A month into the NBA season, we now have a pretty good sample size and understanding of what kind of campaigns players are having around the league.
So who has played better where they were drafted in the fantasy basketball draft? And who just didn’t live up to expectations?
Here fantasy experts Andre Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Carrabelle, Jim McCormick and Steve Alexander weigh in.
Surprises
La Mello BallPG, Charlotte Hornets: I had high expectations for Ball, who I thought had top-10 fantasy production if he could stay healthy, but I expected his strength to be the all-around nature of his game. I thought he had the potential for double-digit assists with seven boards per game, making him a nightly triple-double threat. I don’t see him pushing the scoring average over 30 ppg. He’s always been a streaky shooter, but his range, consistency and volume have increased and it looks like he could legitimately challenge for the scoring crown this season. I didn’t see it coming. — Snellings
Jared McCainSG, Philadelphia 76ers: I also have to mention the occupants. He’s gone from a rookie drafted outside the lottery, to a somewhat forgettable performer who shot just 28 percent from both the field and the 3-point line in the Las Vegas Summer League, to the clear-cut Rookie of the Year within the first month. until weather — Snellings
Jacob PoultC, Toronto Raptors: After years of consistent but modest production, Poeltl has averaged 40 ESPN fantasy points per game, tops on his team and among the top 10 centers. Poeltl averaged 32 fantasy points last season. The retooling, shorthanded Raptors needed more minutes and production and, at 29, Poeltl is certainly providing it. It gets my nod for biggest surprise on Breakout Clippers C. Ivica Zubacthanks to steals and improved free-throw shooting, but both late-round draft picks have been outstanding. — Krabel
Jaylen WilliamsSF/PF/C, Oklahoma City Thunder: Even though I’ve been pretty high on him since he was drafted, I admit I didn’t expect Williams to be this special so soon. We’ve gotten past the small sample size warning label and are slowly realizing that this guy is already an All-Star caliber player. Williams is in the top 10 on Player Rater. only Deson Daniels‘Video game-like steel clip is more than Williams’, while his offensive game has grown in every dimension. This friend can score, create and defend at the Impact level. I believed the Thunder had two first-round fantasy talents. Shy Gilgeous Alexander And Chet Holmgren. This number may be conservative. — McCormick
Buddy HeldSG/SF, Golden State Warriors: Heald has been a revelation for the Warriors. only Stephen Curry, Draymond Green And Andrew Wiggins The team has more fantasy points. Hield has thrived as the first man off the bench under Steve Kerr, providing consistent points and 3-point production with a sprinkling of rebounds and assists. He has become a key spark plug, and fantasy managers have taken notice. — Moody
Deson DanielsPG/SG Atlanta Hawks: Daniels has been surprisingly good this season, returning third-round fantasy value. We all knew he could be a steal machine and he’s averaged 3.2 swipes per game so far, but he’s averaging 14.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.3 triples per game. doing more A distant return Bogdan Bogdanuk Daniels’ roll may eventually slow down, but he’s been a consummate fantasy star thus far and shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon. — Alexander
Disappointments
Tyrese HalliburtonPG/SG Indiana Pacers: During the first two months of last season, Halliburton looked like the next great guard in the NBA. He never recovered from his hamstring injury last season, but I thought he would look like himself after the offseason. Instead, his offense creation numbers have fallen sharply this season. He is shooting just 37.9% from the field, 10 percentage points below his career average, and is averaging his lowest assist total since being traded to the Pacers. Shooting efficiency is the biggest concern, as the slump moves beyond “slow-start” territory and toward becoming a season trend. — Snellings
Joel EmbiidC, Philadelphia 76ers: It seems safe to say that few fantasy managers would have considered Embiid (knee) worthy of a top-20 draft pick if they saw it coming. Embiid has appeared in just four of the team’s 16 games (none of the three won) and is averaging 31 ESPN Fantasy points. He averaged 62 points last season. We don’t know when Embiid will play again or for how long, as we curse the team with “load management.” OK, so I boldly and pessimistically predicted Embiid wouldn’t play in half the team’s games after last year, but I figured he’d at least play well when he suited up. What a disaster. — Krabel
Desmond BeanSG/SF, Memphis Grizzlies: between the Go Morant With the drama and seemingly endless wave of injuries that plagued the Grizzlies last season, it’s easy to forget that Beane was on track for another breakout season in 2023-24. The TCU product made big leaps in scoring volume and efficiency in his first four years in the league, but this season, he’s regressed to an alarming degree. Is he still recovering from earlier injuries? Is the team still trying to mesh a new-look rotation? It’s likely that many factors are at work, but this player was drafted high enough to have elite scoring and shooting along the prime line. Clay Thompson. The pattern of Bean being a true scorer is much larger than the recent evidence of regression, so I’d be biased to buy Bean short despite this obvious disappointment in the first month. — McCormick
Jamal MurrayPG, Denver Nuggets: After his disappointing playoff run last year and a tough exit at the Olympics, many were counting on a bounce-back season. But this season, Murray is averaging just 17.6 points, 4.4 rebounds and 6.0 assists per game. At this point, he doesn’t look like the kind of big-time scorer or facilitator the Nuggets need Nikola Jokic. — Moody
Clay ThompsonSG/SF, Dallas Mavericks: While no one expected Thompson to return to his form from three years ago, we were all hoping for something more with a fresh start and playing together in Dallas. Luca Donic. Thompson is averaging 13.2 points, 3.6 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 0.6 steals, 0.4 blocks and 2.9 3-pointers per game while hitting just 38 percent of his shots. If his shots ever start to fall, there’s still hope he can turn it around, but he’s been so bad that he’s probably floating on the waiver wire and poor shooting is the main reason. He’s only returning 12th- or 13th-round fantasy value in 12-team leagues. — Alexander