So, a friend of mine always seems to bring up turnovers when considering drafting a player and while I can understand why (as it is one of the nine basic categories in fantasy basketball) I can’t help but to say the following:

Who cares.

No disrespect to my friend, as he does know his fantasy hoops, but I just don’t care so much about this business of turnovers.  I’m not saying to knowingly punt the category, but I am saying don’t care about it as much as you do points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, 3-pointers made, and the percentages when you draft.  Why you ask?

Let me give you my $0.10.

Here are the players that led the league in turnovers per game:

1. Gilbert Arenas, PG, Washington Wizards – 3.7
2. Dwyane Wade, PG/SG, Miami Heat – 3.6
3. Steve Nash, PG, Phoenix Suns – 3.5 (tie)
4. Paul Pierce, SG/SF, Boston Celtics – 3.5 (tie)
5. Allen Iverson, PG/SG, Philadelphia 76ers – 3.4
6. LeBron James, SF, Cleveland Cavaliers – 3.3 (tie)
7. Joe Johnson, PG/SG/SF, Atlanta Hawks – 3.3 (tie)
8. Tony Parker, PG, San Antonio Spurs – 3.1 (tie)
9. Steve Francis, PG/SG, New York Knicks – 3.1(tie)
10. Andre Miller, PG, Denver Nuggets – 3.1 (tie)
11. Kobe Bryant, SG, Los Angeles Lakers – 3.1 (tie)

Are you not going to draft any of the above players because of this ONE category?  Of course not… okay, you’re tempted not to draft Stevie Franchise, but because of his sheer potential, you’ll at least take a look at him in the late rounds.

For the same reasons we draft Shaquille O’Neal, Ben Wallace, and Tim Duncan early in our drafts despite their “uglier than a Mel Gibson drunken meltdown” shooting from the charity stripe, they contribute very well in a few other categories.  Besides, if a player is turning the ball over a ton of times, it’s telling me that said player has the ball in his hands a ton of times and is probably a main contributor in his team’s offense.

That said, let’s go down the above list and see where else the respective player contributes:

1. Arenas – scoring, dimes, triples, steals, FT% (just not when the game is on the line during the playoffs and letting LeBron get to you)
2. Wade – scoring, dimes, boards, steals, FG%, FT%
3. Nash – scoring, dimes, triples, FG%, FT%
4. Pierce – scoring, dimes, boards, triples, steals
5. Iverson – scoring, dimes, triples, steals, FT%

I think you get the idea.  Even the aforementioned Franchise at least contributes decently across the board –14 ppg, 5 apg, 4 rpg with a steal per game.  And, not to long ago, he was about a early third round pick. 

Basically, don’t sweat the category.  Believe me, unless a team or two decides to draft nothing but players who’ll average 10 minutes or less on the floor and they’re centers, every single one of the teams in your league will be turning the ball over just as much as yours will.  It’s just a matter of who does it a little less.

So, drink my Kool-Aid and be as carefree as Hugh Hefner around blondes… don’t try to be a CEO regarding turnovers.  The business will lead to bankruptcy for your fantasy basketball team.