ESPN Fantasy
We are already into Week 5 of the NBA season, and that’s enough time for certain players to endear themselves to fantasy managers with their standout efforts and sheer entertainment on the court.
So who are our experts’ favorite players to roster on their fantasy teams this season?
Here are André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and John Cregan to explain their picks.
Hart doesn’t shoot perhaps as much as we would like thanks to the team’s high-powered backcourt, but it’s so valuable when a swingman contributes so many rebounds and assists. Hart scoring less than 9 PPG may be a source of whining for some, but he has nearly as many rebounds as points. Accentuate the positive! Also, I love the 4.4 APG in my leagues because, again, this is not a point guard. It’s a SG/SF! No SG- or SF-eligible player averages more rebounds. Expect Hart to start looking for his offensive game a bit more and get his scoring into the double-digits soon. — Karabell
Doncic is great for both category and points leagues. He has averaged 34.4 PPG, 8.8 RPG, 7.8 APG, 2.1 SPG and 0.6 BPG this season. That translates to 62.7 fantasy points per game. For a Mavericks team that is still trying to replace Jalen Brunson, Doncic has a usage rate of 38.8%. His personality also makes him entertaining to watch on and off the court. — Moody
My bold prediction ahead of last season was that Anunoby would emerge as an elite 3-and-D fantasy force. While he was awesome last season, he wasn’t among the top values of the year in a fantasy context. This year has been far more fun if for his historic steal rate. After all, Anunoby leads the league in swipes and is currently averaging 1.8 3-pointers, 2.7 steals, and one block per game. Steals are often a scarce stat, but Anunoby collects them in bunches, which is downright fun. For context, no player has ever averaged 1.5 3-pointers, 2.5 steals and one block per game for a season in league history – save for the current pace Anunoby enjoys. — McCormick
It’s been a tossup between Tatum and Tyrese Haliburton, but I’ll give Tatum the tiebreaker because he’s currently healthy (Haliburton is questionable with an ankle injury) and the main team I’ve got him rostered on is comfortably in first place. Those that read my stuff know that I hate having players rostered that I can’t trust to produce consistently. Tatum is like the opposite of that. He’s in his sixth NBA season, and he’s always there. He’s never missed more than eight games in a season in his career. His scoring average has increased every season of his career, and at age 24 he’s just zoning right now. Averaging almost 32 points, more than seven boards and almost four assists. A career-best 1.4 blocks, a career-best 3.5 3PG and almost a full steal per game as well. He’s shooting 49.1% from the field and 86.6% from the line, both on heavy volume.
So… a high volume, high efficiency, consistently improving iron man player with no discernible weakness to his game? Yeah. That’s a pretty fun guy to have on a fantasy basketball team. — Snellings
I always enjoy when a player comes full circle in Fantasyland. He’s gone from one of the most overrated empty-points players in fantasy, to one of the most underrated volume+efficiency success stories of 2022-23. — Cregan
