Fantasy Basketball: Our Experts Name Five Players They Want to See in Their Draft

We gathered our fantasy basketball experts and asked them which five players they absolutely wanted to draft this season.

The findings provide an indication of who the most sought-after fantasy players and valuable picks in your drafts could be.

Those players you see on the many lists below? That could be a sign that demand is high and you may need to move up a round (or two) to get them.

The Five Boys by Andre Snellings

Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs: The kid has no ceiling. If you told me he was going to average 30 PPG and 15 RPG this season, I would believe it. Five blocks and 2.5 steals per game? Sure. Six assists and three 3-pointers? I could see it. Nikola Jokic has legitimately been the best player in fantasy hoops the last three seasons, but if I had the top pick in a fantasy hoops draft, I would have a hard time not selecting Wembanyama this time around.

Scottie Barnes, SG/SF/PF, Toronto Raptors: Barnes broke out of his sophomore slump with a big third season, and the Raptors rewarded him by reshaping the team in his image. With all of the veteran producers out of town, the Raptors have given Barnes the keys to becoming one of the NBA’s biggest offensive engines this season.

LaMelo Ball, PG, Charlotte Hornets: Two years ago this time, I had Ball as a breakout top-10 fantasy hoops prospect entering his third season. He’s dealt with horrific injuries in those two seasons and his star has fallen. But the potential is still there and if I can get him on my team a few rounds in the draft, I’m very happy with that kind of upside.

Cam Thomas, SG, Brooklyn Nets: In his role as the Nets’ super-sixth-man/sometimes-starter, Thomas has shown that he can score 30 points on any given night. The question this season is whether he can scale into a more utility role and score those 30 points on a night-in/night-out basis. I think there’s a legitimate possibility he can, and his explosive scoring potential makes for both strong fantasy hoops potential and highly entertaining season-long viewing.

Amen Thompson, SF/PF, Houston Rockets: Amen was very impressive in his Las Vegas Summer League debut last year. He played most of the game until he sprained his ankle. He never seemed to fully recover last season and his production was down. Meanwhile, his twin brother Ausar had an impressive rookie season for the Pistons. I expect Amen to bounce back greatly as a sophomore and potentially develop into an impactful fantasy hoops performer.

The Five Boys by Eric Moody

Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs: Wemby is only the fourth player in league history to finish a season with 1,500 points, 250 assists and 250 blocks. While he is currently the third player to go off the board in ESPN Fantasy leagues, I wouldn’t hesitate to draft him at No. 1. If he falls below three, it’ll be like the holidays have come early.

LaMelo Ball, PG, Charlotte Hornets: Ball has been limited to just 58 games over the past two seasons due to recurring ankle injuries, but he still averaged 23.9 PPG and 8.0 APG last season. Ball has the potential to surpass his ADP and I have no problem letting him go where he goes in drafts.

Jalen Duren, C, Detroit Pistons: Duren will soon be 21 years old, but he’s only scratched the surface of his potential. Last season he averaged 13.8 PPG, 11.6 RPG, and 0.8 BPG in 29.1 MPG. Duren has serious All-Star potential, and the fantasy upside could be huge if he gets more than 30 minutes per game.

Jonathan Kuminga, PF, Golden State Warriors: Kuminga finished last season with a career-high 16.1 PPG and 4.8 RPG. The soon-to-be 22-year-old is poised for a breakout year, especially as the Warriors move forward without Klay Thompson.

Jaime Jaquez Jr., SG/SF, Miami Heat: Jaquez is a solid contender for Sixth Man of the Year, averaging 11.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG and 2.6 APG last season. With Caleb Martin gone, the player has a strong base to build on in his second year and could see more minutes for the Heat.

The Five Boys by Eric Karabell

Jalen Johnson, PF, Atlanta Hawks: His third NBA season appears to be a breakthrough, but Johnson is capable of much more for a team that needs his numbers, such as a 20-point, 10-rebound season.

Damian Lillard, PG, Milwaukee Bucks: Year 1 in Milwaukee wasn’t ideal and we expected a drop in usage, but things should improve. This is a great selection for round 3.

Bam Adebayo, C, Miami Heat: Other centers score, board and block more, but Adebayo has a five-year streak of certainty and excellence. Not every pick has to be better than previous seasons.

Brook Lopez, C, Milwaukee Bucks: Lopez is an annual bargain, and once again a perfect late pick. He finished in the top 50 in points formats and 28th in roto/categories. What else does he need to do?

Scoot Henderson, PG, Portland Trail Blazers: Give a kid a chance. Scoot made big strides late last season when he turned 20, and he should score and pass enough to easily become a top-75 fantasy player.

The Five Boys by Steve Alexander

Luka Doncic, PG, Dallas Mavericks: He’s my guy. Dallas made it to the Finals and Luka is still racking up points, rebounds, assists and 3-pointers at an alarming rate, and was solid in free throws, steals and blocks last season. If I can’t get Victor Wemanyama at No. 1, I want Luka at No. 2 or 3.

Jalen Williams, PF, Atlanta Hawks: He was good to me last year in OKC and he’s only going to get better. He helped me in a lot of leagues last season and he should do even more this time. If SGA hadn’t gotten in his way, that kid would be an absolute monster.

Scottie Barnes, SG/SF/PF, Toronto Raptors: He only played 60 games last season but averaged almost 20 points, eight rebounds, six assists, 1.7 triples, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks. I can’t get enough of Barnes this draft season.

Trae Young, PG, Atlanta Hawks: Dejounte Murray is gone and this should be a revenge tour for Ice Trae. He should be angry and ready to perform as the alpha in Atlanta, assuming Jalen Johnson doesn’t steal that role from him. He should be a valuable option for the first time in his career.

Cam Thomas, SG, Brooklyn Nets: The Nets are terrible and in a serious rebuild, but we know Thomas is going to get all the minutes and shots he can handle. He’s one of the reasons I won 30 Deep (a 30-team industry league) last season and I owe it to him to give it another try. We know he’s going to score a ton of points.

The Five Boys by Jim McCormick

Deni Avdija, SF/PF, Portland Trail Blazers: I can see why Portland paid a premium to land Avdija last summer; he’s an emerging all-around combo forward who has shown tremendous growth as a three-level scorer in his 23rd season while also proving adept on defense and efficient on the glass. A multi-category star could emerge.

Devin Vassell, SG/SF, San Antonio Spurs: Despite struggling with injuries to open the season, Vassell finished at an elite 68% clip at the rim and made over five dimes per game after the break. The addition of Chris Paul to orchestrate the offense only adds to his potentially special scoring efficiency.

Trey Murphy III, SG/SF, New Orleans Pelicans: Even if Brandon Ingram remains with the team for the entire campaign, Murphy remains an emerging 3-and-D talent worthy of our attention. The Pelicans will need his volume shooting and versatile defense in lineups that feature Zion Williamson, while the prospect of shining in a post-Ingram rotation could bring Murphy to a whole new level of production.

Brandon Miller, SG/SF, Charlotte Hornets: New coach Charles Lee sees Miller as the alpha scorer in his offensive scheme. It’s easy to see why; Miller’s brilliant finish to his rookie season included real growth as a slasher and shooter. Could we be looking at the next PG3?

Ausar Thompson, SF/PF, Detroit Pistons: While his twin brother Amen played a solid role as a rookie in Houston, Thompson struggled to find consistent minutes in Motown. With the potential to produce elite defensive percentages and atypically strong rebounding results for his position, Thompson is an easy fit later in the draft.

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