Paris 2024 Olympics: How the Games Could Impact the Fantasy Basketball Landscape

The Olympic Games, a prestigious international sporting event, serve as a platform for athletes to showcase their skills on a global stage. For fantasy basketball fans, the impact of the Olympic Games can be multifaceted:

• Evaluation of the player’s performance

• Monitoring the workload of older veterans

• Rating the lesser known players who can boost their fantasy stock

Let’s take a look at how the Olympics could impact the fantasy basketball landscape, with an emphasis on key players and emerging talent.

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REMARK: You won’t see LeBron James here, because Father Time is nowhere to be seen.

🇺🇲 Joel Embiid

The former MVP played in just 39 regular-season games last season. It’s hard to believe that playing in the Paris Olympics is the ideal rest and recovery strategy given his postseason injuries. Embiid averaged over 59 fantasy points per game last year and is undoubtedly one of the team’s best players when healthy; however, injury concerns are real and fantasy managers should consider whether it’s worth spending a top-five pick on him.

Who knows? Maybe this Olympic run will better prepare him for the regular season. Although history tells us you can’t count on Embiid to play at least 20 games a year. I pray he plays no more than 15 minutes per game during the Olympics, stops fouling, and plays more unselfishly, because that will bode well for when he returns to the Sixers in an attempt to finally make the second round of the playoffs.

🇬🇷Giannis Antetokounmpo

The good news — the Greek Freak is coming off an MVP-esque campaign, averaging over 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two shares per game with a 30% usage rate. The bad news is that Giannis missed the final three games of the regular season and the entire postseason after suffering a calf injury. Fortunately, he’s had time to recover and has led the Greek men’s basketball team to their first Olympics since 2008.

Calf injuries can be a real pain (look at Kevin Durant), so fantasy managers will have to keep a close eye on Giannis’ workload in Paris. And that won’t be easy, as Greece must survive the “Group of Death” to win a medal at the 2024 Olympics.

🇨🇦Jamal Murray

A failed late-season push for the top seed in the Western Conference left the Denver Nuggets depleted as the postseason rolled around. Murray hasn’t been himself either, averaging just 21 points per game on 40 percent shooting from the field — well below his career playoff numbers. Murray has been dealing with calf and elbow injuries, and while those injuries don’t seem to be hampering him now, he hasn’t impressed in the limited minutes he has spent playing for Team Canada.

He’s still likely to be picked in the fourth round next year, but he’ll need to make it through the Olympics unscathed as he’s eligible for a one-year contract extension.

🇺🇲 Kevin Durant

We have yet to see the most prolific scorer in USA Basketball history play in an exhibition game after suffering a calf injury before USA Basketball’s training camp kicked off. On the plus side, Durant is playing 5-on-5 and is slated to play in Sunday’s group opener against Serbia. Team USA kept Durant on the ice for a reason, and hopefully he can get as close to 100% as possible. However, there are some concerns.

He’s 35 and prior to last season, he hadn’t played more than 60 games in a season in five years due to injuries. Considering his latest ailment is a calf strain, it’s not great, but Durant is coming off another great campaign, averaging 27/6/5 and two shares with 52/41/85 shooting splits. Just be aware that a long journey to gold could contribute to fatigue and load management as next season approaches.

Rising talent to watch

🇩🇪Franz Wagner

He got the ball this summer and Wagner is the player to watch for Germany as they are likely to progress from Group B along with France.

Wagner has improved in each of his first three seasons in the league, and after being a sixth-round ADP by Yahoo last year, I expect him to improve his draft position by a round, possibly even two, if he performs well in Paris.

🇨🇦 RJ Barrett

When Barrett left NYC, he was a different player. He averaged 36 fantasy points per game in Toronto, just ahead of Jaylen Brown and Paul George. His free throw shooting was poor in category leagues, but his 22/6/4 averages on 55% shooting made it worth it.

Barrett was selected in the 11th round of last season’s draft and as the second option for Team Canada (and Toronto), fantasy managers could select him a round or two earlier than usual for 2024-25 if he plays well enough.

🇨🇦Andrew Nembhard

Nembhard put himself on the map after averaging 21/4/8 in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Now that his contract extension is in place, he will play a crucial role off the bench for Team Canada.

Nembhard is a solid nine-point, four-assist player, but Year 3 is shaping up to be his best year in the pros. He went undrafted in most leagues last season, but he’s a late-rounder this year.

🇦🇺 Dyson Daniels

Daniels was traded to Atlanta as part of the Dejounte Murray deal. If he can stand out with the Boomers in Paris, it could be the momentum he needs to make a run at the starting shooting guard position.

He’s not a great shooter and his finishing at the rim is suspect, but I liked what I saw from him a few days ago against France. He shot 6 of 9 from the field with two 3’s. If he keeps that up, with his exceptional defense, he could become a sleeping fantasy.

🇫🇷 Bilal Coulibaly

First of all, happy 20th birthday Bilal! Secondly, I don’t expect Coulibaly to have a significant impact, but he is in the rotation, having played at least 21 minutes in three of his last five friendlies.

The Olympics would be a great platform for him to showcase his growth offensively since his rookie season and prove that he’s worthy of being a late-round pick in fantasy drafts. He could start next year, so it’s certainly possible.

🇷🇸 Nikola Joviċ

Jović averaged nine points, four rebounds and two assists in 22 minutes per game in 38 starts last season. That’s not bad, but the upcoming third-year power forward could make a statement in these Olympics.

Joviċ missed most of the preseason games with an ankle injury, but he did play against Greece on July 22, scoring 10 points with four rebounds in 11 minutes. He shot 40% from 3 last year, so his ability to stretch the floor will be essential for the Heat after losing Caleb Martin in free agency. Playing with Nikola Jokiċ at the Olympics can only be positive for his development, so let’s see how he plays and if it puts him on the fantasy radar.