Where blocks are concerned, there are two players which stand out and then there a bunch of good players which really don’t come anywhere close. If you go for one of the top two players, you won’t have to spend any more time looking for blocks.

If you opt for someone different, you will most likely have to get three good block players to compete.

As bad as that might sound, it actually isn’t necessarily that hard considering two facts:

1. You normally have at least a couple of forward positions, one or two center positions, and two or three utility positions where you can pay a little more attention and get enough blocks.
2. There are a lot of good rebounders who can be counted on to get you some blocks, so you aren’t being forced to expend positions on players who only can get you one category.

1. Marcus Camby – 285 – He’s playing for the Clippers now, but I very highly doubt that Camby’s blocks will drop at all unless he somehow doesn’t get the playing time. The beauty of Camby is that he also gets 1037 rebounds and only 118 turnovers. The trouble with picking Camby in the second round is that he normally gets less than 1000 points, so you are fighting an uphill battle in the points scored statistical category, so you will have to make sure that you pick up a lot of other points within the first five rounds.

Tier 2

1. Josh Smith – 227 – Armed with a new contract, will Josh Smith slack off. Not likely. Smith doesn’t get the rebounds of Camby, but he gets you twice as many points and a lot of steals. His turnovers, unfortunately, are high as well. Another second rounder who might fall, if you are lucky, to the third round.

Tier 3

1. Samuel Dalembert – 192 – Every year you have a couple of guys who get you nothing EXCEPT blocks. Theo Ratliff was the king of that several years ago. Samuel Dalembert is this decades Theo Ratliff. He does get you a decent 849 rebounds and very low turnovers, but he’s probably only worth picking up in the fifth round if your top four picks net you no real amount of blocks.
2. Elton Brand (injured last year) – He had 179 blocks the year before, so expect him, if he is truly healthy, to return to those kind of numbers.
3. Dwight Howard – 176 – Good points, fantastic rebounds, and a killer field goal percentage. Unfortunately, his free throw percentage and turnovers make him a player that you really can’t afford to pick up. His free throw percentage alone will drop you to the bottom of the free throw percentage category, much like Shaq would have several years ago. You really can’t win a rotisserie league being the worst in any category.
4. Amare Stoudemire – 163 – One of the top guys in points and field goal percentage, Amare also gets you a relatively low amount of turnovers and a decent free throw percentage. Very worth of your choice in the first round, especially if Chris Paul has already been taken.
5. Chris Kaman – 155 – Kaman is an interesting player. Sometimes he plays well and sometimes he doesn’t. Either way he should get you over 150 blocks, but last year seemed like a down year. I don’t know if it had to do with the fact that Elton Brand was injured the whole year and wasn’t drawing the double teams that allowed Kaman to flourish, but he certainly wasn’t worth what he has in year’s past. Playing alongside Camby instead of Brand isn’t likely to help him much as Camby’s lack of scoring isn’t likely to draw the double teams that Brand would have. On the other hand, Baron Davis might.
6. Tim Duncan – 152 – Another player whose free throw percentage is very unforgiving toward your free throw percentage statistical category. Last year, his free throw percentage was much improved over years past, and he would have been worth the second round pick that he is drawing this year. Unfortunately he has had anomalies of good free throw shooting in the past, and this could simply have been one of them. You could risk it, I suppose, but I think Camby would be a much better choice in the second round.
7. Al Jefferson – 119 – His last year numbers would put him solidly in the Tier 4 category, but Jefferson’s continued improvement deserves a bump up to Tier 3.

Tier 4

1. Emeka Okafor – 138 – Okafor managed to have one healthy year in time to net a huge contract, but his body is not known to stand-up well for an 82 game season. Probably not worth the fifth round pick that he is getting this year.
2. Andrew Bogut – 135 – Might be worth a look in the sixth round if you are looking to improve on blocks with a couple of lesser but still good blocks guys. Had an injury in the over the summer that ought to be watched closely, but from what I hear he is ready to go.
3. Rasheed Wallace – 129 – On his way down, but still better than the fourth round, where he is going in many leagues.
4. Zydrunas Ilgauskis – 120 – Another player whose best years are behind him. Probably worth better than the eighth round pick that he has been drawing in many leagues.
5. Yao Ming – 111 – He has never yet been worth a pick in the second round because his body can’t take the grueling 82 game schedule. I would never pick him up (until he proves to me that he can play at least 80 games in a season), but he is certainly worth a positioning as a fourth tier blocks guy (and probably even consideration as third tier one if he could stay healthy).
6. Andrei Kirilenko – 109 – Kirilenko has had a few down years, but don’t count him out. He might well be relegated to sixth man in the Utah Jazz offense, but that shouldn’t affect his numbers too much as he is likely to still get a lot of playing time (like Ginobili in San Antonio).
7. Jamario Moon – 108 – A surprise rookie up in Toronto, Moon should continue to improve this year, in all of his statistical categories. He’s a steal in the eighth round, which is where he appears to be going in most leagues. His stats are a bit low in many categories, but the fact that he gets practically no turnovers can be a real help (in leagues where you count turnovers), especially if you picked some high turnovers players in your top rounds.
8. Greg Oden – Rookie – If Jamario Moon can get 100 blocks in his rookie campaign, Oden could probably do it to. The problem with predicting blocks for a rookie is that knowing where to be and timing your jump to be able to block a shot is something that is part talent, part learned, and part height and wingspan. Even though Oden was good at it in High School and one year in college doesn’t mean that he’ll be able to do it right away in the NBA. NBA players are good at preventing other players from blocking their shots. That along with his previous health problems makes this an iffy pick.

Other Players of note for blocks based on potential: LaMarcus Aldridge, Ronny Turiaf, David West, Pau Gasol (if he is healthy), Kendrick Perkins, Andray Blatche