The willingness to entertain competition for the bottom spots on your fantasy basketball roster can be rewarding. When selecting this fluid collective of statistical contributors, it’s helpful to consider the bottom-of-the-bench players in direct competition with the talent floating around in free agency.
The goal of this weekly series is to identify players at each position widely available in free agency in ESPN leagues. Some are specialists capable of helping in one or two categories, while others offer more diverse and important statistical offerings. In the breakdowns below, I’ve listed the players at each position in order of priority, rather than roster percentage, in ESPN men’s basketball leagues.
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José Alvarado, New Orleans Pelicans (registered in 24.2% of ESPN leagues): The health of the Pelicans’ defense has been an issue for much of the season so far, although this has given Alvarado a rewarding role atop the point guard depth chart. With more scoring power than you’d expect and the elite steal rate inherent to his nickname, Alvarado is a good interim option for the upcoming games.
Keyonté George, SG, Utah Jazz (19.5%): George is a volatile option, as he can score anything from a few buckets to a barrage of 3-pointers in double-digit volume. He just showed us his fun ceiling in a 33-point play against the Chicago Bulls last week. If you can take advantage of the variation, George could deliver some meaningful lines.
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Dyson Daniels, PG, Atlanta Hawks (53.6%): Daniels’ arrival as a statistical star might be the biggest surprise for me of the first three weeks of the season. He leads the league in steal percentage and continues to prove that his strong offensive start was no aberration.
Christian Braun, Denver Nuggets (45.1%): The Nuggets deserve credit for trusting Braun’s arc of development, as the young wing is stepping up as a complementary scorer and energy player with Aaron Gordon sidelined and following the departure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in the offseason. This streak of scoring and rebounding in recent games seems sustainable.
Ayo Dosunmu, Chicago Bulls (18.5%): We’ve seen brilliant productions from Dosunmu before, and this latest rise is further proof of his ability to shine with great lines. The role isn’t always stable, but there are real advantages to a guard who can do a little bit of everything.
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Bennedict Mathurin, SG, Indiana Pacers (36.0%): Mathurin, set to be one of the week’s hottest additions across all formats, is doing some real math in the scoring column. Fresh off a career-high scoring performance in a win over the rival Knicks, Mathurin has a real interest in the rotation going forward.
Ochai Agbaji, SG, Toronto Raptors (37.3%): Agbaji has been included in this slot for three consecutive weeks, as the wave of injuries to the Raptors’ key scorers and creators has allowed him to claim a significant role. Until Scottie Barnes returns, Agbaji estimates he’ll be around 33 minutes a night on his way to top-80 production in such a busy two-way role.
Tari Eason, Houston Rockets (19.7%): The Rockets’ changing identity under Ime Udoka is somewhat embodied in Eason’s fearless play. With scoring numbers on the rise and defensive numbers already impressive, Eason continues to be underrated in the real and the fantastic.
Zaccharie Risacher, PF, Atlanta Hawks (22.2%): The floor for this talented rookie is quite low, but we will also find games with scoring and shooting that are combined with fun defensive rhythms. We often see top prospects flourish during the second half of their freshman campaigns, making a stash of this French wing a potentially wise move.
power forward
Cameron Johnson, SF, Brooklyn Nets (67.8%): The Nets are feistier than expected, in part because of their collective of big wings, which includes Johnson and his ability to shoot accurately at high volume. There’s not much more to his profile than shooting and scoring, but the fact that Johnson is tied with Luka Doncic and Damian Lillard in 3-pointers made speaks to his unique use on a team in need of offense.
Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers (9.7%): For a frontcourt that needed a two-way effort, Camara has become a “glue” for Portland, as he is willing to make a living off of power plays on both sides of the ball. This leads to fun defensive results that deserve attention in deeper formats.
Center
Zach Edey, Memphis Grizzlies (58.0%): Ranked 12th in Player Rater among centers over the past week, Edey’s efficient offense and improved defensive production combine to support early fantasy value in all but the truly shallow formats.
Alexandre Sarr, PF, Washington Wizards (34.5%): Block percentage is a rate that reveals the rate of two-point field goal attempts a player blocks while on the court. While Victor Wembanyama’s clip (11.8%) is on a different level, it’s encouraging to Wizards loyalists that Sarr’s swat percentage of 9.3% is nearly identical to Walker Kessler’s (9.5 %) and Chet Holmgren (9.4%). With the Thunder’s rotation and fantasy managers missing Holmgren for several months, Sarr’s rim protection could be a solution for one of these groups.
Goga Bitadze, Orlando Magic (9.3%): The Magic have several key big men, which has meant a starting role and clean numbers over the last three games. With a runway to maintain this role for a few more weeks, Bitadze is being underrated as a source of blocks and high-percentage scores.
special teams
This section focuses on specialists, players who shine in a singular category and can provide specific value to those in category and roto formats. Nominations are based on the category in which said players are useful and will rotate throughout the season.
3 points: Payton Pritchard (38.1%) is a one-trick player, as his profile revolves around shooting volume and success. That said, he absolutely delivers in that regard with the fourth-highest value added via 3-point production in the league over the past two weeks, according to Player Rater.
Thefts: It’s Daniels and then everyone else when it comes to stealing the basketball. However, we find Camara in 10th place in value added via slides over the last two weeks.
Blocks: Sarr is the star in this space, as only the aforementioned trio are above him in Player Rater in block value. We consider the surface with the Risacher name to be a positive option in protecting the rim from the wing.
Rebounds: I’ll go back to the well to mention Andre Drummond (19.8%) again this week, as he leads the NBA in rebounding percentage and will be important until he doesn’t (when Joel Embiid returns).
Assists: Alvarado runs the show with Zion Williamson down, while Scotty Pippen Jr. (46.3%) handles the role of Tyus Jones with real success in Memphis.
