Road to Fantasy Basketball Draft Part 3
The week is finally here! This weekend is the draft for my fantasy basketball league, and I am excited. The NBA season starts next week as well so I am ready to sit back and enjoy the games.
Currently though, it is preseason in the NBA. Preseason numbers are a glimpse but I wouldn't call it a definitive outlook on how a player will do this season. This is where the coaches play rookies to get them adjusted to NBA speed as well as try out some training camp signees to see if they're worth signing. The minutes a player gets during preseason will in no way be indicative of the minutes they will be playing in the regular season. But, that doesn't mean there isn't value to see how the players are doing and potentially how much playing time they'll get. Unfortunately, I don't have data for last year's preseason so I can't do a comparison on how preseason numbers translated to the regular season last year. Also keep in mind that this is a very tiny sample size in the preseason so a lot of things may change once the regular season starts.
All preseason numbers are up to games completed on 10/14/2026. Any future posts still using preseason numbers will have different numbers as preseason is still going.
I do want to start with a quick look at the players I identified from the last post and show how they're doing in the preseason. These are my late season risers who started getting more minutes after March and played fairly well in that timeframe. Here are their preseason averages, sorted by minutes.
| TEAM | PLAYER | GP | MIN | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SAC | Nique Clifford | 4 | 23:12 | 0.268 | 0.600 | 0.3 | 8.0 | 3.5 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 2.0 | -1.5 |
| GSW | Gui Santos | 4 | 21:40 | 0.520 | 0.857 | 0.8 | 10.3 | 4.5 | 1.5 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 2.8 | 2.3 |
| PHI | Rayan Rupert | 3 | 21:06 | 0.300 | 1.000 | 1.3 | 6.7 | 4.0 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | -4.3 |
| CHI | Leonard Miller | 4 | 19:22 | 0.651 | 0.714 | 2.3 | 17.5 | 6.5 | 1.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 5.5 |
| SAC | Maxime Raynaud | 3 | 19:02 | 0.591 | 0.800 | 0.3 | 11.7 | 7.7 | 1.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 | -8.0 |
| WAS | Will Riley | 3 | 16:30 | 0.417 | 1.000 | 0.7 | 6.7 | 3.0 | 1.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 1.0 | 4.0 |
| MIN | Cody Williams | 5 | 15:47 | 0.261 | 0.833 | 0.4 | 4.8 | 1.4 | 1.2 | 0.2 | 0.4 | 0.8 | -1.4 |
| MEM | GG Jackson | 3 | 15:32 | 0.517 | 0.778 | 2.0 | 14.3 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | 5.0 |
| UTA | Brice Sensabaugh | 1 | 15:02 | 0.429 | 0.750 | 2.0 | 11.0 | 2.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 3.0 | 7.0 |
| MEM | Olivier-Maxence Prosper | 3 | 13:03 | 0.385 | 0.500 | 0.3 | 4.0 | 0.7 | 0.7 | 1.0 | 0.3 | 1.7 | -7.3 |
The first thing that stands out is that Leonard Miller is getting ample playing time to showcase his capabilities. Nic Claxton is injured right now, giving Leonard the opportunity to play more and it looks like he is making the most out of it. He is scoring and grabbing rebounds and has a decent +/- in the 4 games he played in the preseason. My original assessment said he will be fighting for minutes as the Bulls have a solid big rotation right now but with Nic Claxton missing the beginning of the regular season with a hurt hamstring, Leonard Miller may be able to make his way into the rotation. In one of his preseason games, he scored 18 points on 7 for 11 shooting, while playing incredible defense for a defensive rating of 89.1, getting an incredible overall net rating of 49.5. Of course we cannot expect him to play like that every night but strong performances may lead to more minutes and playing time in the future. I highly doubt Leonard Miller will be drafted but he will be a player to monitor as he continues to fight for minutes on the team.
Another standout but on the negative end is Nique Clifford getting to play 23 minutes a night for 4 games and having one of the poorest FG% of the lot as well as only single digit points. Even though preseason games are a small sample size, you still need to at least perform decently if you want to get into the rotation and this doesn't look good for Nique Clifford for the regular season.
Maxime Raynaud having strong big man numbers, averaging 7.7 rebounds and 1 block per game in the 3 games he played so far is promising. I still have him as a late pick in the draft and determined to pick him up. As he will be a late round pick, I'm thinking around $3 will be enough for him and hope no one tries to bid against me. The amount of money I have left as well in the draft will be a factor in how much I spend towards the Kings big man.
The rest of the players on the list will continue to be monitored as I don't foresee any of them being drafted this weekend by any of the other managers. GG Jackson averaging 14 points in 15 minutes of playing time looks promising but I still have reservations on the Grizzlies depth chart and not sure where GG Jackson fits in there.
Someone else to mention on this list though is Gui Santos on the Warriors. For the team's rotation, Gui Santos is looking like he is going to be in the mix. The Warriors have a really good rookie in Yaxel Lendeborg who looks like he will be starting so if I can't draft Yaxel, I'll definitely be keeping an eye on Gui Santos in the free agency market later on. If he makes his way into the starting lineup, I will definitely try to be first to get him. It's not likely, but stranger things have happened in the NBA, unexpected players enter the starting 5 all the time.
Speaking of rookies, this rookie class is poised to be one of the best. Let's take a look at the lottery picks so far in the preseason. Ordered by draft pick.
| Pick | TEAM | PLAYER | GP | MIN | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TOV | +/- |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | WAS | AJ Dybantsa | 3 | 23:53 | 0.424 | 0.588 | 0.3 | 13.0 | 4.3 | 2.3 | 2.0 | 0.3 | 1.0 | -1.0 |
| 2 | UTA | Darryn Peterson | 3 | 24:30 | 0.485 | 0.667 | 0.7 | 13.3 | 3.7 | 3.3 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.7 | -2.0 |
| 3 | MEM | Cameron Boozer | 3 | 17:36 | 0.571 | 0.786 | 0.7 | 12.3 | 5.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.0 | 1.0 | 3.0 |
| 4 | CHI | Caleb Wilson | 4 | 27:31 | 0.426 | 0.556 | 1.8 | 15.8 | 4.0 | 2.5 | 0.8 | 0.3 | 3.8 | -1.8 |
| 5 | LAC | Keaton Wagler | 3 | 27:05 | 0.303 | 0.769 | 2.0 | 12.0 | 4.0 | 3.0 | 0.7 | 0.3 | 0.3 | -0.3 |
| 6 | BKN | Mikel Brown Jr. | 1 | 18:01 | 0.571 | 1.000 | 2.0 | 15.0 | 3.0 | 3.0 | 2.0 | 0.0 | 1.0 | -11.0 |
| 7 | SAC | Darius Acuff Jr. | 3 | 26:00 | 0.426 | 1.000 | 2.3 | 18.7 | 2.0 | 4.3 | 1.0 | 0.7 | 4.0 | -13.7 |
| 8 | ATL | Kingston Flemings | 4 | 22:44 | 0.459 | 0.375 | 1.0 | 10.3 | 1.5 | 3.8 | 1.3 | 0.0 | 1.3 | 0.5 |
| 9 | DAL | Morez Johnson Jr. | 1 | 12:14 | 0.333 | 0.500 | 1.0 | 4.0 | 2.0 | 1.0 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -7.0 |
| 10 | MIL | Brayden Burries | 3 | 22:02 | 0.371 | 0.875 | 0.7 | 14.0 | 4.0 | 3.7 | 2.7 | 0.0 | 2.3 | -10.3 |
| 11 | GSW | Yaxel Lendeborg | 4 | 22:26 | 0.548 | 0.667 | 1.3 | 15.3 | 8.3 | 3.8 | 1.0 | 0.8 | 1.3 | 10.0 |
| 12 | OKC | Aday Mara | 4 | 23:50 | 0.793 | 0.789 | 0.0 | 15.3 | 7.3 | 3.0 | 0.0 | 2.8 | 2.3 | 9.8 |
| 13 | MIL | Nate Ament | 2 | 11:38 | 0.273 | 0.571 | 0.5 | 5.5 | 3.0 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0.0 | 0.0 | -3.0 |
| 14 | CHA | Hannes Steinbach | 3 | 10:39 | 0.467 | 0.750 | 0.0 | 5.7 | 4.0 | 0.3 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.3 | -5.7 |
The top 4 picks were the hyped up prospects of this draft that will definitely have a lot of eyes on them in fantasy basketball. So far their preseason numbers are looking decent, with Cameron Boozer playing the best out of the 4. But the general consensus is that any one of them will develop into a great player in the future. If I can draft any one of them for cheap, I'm sure that'll be worth it as they will be excellent keeper picks in the future. If any of them can be had for $10 or under, I would go for it. Wouldn't go for more than 1 of them as that would be pricey for multiple rookies but having a potential all star on the team for a couple seasons for cheap keeper prices is always a strong strategy.
Drafted at 5th, is Keaton Wagler who will be given a lot of playing time as the Clippers are suffering from major setbacks from the Kawhi Leonard fallout as well as injuries to key players such as Brandon Ingram. Keaton Wagler is still considered a raw prospect, so in fantasy basketball, he may not be as productive as I need to win my weekly matchups. His poor FG% numbers will definitely hurt. But he could be a long term prospect that would be worth drafting and keeping. I am leaning towards drafting him as I am still a Clippers fan but still ultimately undecided as it could affect my competitiveness in the fantasy league. He would be a decent last pick for a $1 pickup if I do pull the trigger.
Mikel Brown Jr is an interesting prospect as he is a point guard who can dish out creative passes as well as drive to the rim and shoot from the outside. But durability has been his biggest concern which is evident as in preseason, he is already missing time due to an ankle issue. I don't see myself using a draft pick for him this season at all.
Darius Acuff Jr, a scoring machine who the Kings are giving the green light to run the offense. On the team, he is first in usage percentage and first in possessions after the 3 preseason games he was on. But of the 3 games he played, in one of them, he was 4 from 15 on the field which is a 27% field goal percentage. Being given the green light to shoot doesn't always translate to good stats on every night and there will be plenty of poor shooting nights during the regular season for a volume shooter. Paired with his high turnovers and Darius Acuff can be a problem for multiple categories in the weekly matchups. I don't see myself drafting Acuff as I am sure other managers in the league have their eyes on him. But for $5 or under, I would take the risk on him.
Aday looks like a potential good pick too and posting good numbers in 4 preseason games but with the Thunder being championship contenders and Chet and Hartenstein as their bigs, how much playing time will a rookie big man get. Aday would be a free agent pickup pending any injuries in the Thunder's big man rotation.
For the rest of the lottery rookies, the only one I have my eye on is Yaxel Lendeborg on the Warriors as mentioned. A productive rookie whose set to be part of the rotation is valuable. I might try to draft Yaxel mid draft for $10 instead of the top 4 as I think that's the type of value he has.
Even though some of them posted some good numbers, we're still in preseason and the sample size is small. Also, very few rookies are chosen in the fantasy draft. Last year's draft only had 4 rookies chosen. I'm sure this season will have some more drafted because of the depth of the rookie class but the proper strategy will be to give it a couple months to see which ones breakout.
My next post will feature some players I'm keeping my eyes on. Stay tuned.