By the time you finish this article, you will have the lowdown on five must-have fantasy basketball players. Regardless of league format, these are five players you need to draft. To come up with this list, I based players on three criteria.
The first was to see if they produced last season. The second was to see how their roles compared to those of last season, and whether they were the same or bigger. The third was to observe the trend among fantasy managers and see whether these players were being drafted later than their numbers suggest they should be. The five players listed below passed all three tests.
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Must-Have Fantasy Basketball Players
Jamal Murray (G – DEN)
Yahoo ranks Jamal Murray ninth, with an average draft position (ADP) of 20.5. Murray comes into his 10th season with the Nuggets with a point to prove. He only missed seven games last season. The durable guard averaged 25.4 points, 7.1 assists, 4.4 rebounds and 3.3 threes per game.
Murray heads into the new season after his best season, recording career highs in points, rebounds, assists, field-goal rate, and three-point rate. For the team’s main guard, an average of only 2.3 turnovers per game further attests to his elite standards and the stability of his game.
With Nikola Jokic remaining beside him and DeMar DeRozan added to the fold, Murray is a solid pick anywhere from 15 to 20.
Austin Reaves (G – LAL)
The Lakers are paying Austin Reaves $46 million per year for a reason, and if you are wondering what the reasons are, here is a glimpse…
Reaves averaged 23.3 points, 5.5 assists and 4.7 rebounds in 51 games last season. He also shot 49% from the field and 87.1% at the line. His current Yahoo ADP is 22.6.
With LeBron James moving to Philadelphia, Reaves steps into a larger role. What is more impressive about Reaves is that he didn’t depend on James to make him look good. On nights when James was out, he held his own and proved his mettle.
In 16 games without James last season, Reaves averaged 28.4 points, 7.8 assists and 4.8 rebounds. Four of those games were also without Luka Doncic, further underscoring the quality of his game.
With only 51 games played last season, there are concerns about his durability. Despite that, drafting him is a no-brainer, especially in ESPN leagues, where his ADP is 39.2.
Trey Murphy III (F – NOP)
Trey Murphy III provides consistency, and whatever numbers you see him put in the near future, you can rest easy knowing they come from a seasoned baller. Last season, Murphy averaged 21.5 points, 3.2 threes, 1.5 steals and 5.7 rebounds. He shot 47% from the field and 88.6% at the free-throw line. Those numbers are strikingly similar to the season prior (21.2 points, 3.0 threes per game).
Category managers get a consistent player and a solid contributor in six categories:
- points
- three-pointers
- steals
- rebounds
- field goal rate
- free-throw rate
Round four seems like the sweet spot to draft Murphy. It remains to be seen whether the Pelicans will trade him, but whether it’s in the Eastern or Western Conference, his game and fantasy value should remain the same.
Naz Reid (F, C – CHA)
We always knew Naz Reid was a big bird in his years in Minnesota, but now in Charlotte, he is set to fly. He comes into the draft with a Yahoo ADP of 62.1. Last season, he averaged 13.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.1 threes.
Considering that Reid never played more than 28 minutes per game in Minnesota, the sheer thought of him seeing 30+ minutes per game is mouth-watering.
Why is that, you may ask? Well, Miles Bridges has been traded, leaving a hole that Reid is more than fit to fill. Also, we have a 77-game sample size showing what he can do when granted starter minutes. In those 77 games, he averaged 15.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.8 threes, 1.2 blocks and 1.1 steals.
A big man who makes threes and blocks shots is hard to find in round six. There is the not-so-little issue of him having to jostle for frontcourt minutes with the likes of Hannes Steinbach, Moussa Diabate and Ryan Kalkbrenner. Do I still back Reid regardless? Yes, I do.
Dyson Daniels (G – ATL)
Dyson Daniels has a Yahoo ADP of 62.9, ranking him 20th. His consensus ADP is 56.9.
As a guard, Dyson offers a unique proposition whenever he steps on the court. Per game, he averages 2.0 steals, 6.8 rebounds and 5.9 assists. That’s quite the stat line.
However, it isn’t all glossy, as he made only 0.3 threes a game and shot 61.5% at the free-throw line. His bluntness at the free-throw line is a valid concern for his managers. This is why I advise you to bring him in only when your first five picks already give you enough threes.
It would also be interesting to see how Quin Snyder splits the minutes between Daniels, Kingston Flemings and Luguentz Dort.
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