Part of the draft process for fantasy managers is to identify their “guys,” players they may be higher on than the consensus.
With that in mind, Rotoworld basketball staffers Cole Huff, Noah Rubin, Raphielle Johnson and Zak Hanshew have decided to identify their guys, picking two players each that they’re high on for the 2025-26 season.
We’ll be doing a similar exercise with players we’re fading this season, so stay tuned.
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🏀 Cole Huff’s picks: C Myles Turner (Milwaukee Bucks) and F Zion Williamson (New Orleans Pelicans)
In his 11th NBA season, Turner will be playing for an organization that isn’t the Indiana Pacers for the first time in his career. While he thrived as a floor-spacing center alongside Tyrese Haliburton and Pascal Siakam in the Pacers’ recent deep postseason run, those same opportunities to flourish should present themselves with Giannis Antetokounmpo consistently attracting multiple defenders and finding open shooters. He’ll essentially play the Brook Lopez role for the Bucks this year. With his sustained abilities to shoot near 50.0 percent from the field, make threes on high volume, and consistently erase shots at the rim, I think Turner will perform even better than where he’s being projected as a top 45-50 fantasy player in nine-category leagues.
As for Zion, this isn’t so much about me buying into his physical transformation during training camp as it is about me understanding that he’s an elite talent when he’s on the court, regardless. The former first-overall pick saw his points, rebounds, assists, blocks and steals per game all increase from the 2023-24 season to the 2024-25 campaign, despite averaging fewer than 30.0 minutes for the first time since his rookie season. I’d expect the numbers to climb once again as Williamson presumably logs more minutes per game than he did a season ago, which leaves me incredibly optimistic on how high he could rank come season’s end, if healthy. There has to be some good injury luck at some point, right?
🏀 Noah Rubin’s picks: F Ausar Thompson (Detroit Pistons) and G Brandin Podziemski (Golden State Warriors)
I’m all aboard the hype train for an Ausar breakout season. Last year, we enjoyed his brother Amen Thompson’s breakout, and when comparing the twins’ per-possession stats, Amen got the slight edge in most categories, but Ausar was a much better source of steals. The difference is that Ausar only played 22.5 minutes per game, while Amen got 32.3. Ausar is now locked in as a starter and should see a bump in minutes. Foul trouble was an issue for him last season, which could be a frustrating factor at times, but I think his production when he is on the floor will outweigh that. The shot will likely continue to be an issue, but he does more than enough as a defender, passer and cutter to compensate for it.
Podziemski was in and out of the starting lineup early last season and struggled to find his footing while battling injuries. However, he became a fixture of the starting unit in February and averaged 15.6 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.7 three-pointers per game over the rest of the season. Golden State took a while to fill out the rest of the roster, but they didn’t add anyone who should impact Podz’s place in the rotation. The Warriors have a ton of old guys on their roster, so the spry 22-year-old should be relied on often to help keep the veterans fresh.
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🏀 Raphielle Johnson’s picks: F Franz Wagner (Orlando Magic) and F OG Anunoby (New York Knicks)
While Magic forward Paolo Banchero has been tabbed by many as a breakout candidate this season, I think there’s a better fantasy option on his team’s roster. That would be Wagner, who offered top-40 per-game value in eight- and nine-cat formats last season. In 60 games, he averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.7 three-pointers, posting career-high marks in each category. If there’s a concern regarding Wagner, who shot 46.3 percent from the field and 87.1 percent from the foul line, it’s the three-point shooting. He only made 29.5 percent of his attempts last season and has shot below 30 percent each of the last two years. However, three-point percentage isn’t a scoring category in default fantasy leagues, so there’s no need to lose sleep over this.
Anunoby is my other choice, due mainly to the change that brought in Mike Brown to serve as the Knicks’ new head coach. In Brown’s two full seasons in Sacramento, the Kings were ranked in the top half of the NBA in offensive rating and pace, leading the league in the former category in 2022-23. While the Knicks were fifth in offensive rating last season, they were 26th in pace. Brown has vowed to speed things up, which may benefit a wing like Anunoby. A top-40 fantasy player last season, he averaged 18.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.9 blocks and 2.3 three-pointers in 74 appearances. If Brown successfully combined a faster pace with allowing his wings to make more plays on the ball, Anunoby should exceed his Yahoo! ADP (66.1) easily.
🏀 Zak Hanshew’s picks: G Cam Thomas (Brooklyn Nets) and G/F Kyshawn George (Washington Wizards)
Come on, what’s not to like about Cam Thomas? Over the final 18 games of the 2023-24 season, he broke out with averages of 26.6 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.7 triples on 45/37/89 shooting splits. He got off to a blistering start in 2024-25 before injuries derailed a promising season. Coming off a shortened campaign in which he averaged 24 points, 3.3 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.7 triples, Thomas will look to continue his ascension. After lengthy contract negotiations, he ultimately took a qualifying offer from Brooklyn, so he’ll be playing for pride and a new contract. Expect a monster season from a guy still looking to prove that he’s more than just “empty stats.” He’s my favorite fantasy player for the 2025-26 campaign, and I’ll be looking to roster him wherever I can.
As for George, he played solid rotation minutes for Washington as a rookie, logging 26.5 per night and starting 38 of 68 appearances. He took only eight shots a night, but 5.2 came from beyond the arc, highlighting his love of the deep ball. At 6-foot-9, George can play on the wing and at either forward position, and he’s equally versatile on the defensive end. His stats got a noticeable bump in games where he played at least 30 minutes, and he could see plenty of those this season. The former Miami Hurricane could open the season as a starter due to Bilal Coulibaly’s thumb injury, but even as a reserve, George should be one of the first guys off the bench. He can provide meaningful stats in several categories, and improvements in shooting percentages would be huge for his fantasy value.
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