Round 3, Pick 3: Mike Bibby, PG, Sacramento Kings

Many of you were wondering who I’d team up with Shawn Marion and Ben Wallace, well, wait no more.  I’m going with the second overall pick of the 1998 NBA Draft out of the University of Arizona, PG Mike Bibby.  No wonder Bibby looks so happy in the pic to the right.  He’s joining my team!

In any case, despite getting drafted in a such a high spot, Bibby is basically unknown to the general NBA fan outside of the West (yes, I believe in the East Coast bias), thanks to playing with the Vancouver Grizzlies who at one time thought C Bryant Reeves was a key to their growth as a new franchise, and now with the Kings where he basically took a backseat to players such as PF Chris Webber and SF Peja Stojakovic.  Well, he takes a backseat to no one now, even the super-talented and super-volatile SF Ron Artest.  As much as Artest can make or break the Kings’ success, this is Bibby’s team and you’ll definitely want him on yours.

Bibby has a natural flair and headiness for the game and is a very dangerous shooter from everywhere on the court – be it behind the arch, from mid-range, or at the charity stripe.  Since joining the Kings in the ‘01-’02 season, Bibby’s scoring average increased from year-to-year, culminating in last season’s 21.1 ppg average.  There’s no doubt that Bibby can score, but being a point guard, how much does his ability to put the ball in the basket affect his dime game?

In Bibby’s first three seasons as a pro with the Grizzlies, he averaged 7.8 apg, as well as 14.7 ppg.  In his five seasons with the Kings, Bibby never averaged more than 6.8 apg in a season (‘04-‘05), but as I mentioned, Bibby’s scoring has gone up each season with the Kings rounding out to a 17.9 ppg average.  So, as with every player, there’s a tradeoff.  However, I’ll be more than happy to take Bibby’s 20 ppg potential and fill my needs for assists later in the draft.  However, the 5.6 apg that Bibby has averaged in his five seasons with Sacramento (5.4 last season) isn’t anything to sneeze at.  It would have landed him in the Top 15 amongst point guards last season and would have been more than, say, the Dallas Mavericks’ Jason Terry (3.8).  Not that I’m calling out Terry as he’s a very good player and all you need to do is replay last season’s playoffs to know that.  But, I should mention that Bibby did average more points (21.1 vs. 17.1), triples made (2.3 vs. 2.1), and shot better from the line (84.9% vs. 80.0%).  I’m just saying.  Even though Bibby scores a lot for a point guard, he’s still pretty good in the assists category all things considered.  And it was only two seasons ago that Bibby averaged 6.8 dime drops per contest, so it’s viable that Bibby can build on last season’s 5.4.

Regarding treys, Bibby can bomb with the best of them.  Last season he hit 192 triples in 82 games for a 2.3 average as I mentioned previously.  So, he’ll contribute significantly in this category.  Along with having a good eye from three-point land, Bibby can also knock down free throws, hitting at an 84.9% clip.  For his career, Bibby is an 80.3% free throw shooter, so make off another category for the King.  Bibby’s 1.0 spg average last season was the lowest in his career, where he is averaging 1.3 swipes per contest.  It’s not out of the question to expect Bibby’s career average this coming season in the steals category and that will be a substantial number for your team.

How He Fits On This Fantasy Basketball Team

Bibby will pump up the deficiencies of my previous pick of Wallace in the following categories - points, threes made, and free throw percentage.  Consider that Marion is also very good in these same cats, Wallace’s strengths of grabbing boards, blocking shots, and stealing the ball, things that Marion is also good at and this team is very solid in every category besides assists.  However, as I mentioned, future picks can dilute this deficiency. I’m ecstatic to be strong in seven of the nine categories (points, rebounds, treys made, blocks, steals, field goal percentage [48.3% collectively last seasson], and turnovers [1.7 collectively last season]).  Again, I’ll need to address assists, but I’ll be happy to finish middle of the pack with this team considering how tight I am in the aforementioned categories. 

And how about my team’s free throw percentage?  Especially considering Wallace’s dreadful 41.6 percentage?  Collectively with Bibby now on the team, the percentage takes a big boost to 70.8%.  Still have to build on it, but it ain’t all that bad now, now is it?

Other Team Members:

1.3. Shawn Marion, SF/PF, Phoenix Suns
2.10. Ben Wallace, PF/C, Chicago Bulls