Welcome to Fantasy Life's …

2024-25 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit

Within this draft guide, you'll find links to all our preseason and pre-draft coverage, including rankings, sleepers, and more.

Each piece is accompanied by an excerpt/take from each piece to give you a taste of what to expect and where our heads are at heading into the season.

Enjoy! Good luck! And may you avoid the dreaded “load management” updates this season!

Fantasy Basketball Top 150 Player Rankings

Introducing Adam Ronis' top-10 players for fantasy basketball 2024-25 …

  1. Victor Wembanyama (C, SA)
  2. Nikola Jokic (C, DEN)
  3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (G, OKC)
  4. Luka Doncic (G, DAL)
  5. Anthony Davis (C, LAL)
  6. Joel Embiid (C, PHI)
  7. Anthony Edwards (SG/SF, MIN)
  8. Jayson Tatum (PF, BOS)
  9. Tyrese Haliburton (G, IND)
  10. Giannis Antetokounmpo (F, MIL)

Point Guards For Fantasy Basketball 2024

Tyrese Haliburton might be the closest thing to a “traditional” point guard in the modern NBA. He led the league with 10.9 assists per game last season. That’s unsurprisingly his top category, especially when you consider his minimal 2.3 turnovers per game. His 4.73 assist-to-turnover ratio was easily the best mark in the league among high-volume point guards.

That said, Haliburton is not a one-trick pony. He knocked down 2.8 3-pointers per game last year, and he eclipsed the 20-point-per-game threshold. Like SGA, he provided value in every statistical category across the board last season.

The only thing keeping Haliburton from being a “tier one” point guard is his modest rebound production. He averaged just 3.9 rebounds per game last season, and he’s never been above 4.0 for his career. That’s not a killer at the point guard position, but it separates him from the best producers in fantasy.

- Matt LaMarca

Shooting Guards For Fantasy Basketball 2024

There may not be an early-round shooting guard that I’m more excited about this season. That terrifies me. We’re talking about 35-year-old James Harden, the once-superstar who’s mailed it in on not one, not two, but three teams in the last five seasons.

While the “best shape of my life” narratives have become more of a mockery than anything, with Harden, I think there’s some validity given how out of shape he’s repeatedly been at the start of the preseason.

He’s a man on a mission, and I’m not typically a vibes-based drafter, but this feels different. I mean, seriously, how many Instagram posts have you seen of Harden out at 3 a.m. with Lil Baby? Less than ever, I'd argue!

On top of the good vibes, the departure of Paul George leaves a seismic hole to be filled on the offensive end.

Last season with George off the court, Harden saw a +4.3% boost in usage rate, a +7.07-point boost in scoring (from 15.73 to 22.08), a +2.51 boost in free throws made (+2.93 boost in FTA per game), and a +1.35 boost in rebounds (per FantasyLabs On/Off Splits, per 36 minutes).

This is not nothing.

While the efficiency takes a minor hit, you’ve never drafted Harden for his efficiency. He’s going to be a walking double-double and currently has the fourth-best odds to lead the league in assists per game (+1000; DraftKings). Plus, there’s a heap of contingent upside playing alongside Kawhi Leonard, whose 68 games played last season was his highest mark since the 2016-17 season (74).

At his current price, particularly on ESPN, you’re getting first-round upside at a massive discount, making Harden a priority target for me on draft day.

- Joe Metz

Small Forwards For Fantasy Basketball 2024

While Tatum is the safe option at the position, Scottie Barnes is the guy with sky-high potential. He’s going to have to do everything for the Raptors, especially with R.J. Barrett potentially missing the start of the year with a shoulder injury.

Barnes was limited to just 60 games last year, but he absolutely stuffed the stat sheet in the peripheral categories. He averaged 8.2 boards, 6.1 assists, 1.3 steals, and 1.5 blocks per game, making him one of the best SFs in fantasy in those areas. He’s also not going to kill your efficiency stats: He shot 47.5% from the field and 78.1% from the free throw line last season.

Barnes has yet to average 20 points per game as a professional, but he should be looking at the largest scoring workload of his career in his fourth season. If he can increase his scoring while maintaining his efficiency and contributions in the peripheral categories, he has the potential for a monster season.

- Matt LaMarca

Power Forwards For Fantasy Basketball 2024

The top PF in fantasy depends entirely on your format. If you’re playing in a league that values multi-category contributions — rotisserie or head-to-head categories — Anthony Davis gets the clear nod. He was a positive contributor in almost every category across the board last season, with 3-pointers being the lone exception. Still, he did enough elsewhere to finish as the No. 3 player regardless of position in ESPN’s Fantasy Player Rater.

Davis is one of the top shot blockers in fantasy. Only Wembanyama, Chet Holmgren, and Brook Lopez provided more value in that category last season, with Davis averaging at least 2.0 blocks for the 10th time in the past 11 seasons.

While Wembanyama is in the discussion for the first pick — Adam Ronis has him No. 1 overall in his Top 150 — most of the other top blocks guys are specialists. That’s not the case with Davis. He’s also a massive help in points, rebounds, and field goal percentage, and he’s the rare big man who doesn’t kill your team FT%.

Overall, Davis might be the most undervalued first-round pick in fantasy. He’s coming off the board at No. 11 on ESPN, which is a travesty. He shouldn’t last longer than pick No. 5, and I wouldn’t fault you for taking him in the top three.

- Matt LaMarca

Centers For Fantasy Basketball 2024

If you don’t have the luxury of snagging Wembanyama, or even one of the other first-round centers (Jokic, Embiid, Anthony Davis) to anchor your lineup, Alperen Sengun is my next choice.

Reminiscent of a Jokic-lite type of player, Sengun enjoyed his first true breakout in 2023-24.

Finishing third in Most Improved Player voting, Sengun’s third season saw him post career-highs in points (21.1), rebounds (9.3), assists (5.0), steals (1.2) and minutes per game (32.5). He shot above 53% from the field despite almost a five-shot increase in FGA per game (15.6) and also posted 29 double-doubles and two triple-doubles across his 63 games. This, off the bat, locks in an incredible floor-ceiling combination across numerous categories from your onesie position.

With the Rockets’ young core another year more experienced and Sengun as a centerpiece (27.0% usage rate), we should continue to see gaudy stat lines consistently. While his floor/ceiling combination is lower than the likes of other similar center archetypes like Domantas Sabonis or Jokic, that reality is baked into his cost, but almost too severely.

As the eighth or ninth center off the board, there’s a legitimate shot that Sengun returns early second-round production for a massive discount this season.

- Joe Metz

Fantasy Basketball Sleepers For 2024

Tyus Jones is coming off a career year with the Wizards and moves to Phoenix where the usage will decrease. Jones wasn’t reliant on scoring and can put up good stats in Phoenix. He shot 48.9% from the field, averaged 1.6 three-pointers, 7.3 assists, 1.1 steals, and scored 12 points per game.

With Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, and Bradley Beal around him, Jones will pile up the assists. He will get a lot of open looks and if he can average more than a steal per game with excellent shooting percentages, he will be valuable.

- Adam Ronis

Fantasy Basketball Breakout Candidates For 2024

Once Immanuel Quickley was traded from the Knicks last season, he took over the point guard role in Toronto and shined in a starting role. There were glimpses of what he can do in New York and he showed why he is a starting point guard in the NBA. In 38 games with Toronto, Quickley averaged 18.6 points, 6.8 assists, 4.8 rebounds, 2.8 three-pointers, and 0.9 steals and shot 84.1% from the foul line in 33.3 minutes per game.

Some of that came without Scottie Barnes, but Quickley still put up good numbers with Barnes on the floor. Quickley can help in most categories outside of shooting percentage and blocks. The Raptors showed their faith in him by signing him to a five-year, $175 million contract.

- Adam Ronis

Fantasy Basketball “Do Not Draft” List For 2024

Khris Middleton didn’t play in the preseason and there is some question as to when he will be ready. He had surgery on both his ankles, is 33 years old, and played in 33 and 55 games over the last two seasons.

He hasn't really been able to play significant minutes in the last two seasons, either, averaging 24.3 minutes two years ago and 27 last season. Middleton isn’t expensive and it’s easy to convince yourself to take the chance due to the price, but most players don’t get healthier as they get older while also dealing with injuries the past few seasons.

- Adam Ronis

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis

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