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Alex Burns' Updated Fantasy Basketball Rankings and Draft Analysis

Dejounte Murray daily fantasy basketball NBA DFS lineup picks

Well, we made it! After a three-month layoff with no hoops, the NBA returns in just a few short days. Believe it or not, it will actually be the third NBA season to take place in the last 373 days! Regardless, the return of hoops can only mean one thing: Fantasy Basketball is back!

The odds are you have a fantasy basketball draft coming up. Hopefully, you have already begun research and preparations but on the off chance that you haven't, I got you.

Below you will find my 9-Category Head-To-Head rankings for the upcoming 2021-2022 season. After closely analyzing every offseason trade, injury, free-agent signing, and preseason performance, this is where I land. In addition to my rankings, I'm going to highlight multiple players I am either higher or lower on than the consensus and share my reasoning. Let's jump right in!

Editor's Note: Our incredible team of writers received five total writing awards and 13 award nominations by the Fantasy Sports Writers Association, tops in the industry! Congrats to all the award winners and nominees including NBA Writer of the Year, Best NFL Series, MLB Series, PGA Writer and Player Notes writer of the year. Be sure to follow their analysis, rankings and advice all year long, and win big with RotoBaller! Read More!

 

Updated Fantasy Basketball Draft Rankings

These rankings are for 9-category scoring and head-to-head (H2H) leagues

Rank Player Team Positions
1 Nikola Jokic DEN C
2 James Harden BKN PG,SG
3 Stephen Curry GSW PG
4 Karl-Anthony Towns MIN C
5 Damian Lillard POR PG
6 Luka Doncic DAL PG,SG
7 Kevin Durant BKN SF,PF
8 Joel Embiid PHI C
9 Jayson Tatum BOS SF,PF
10 Paul George LAC SG,SF
11 Anthony Davis LAL PF,C
12 Giannis Antetokounmpo MIL SF,PF
13 Jimmy Butler MIA SG,SF
14 Bradley Beal WAS SG
15 Trae Young ATL PG
16 Bam Adebayo MIA PF,C
17 Zach LaVine CHI PG,SG
18 Nikola Vucevic CHI C
19 Domantas Sabonis IND PF,C
20 Chris Paul PHO PG
21 Fred VanVleet TOR PG,SG
22 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OKC PG
23 LaMelo Ball CHA PG,SG
24 Jaylen Brown BOS SG,SF
25 Michael Porter Jr. DEN SF
26 Khris Middleton MIL SG,SF
27 Donovan Mitchell UTH PG,SG
28 Rudy Gobert UTH C
29 Julius Randle NYK PF,C
30 Devin Booker PHO SG
31 Brandon Ingram NOR SG,SF
32 Myles Turner IND C
33 Richaun Holmes SAC C,PF
34 Clint Capela ATL C
35 Deandre Ayton PHO C
36 Jrue Holiday MIL PG,SG
37 OG Anunoby TOR SF
38 Dejounte Murray SAS PG
39 Robert Williams III BOS C
40 Tobias Harris PHI SF,PF
41 Malcolm Brogdon IND PG,SG
42 Christian Wood HOU PF
43 Kristaps Porzingis DAL PF,C
44 LeBron James LAL SF
45 John Collins ATL PF,C
46 Zion Williamson NOR PF
47 Jaren Jackson Jr. MEM PF
48 De'Aaron Fox SAC PG
49 Derrick White SAS PG
50 Mikal Bridges PHO SF
51 CJ McCollum POR PG, SG
52 Gordon Hayward CHA SG,SF
53 Lonzo Ball CHI PG
54 Kyle Lowry MIA PG
55 Terry Rozier CHA PG,SG
56 Caris LeVert IND SF,SG
57 DeMar DeRozan CHI SG,SF
58 Jonas Valanciunas NOR C
59 Draymond Green GSW PF,C
60 Jusuf Nurkic POR C
61 Isaiah Stewart DET PF,C
62 Spencer Dinwiddie WAS PG
63 Pascal Siakam TOR PF
64 Tyrese Haliburton SAC PG,SG
65 Mike Conley UTH PG
66 Ja Morant MEM PG
67 Anthony Edwards MIN SG,SF
68 D'Angelo Russell MIN PG,SG
69 Darius Garland CLE PG
70 Collin Sexton CLE PG,SG
71 Cade Cunningham DET SF
72 Chris Boucher TOR PF,C
73 Ben Simmons PHI PG,SF
74 Norman Powell POR SG, SF
75 Mitchell Robinson NYK C
76 Kevin Porter Jr. HOU PG,SF
77 Russell Westbrook III LAL PG
78 Nickeil Alexander-Walker NOR SG,SF
79 Bogdan Bogdanovic ATL SG,SF
80 Marcus Smart BOS PG,SG
81 Buddy Hield SAC SG
82 Mo Bamba ORL C
83 P.J. Washington CHA PF
84 Jakob Poeltl SAS C
85 Jarrett Allen CLE C
86 Jerami Grant DET SF,PF
87 Brook Lopez MIL C
88 Kemba Walker NYK PG
89 Dennis Schroder BOS PG
90 Miles Bridges CHA SF
91 Harrison Barnes SAC SF,PF
92 RJ Barrett NYK SF
93 Evan Mobley CLE PF,C
94 Nerlens Noel NYK C
95 Andrew Wiggins GSW SG,SF
96 Kyle Anderson MEM SG,SF,PF
97 Robert Covington POR SF,PF
98 Reggie Jackson LAC PG,SG
99 Jordan Clarkson UTH PG,SG
100 Jalen Green HOU SG
101 T.J. McConnell IND PG
102 Ivica Zubac LAC C
103 Devonte' Graham NOR PG
104 Malik Beasley MIN PG, SG
105 Daniel Gafford WAS SF
106 Jalen Suggs ORL SG
107 Marcus Morris Sr. LAC SF,PF
108 Thaddeus Young SAS SF,PF
109 Saddiq Bey DET SF,PF
110 Wendell Carter Jr. ORL C
111 Mason Plumlee CHA PF,C
112 Kelly Olynyk DET PF,C
113 Keldon Johnson SAS SF
114 Joe Ingles UTH SG,SF
115 Josh Giddey OKC PG,SG
116 Evan Fournier NYK SG,SF
117 Chuma Okeke ORL PF
118 Lauri Markkanen CLE PF
119 Larry Nance Jr. POR PF,C
120 Royce O'Neale UTH SF
121 De'Anthony Melton MEM PG
122 Jonathan Isaac ORL PF,SF
123 De'Andre Hunter ATL SF
124 Tyler Herro MIA SG
125 Dillon Brooks MEM SF
126 Scottie Barnes TOR SG,SF
127 Kyrie Irving BKN PG,SG
128 Khem Birch TOR PF,C
129 Kelly Oubre Jr. CHA SF
130 Al Horford BOS PF,C
131 Steven Adams MEM C
132 Kevin Huerter ATL SG
133 Precious Achiuwa TOR PF
134 Bobby Portis Jr. MIL PF,C
135 Nicolas Claxton BKN PF,C
136 Montrezl Harrell WAS PF,C
137 Duncan Robinson MIA SG,SF
138 Derrick Favors OKC PF,C
139 Jae'Sean Tate HOU SF,PF
140 Klay Thompson GSW SG,SF
141 Kawhi Leonard LAC SG,SF
142 Dorian Finney-Smith DAL SF,PF
143 Aaron Gordon DEN SF,PF
144 Cam Reddish ATL PG
145 Isaac Okoro CLE SG,SF
146 Donte DiVincenzo MIL SG
147 Bojan Bogdanovic UTH SG,SF
148 Will Barton DEN SG,SF
149 Danilo Gallinari ATL SF,PF
150 Joe Harris BKN SG,SF
151 Desmond Bane MEM SG
152 Ricky Rubio CLE PG
153 Isaiah Roby OKC PF,C
154 Kyle Kuzma WAS SF,PF
155 Jaden McDaniels MIN PF
156 Matisse Thybulle PHI SG
157 Aleksej Pokusevski OKC SG,SF
158 Patrick Williams CHI F
159 Killian Hayes DET PG,SG
160 Tyrese Maxey PHI SG
161 Derrick Rose NYK PG
162 Gary Trent Jr. TOR SG,SF
163 Rui Hachimura WAS PF
164 Cody Zeller CHA PF,C
165 Seth Curry PHI PG, SG
166 Danny Green PHI SG,SF
167 Doug McDermott SAS SF,PF
168 Marvin Bagley III SAC PF
169 Andre Drummond PHI C
170 James Wiseman GSW C
171 Tim Hardaway Jr. DAL SG,SF
172 Terrence Ross ORL SG,SF
173 Jordan Poole GSW PG,SG
174 Terance Mann LAC SG,SF
175 Jae Crowder PHO SF,PF
176 Davis Bertans WAS PF,C
177 Eric Bledsoe LAC PG,SG
178 Daniel Theis HOU PF,C
179 Facundo Campazzo DEN PG
180 Monte Morris DEN PG
181 Alex Caruso CHI PG,SG
182 Devin Vassell SAS SG,SF
183 Luguentz Dort OKC SF
184 Enes Kanter BOS C
185 Coby White CHI PG
186 Moses Brown DAL C
187 Naz Reid MIN C
188 Cole Anthony ORL PG,SG
189 Darius Bazley OKC PF
190 Brandon Clarke MEM PF
191 Markelle Fultz ORL PG,SG
192 Josh Hart NOP SG,SF
193 Alec Burks NYK SG
194 Josh Richardson BOS SG,SF
195 Goran Dragic TOR PG,SG
196 Jalen McDaniels CHA SF
197 Kenyon Martin Jr. HOU SF
198 LaMarcus Aldridge SAS PF,C
199 Kevin Love CLE PF,C
200 Alperen Sengun HOU C
201 Xavier Tillman MEM PF
202 Chris Duarte IND SG
203 Juan Toscano-Anderson GSW SF,PF
204 Otto Porter Jr. GSW SF, PF
205 Cedi Osman CLE SF,PF
206 Josh Jackson DET SG,SF
207 Jarred Vanderbilt MIN PF,C
208 Justin Holiday IND SF,SG
209 Cameron Payne PHO PG,SG
210 Jalen Brunson DAL PG
211 Tomas Satoransky NOR PG, SG
212 Kendrick Nunn MIA PG
213 Hassan Whiteside UTH C
214 Lou Williams LAC PG,SG
215 Theo Maledon OKC PG
216 Immanuel Quickley NYK PG,SG
217 Paul Millsap DEN PF,C
218 Blake Griffin DET PF,C
219 Onyeka Okongwu ATL SF,PF
220 Carmelo Anthony POR SF,PF
221 Lonnie Walker IV SAS SG
222 Jamal Murray DEN PG
223 Dario Saric PHO PF,C,SF
224 Dewayne Dedmon N/A C
225 Dwight Howard PHI PF,C
226 Cameron Johnson PHO PF
227 Obi Toppin NYK SF,PF
228 Reggie Bullock NYK SG,SF
229 Victor Oladipo MIA PG,SG
230 Hamidou Diallo DET SG,SF
231 Delon Wright DAL PG,SG
232 DeAndre Jordan BKN C
233 Rudy Gay SAS SF,PF
234 Elfrid Payton NYK PG
235 Jaxson Hayes NOP C
236 Nemanja Bjelica SAC PF
237 Malachi Flynn TOR PG
238 Moses Moody GSW PG,SG
239 Jonathan Kuminga GSW SF,PF
240 Ty Jerome OKC SG
241 Marquese Chriss GSW PF
242 Bruce Brown Jr. FA SG,SF
243 Luke Kennard LAC SG
244 Tristan Thompson BOS PF,C
245 Jeremy Lamb IND SG,SF
246 Troy Brown Jr. WAS SF
247 P.J. Tucker HOU SF, PF
248 Dwight Powell DAL PF,C
249 Patrick Beverley LAC PG,SG
250 Taj Gibson N/A PF,C

 

My Guys - Fantasy Basketball Draft Rankings

I am higher than the consensus on the following players:

Richaun Holmes (C, SAC) - RB Consensus: 44, Alex Ranking: 34

You should already know the drill by now. Holmes is an absolute cheat code in category formats. He gives you rock-solid numbers in blocks and rebounds while providing ELITE efficiency along the way. Take a look at his numbers from last season: 14.2 points, 8.3 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks on 63% from the field and just under 80% from the free-throw line. Those numbers managed to vault him all the way to number 33 in per-game fantasy value, ahead of guys like LeBron James, Luka Doncic, and Donovan Mitchell. He's smack dab in his prime at 27-years old and the Kings just signed him to a four-year, $46.5 million extension in the offseason. Enough said. Holmes to the moon!

Dejounte Murray (PG, SAS - RB Consensus: 48, Alex Ranking: 39

Murray came into his own last season and posted career-high marks of 15.7 points, 7.1 rebounds, 5.4 assists, and 1.5 steals operating as the Spurs' de facto point guard. DeMar DeRozan is now gone, setting him up for a massive workload. I'm expecting Murray to lead the team in usage and even one-up his career-best numbers from last season. Would it surprise me to see him flirt with 20/7/7/2 numbers on 45/35/80 splits? Absolutely not. This is his team now and he is beaming with upside. He's easily a top-40 guy for me this season.

Mo Bamba (C, ORL) - RB Consensus: 114, Alex Ranking: 83

Oh boy! Now we're really having some fun. Simply put, Bamba might have the most fantasy basketball upside out of anyone this season. His 'slow start' in the NBA is a thing of the past after the way he ended last season. Over the final 23 games, Bamba put up 11.4 points, 7.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks on just under 50/40 splits. Granted Wendell Carter Jr. was in and out of the lineup during that span, but Bamba really turned heads and helped win a lot of championships. As impressive as he was, it pales in comparison to his recent performance in the preseason. Check out his numbers through four games: 11.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 3.8 blocks on 54% FG and 42% 3PT in under 21 minutes per game. Unreal. As you can tell, those stats are similar to how he ended last season, the only difference being this time he was more efficient and almost averaged 4.0 blocks per game. The Magic recently extending Carter and paying him $50 million cannot be ignored, but it's clear that Bamba doesn't need a whole lot of playing time to be an elite contributor in category formats. Give me all the shares!

Evan Mobley (C, CLE) - RB Consensus: 109, Alex Ranking: 93

I'll be honest. When the Cavaliers selected Mobley third overall in this year's draft, it was a bit of a head-scratcher for me. After all, they have Jarrett Allen, Kevin Love, and Ed Davis on the roster. But then I watched him play. Mobley has elite upside as a rim protector and rebounder, while also possessing the ability to step back and knock down the three when called upon. Take a look at this footage from the big fella at practice recently:

Watching him outplay Allen in the preseason was the final straw for me. He instantly became the better value over the former, who is currently being drafted as the 65th overall player according to CBS, Yahoo, and ESPN ADP. Much like the aforementioned Mo Bamba, Mobley should see 20-25 minutes per game this season and offer a ton of production in blocks, steals, and FG%.

Joshua Giddey (SG, OKC) RB Consensus: 134, Alex Ranking: 115

Man, I am so giddy to draft Giddey this season. I swear he is a lot better than my lame attempt at making a dad joke. In all seriousness, he might even be too low at 115. Giddey was selected by the Thunder with the 6th overall pick in this year's draft and now finds himself in a terrific opportunity to produce right away. The Thunder are basically void of playmakers outside of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and it just so happens that's what Giddey does best. From the flashy passes to his propensity to crash the glass and get rebounds,  I get strong LaMelo Ball vibes when watching him play and I'm confident he'll have a similar fantasy impact this season. Still only 19-years old, Giddey finished the preseason with 13.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists on 52% FG and 40% 3PT. For what it's worth, Ball finished his preseason last year with 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 26% FG and 27% 3PT and went on to win ROY. I guess this just means Giddey is a shoo-in for MVP this season. Okay, maybe not...yet.

 

My Fades - Fantasy Basketball Draft Rankings

I want nothing to do with the following players at their current ADPs

Russell Westbrook (PG, LAL) - RB Consensus: 44, Alex Ranking: 78

I have to say, it's an impressive feat to average a triple-double in a season and somehow manage to finish outside the top-75 in per-game value. Yet, that's exactly what Westbrook accomplished last season. While his averages of 22.2 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 11.7 assists look great on paper, his 4.8 turnovers and 43/31/65 shooting splits canceled all of it out. Now sharing a court with LeBron James and Anthony Davis in Los Angeles, I don't see a world in which Westbrook comes close to last season's production in the assists and rebounds category. Combine that with his dreadful 20 turnovers (5.0 TPG) in the preseason and we're not off to the hottest start. It shouldn't be a hot take to say he won't finish as a top 100 guy this season. I will happily pass every time on his current ADP of 20. No thanks!

LeBron James (SF, LAL) - RB Consensus: 32, Alex Ranking: 43

I can't believe I'm actually saying this, but I am avoiding LeBron James in fantasy this season. The King was barely a top-35 guy last season and I'm afraid his value will drop even more with Russell Westbrook in town. It's a small sample size, but James is averaging a mere four assists through two preseason games with Westbrook. I'm no fortune teller, but I don't see how LeBron comes close to the eight assists per game he averaged last season. James has also missed 58 games over the last three seasons after only missing 71 through his first 15 years. Talk about a stat! Bottom line, it's no surprise the Lakers added another ball-dominant, high-usage point guard in Westbrook. If the Lakeshow can simply cruise through the regular season while allowing LeBron to be energized for the playoffs, that's a win for them. As a result, there's a chance he posts career-low numbers in year 19.

Ja Morant (PG, MEM) - RB Consensus: 58, Alex Ranking: 66

Are you ready for your mind to be blown? Ja Morant finished outside the top 200 in per-game157) value last season. That's right, he finished at 206, behind fellow teammates De'Anthony Melton (137), Dillon Brooks (146), and Grayson-freaking-Allen (157). While it would be blasphemous to rank someone as electrifying and talented as Morant outside the top 100 even, it's okay to admit he just isn't a good fantasy basketball player. Truth is, he really only provides solid assist numbers. Outside of that, he shoots poorly from the field, from three, and from the free-throw line, while also failing to average more than 0.9 steals per game in his first two seasons. Yes, Morant is one of the brightest young stars in the league, but I am steering clear in fantasy. He does get a little value boost in points leagues, however.

Keldon Johnson (SF, SAS) - RB Consensus: 100, Alex Ranking 113

Much like the aforementioned Ja Morant, Johnson just doesn't do much outside of barely double-digit scoring and an average amount of rebounds. He finished last season with 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds but didn't contribute much on defense and shot poorly from three. With Thaddeus Young and Doug McDermott now in the mix, Johnson could struggle to post top 150 numbers let alone top 100. He finished last season at 195 in per-game value and it will be a tough feat for him to finish better given he does nothing spectacular. I will gladly let others draft him this season.




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