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Apr. 13 -- As the season winds down, we look back and take stock of notable fantasy performances around the league. Here are my choices for the fantasy MVP on each team, along with this season’s surprise package and next season’s sleeper candidate.

Dallas Mavericks: MVP: Dirk Nowitzki. A rare nine-category player.

Surprise: Josh Howard. Injuries limited him but when he played, Howard showed he is ready for the next level.

Sleeper: Josh Howard. It is all about staying healthy.

Houston Rockets: MVP: Yao Ming. This had to go to whoever played more games, Tracy McGrady or Ming. Yao wins but by a slim margin.

Surprise: Stromile Swift. A surprise of the other kind. This guy was the “can’t miss” sleeper. Well, he sure can miss.

Sleeper: Luther Head. Head has good all-round skills and more importantly legitimate three-point range. That alone makes him a valuable commodity in fantasy circles.

Memphis Grizzlies: MVP: Pau Gasol. The Grizzlies finally have an All-Star.

Surprise: Shane Battier. Very under-rated, but one of the few players who contribute in almost every category.

Sleeper: Damon Stoudamire. Injuries curtailed his season. If he comes back healthy, it will be hard to overlook his fantasy value.

New Orleans/Okla. City Hornets: MVP: Chris Paul. He deserved to be an All-Star.

Surprise: Chris Paul. Admit it. You didn’t expect him to be this good.

Sleeper: Chris Paul. A clean sweep. No knock on his teammates, but CP3 can and will get better.

San Antonio Spurs: MVP: Tim Duncan. As long as he plays a full season, his center-eligibility will win it for him every year.

Surprise: Tony Parker. Parker loses the MVP honors on this team to Duncan by a whisker. Who would have thought that was even possible this decade?

Sleeper: Manu Ginobili. I’m going out on a limb and predicting a healthy productive season for Ginobili.

Denver Nuggets: MVP: Carmelo Anthony. Marcus Camby would have won it hands down had he stayed healthy. Unfortunately that is one thing Camby can’t do. However, ‘Melo has posted stellar fantasy numbers this season.

Surprise: Carmelo Anthony. We saw signs of it last season and ‘Melo showed improvements in all categories, most notably his field goal percentage.

Sleeper: Marcus Camby. Injury concerns will see him go lower in next year’s draft than he should.

Minnesota Timberwolves: MVP: Kevin Garnett. The Big Ticket gets it done day in and day out.

Surprise: Ricky Davis. Davis bounced back from a down year and proved a great compliment to KG. Unfortunately that wasn’t enough for the T-Wolves.

Sleeper: Marcus Banks. Banks has all the skills in the world. Now, if only he could maintain his focus and avoid mistakes.

Portland Trail Blazers: MVP: Zach Randolph. Randolph is easily the best player on the Blazers and probably the only player worth owning in fantasy leagues.

Surprise: Joel Przybilla. A trendy sleeper, Przybilla promised a lot but delivered little.

Sleeper: Sebastian Telfair. Telfair deserves to play and sooner or later the Blazers will hand him full-time responsibilities at point guard.

Seattle SuperSonics: MVP: Ray Allen. This season’s leader in three-pointers made, you can always count on Allen.

Surprise: Chris Wilcox. It came late in the season but Wilcox exploded with huge double-doubles after coming to Seattle.

Sleeper: Chris Wilcox. Wilcox’s play as a Sonic makes him a trendy sleeper pick for next year.

Utah Jazz: MVP: Mehmet Okur. As good as Andrei Kirilenko is when he is healthy, Okur wins this one for being the one that stays healthy.

Surprise: Mehmet Okur. Projected to play in the shadows of AK-47 and Carlos Boozer, Okur wound up among the top fantasy centers in the league.

Sleeper: Deron Williams. He didn’t exactly disappoint this season and should only get better next season.

Golden State Warriors: MVP: Jason Richardson. The Warriors still can’t win games, but J-Rich has made it to the next level of fantasy stardom.

Surprise: Derek Fisher. Fisher filled in quite nicely for the oft-injured Baron Davis and had an under-rated but solid fantasy season.

Sleeper: Ike Diogu. We like Ike. This guy can score.

Los Angeles Clippers: MVP: Elton Brand. Easily his best season ever.

Surprise: Sam Cassell. Turns out Cassell still has a lot of game left in him. The T-Wolves failed to see it, but the Clippers didn’t. Guess which team is going to the playoffs.

Sleeper: Shaun Livingston. It was supposed to happen this year but I guess we all can wait another season for him to break out.

Los Angeles Lakers: MVP: Kobe Bryant. 81 points! Always remember 81 points!

Surprise: Smush Parker. Where did this guy come from? Parker fit right in Coach Phil Jackson’s triangle, hitting big shots time and again.

Sleeper: Kwame Brown. Call me nuts but I believe in him now.

Phoenix Suns: MVP: Shawn Marion. Steve Nash may be the real MVP, but when it comes to stuffing the stat sheet no one does it better than Marion.

Surprise: Boris Diaw. Is there anything that this guy can’t do? I mean the Suns thrust him at center and he still finds a way to excel.

Sleeper: Shawn Marion. He will end the season as the best fantasy player but come draft time people will find reasons to doubt him once again. This guy is the most under-rated fantasy player ever.

Sacramento Kings: MVP: Mike Bibby. This guy just doesn’t miss a game and he is a great fantasy point guard, too.

Surprise: Bonzi Wells. Wells missed a lot of games but his numbers this season are a huge improvement over last season.

Sleeper: Ron Artest. Hear me out here. The temperamental Artest will go cheap next season and will post huge numbers.

Pravin Bhandakkar is a fantasy expert for NBA.com. His column Around the Eastern Conference runs every Thursday as part of the NBA.com Premium Scouting Report. Contact him at Praywin@TalentedMrRoto.com .

The views expressed by the TalentedMrRoto.com represent only the views of the writers; they do not represent the views of the NBA or any NBA team.