiasts will get this up on UrbanDictionary.com.  But for now, let’s get back to the task at hand.  The goal here is to find across the board contributors.

First, let’s look at the six players mentioned in the prior piece that had the potential to become Mini Lebrons during the 2013/2014 season:

I would say we did pretty well here.  Wall, Bledsoe, and Hayward have all hit the mark.  Oladipo is on the verge if he can get more minutes, so that’s looking pretty promising as well.  Wall’s FG% is painful, but that is likely to improve based on his history.  His shot seems to have improved, even if modestly, from three-point land.

A high amount of turnovers are holding Bledsoe back a bit, but owners can’t really complain.  It is a somewhat shocking to see the lack of blocks so far.  I figured he would be one of the leaders, if not the leader in blocks among guards this season.

Hayward’s FG% is down, and while it will never be great, it is mostly this low because he had a couple of horrendous shooting performances.  His TOs could be lower, but other than that, he is doing pretty much exactly what we expected.

Oladipo needs a minutes increase, but the potential is staring right at us in the face.  His FG% is low and the turnovers are outrageous, but he is a rookie and his offense was considered raw when he entered the draft.  He’s still hitting a three per game and helping owners in steals.  If an injury or trade occurs, he will be stuffing the stat sheet.

Danny Granger has yet to play this season with a calf issue.  But even when healthy, I’m not sure he will garner enough minutes to be a reliable fantasy player.  Jimmy Butler is currently hurt, but outside of assists, he was contributing nicely across the board.

Here is a list of new players who have entered the Mini Lebron discussion:

Although he doesn’t contribute in threes, I decided to add Marc Gasol to the list.  He just does too much and I shouldn’t punish players for not hitting threes if the other qualifiers here struggle getting blocks.  His FG% is a small disappointment considering his position, but other than that, the guy is getting it done. 

Sticking with the bigs, Love has been playing out of his mind and Hawes is shattering his ADP.  I was high on Hawes entering the season, but I didn’t quite expect this.  He may slow down a tad, but it appears only health can truly stop Hawes at this point.  Owners rejoice.

There are a couple of shockers on this list, Arron Afflalo being one of them.  His steals could be higher, but he is absolutely crushing it.  I’m not sure he can keep it up.  He is currently hitting 54.1% on 5.5 three-point attempts, so that’s bound to go down.  I recommend floating a few offers out there to see if someone is willing to buy high.

Bradley Beal is breaking out.  That isn’t too surprising.  Neither are Evan Turner’s numbers.  What is surprising is the breakout of Michael Carter-Williams.  This is one that I didn’t really think would happen.  I assumed he would go through some growing pains and struggle with his offensive game.  Although, the offensive struggles do seem to be happening with his 37.5 FG%, but MCW is doing so much else for his owners, how can one complain when you consider the 10^th round cost?

Lawson’s stats jump seems to be due to a minutes and usage increase, not necessarily because he has taken his game to the next level.  But in order to be sure about that, I would have to take a closer look at him.

Lillard needs to increase his FG%, get a small bump in assists, and increase his steals, but he really is living up to his third round billing.

Chris Paul is playing out of his mind and as long as his knees hold up, there’s nothing stopping him.  The end.

A few players who may be on the verge of becoming Mini Lebrons during the 2013/2014 season:

Ricky Rubio: His extremely low FG% and lack of scoring will hold him back and place a burden on his fantasy owners.  He isn’t worth his second round cost, but everybody’s got a price at some point.  He always made more sense as a fourth round pick, but I prefer him in the sixth round (assuming I can take on his FG%).
Lance Stephenson: You can make a legitimate case for him now, but he is lacking in the steals/blocks department.  Maybe that’s just nitpicking.  I’m sure his owners aren’t complaining.
Josh McRoberts: He is putting up more assists than usual, and it remains to be seen if his play can hold up, but right now he is on the verge of being a nice contributor across the board.
Kobe Bryant: He has to get and stay healthy, but knowing Kobe, he will be doing his thing when he returns.
Derrick Rose: Can he get back to the 2010 days?

A few players who were Mini Lebrons during the 2012/2013 season, but have so far fallen out of that category this season:

Tyreke Evans: Will he find a role and find enough minutes?
Paul Pierce: Age and role.
George Hill: His numbers have dropped across the board.  If dropped I would likely pick him up, and if offered on the extreme cheap, no reason not to buy.

If I missed a Mini Lebron, do let me know, but keep in mind I didn’t want to repeat anyone from the last piece.  Who do you feel will be the next to make the leap into an across the board contributor?  Feel free to post in the comments below and hit me up on twitter @Rich_Migs.