The NBA fantasy season is quickly approaching, and with it, a whole new class of rookies to draft from. Even though this year didn’t have a tier-one player like Wemby, we still think there is some stellar value in this rookie class, with guys who could be late-round sleepers or have high productivity on bad teams. What this rookie class lacked in top-level talent, it made up for in depth. Even some second-round players may be worth a look at! We’ll walk you through our favorite rookies to pick up for this NBA fantasy basketball season!
Dalton is first on our list because we think he’s a lock to get a ton of minutes on a team that isn’t garbage. Going 17th in the draft, he ended up on the LA Lakers. The 23-year-old rookie from Tennessee proved himself on one of the biggest basketball stages in the world in the NCAA tournament and SEC. He’s a polished scorer who is looking to fill the hole in perimeter scoring the Lakers have. He’s a plug-and-play type of rookie who will likely see a reasonably hefty workload early in his career.
Standing at 6’5, he's a tweener between being an SF and SG, but whatever he plays, he’ll end up in the corner taking kick-out threes from AD and LeBron. If everything goes right for the former Vol, we could see him putting up consistent numbers early. We would say keep an eye out for Kneckt in the later rounds of your draft. He could be a steal!
Ware started his college career at the University of Oregon, but failing to make a mark, he transferred to Indiana, where he shone in his sophomore year. The 7-foot center showed his versatility all over the court. He managed to end his 2nd year with an impressive state line of nearly 20 points a game and 10 rebounds a game, shooting over 40% from 3 while affecting the paint on defense. He’s a talented two-way player built for success in an NBA that highly values shooting bigs. Somehow, he fell to 15, where the Miami Heat snatched him up.
Even though Miami already has a full-time starting center in Bam, Ware could find some time on the court as well. Going two big or playing off-the-bench minutes will give Ware tons of opportunity. He’ll be able to clean up rebounds and block shots, and if that shot holds up, he’ll be devastating! He’ll likely go low in most drafts or fall out of the draft entirely, but he should be a guy to watch.
Following up with another big man, most people will be familiar with Zach Edey, the 7’5 center from Purdue who has been one of the best college basketball players in recent memory. His elite touch around the rim made him college basketball's most important player. With elite size and hands, the sky is the limit for him. Landing on Memphis as the 9th pick, there is a ton of opportunity for Edey to shine. Filling in the Steven Adams roll from two years ago, he’ll have plenty of lob opportunities running the pick-and-roll with Ja Morant. Edey might not be a sleeper like other guys on this list. He could easily be a starter and start his NBA career off with some impressive splits. We think he’s an excellent reserve big for a fantasy team if you can get him cheap. We have no idea how many minutes he’ll be playing, but if it's anywhere over 25 min a game, Edey will be a dependable player in fantasy every night!
Carrington is an interesting case. Normally, we prefer to avoid the teams we think are going to suck, but Carrington is the exception. The 6’4 PG is in a unique role on this Wizards team, as he could be the starter. That Wizards roster is a bit rough when it comes to the guard position, taking a swing on Johnny Davis, which hasn't panned out. Jordan Poole landed there somehow and hasn’t shown himself to be a high-quality starter. They did land Malcolm Brogdon in the same trade from Portland that landed the Wizards the 14th pick they used on Carrington. However, we expect Brogdon will have a limited impact on this team as they look for a trade partner.
Based on what we’ve seen out of Carrington early, he might be the best option for them to start at PG. He has size skill, and pairing him early with the number two pick, Alexandre Sarr, could build early chemistry. As a sleeper or a name to keep an eye on waivers later in the year, Carrington could become a solid roster addition. With his ability to score and rack up assists, he’s an appealing name to take a flyer on.
Finishing up with Reed Sheppard out of Kentucky. Sheppard had an impressive year at Kentucky even though he came off the bench for most of the year. The freshman showed he was an elite shooter with one of the best shots in college basketball last year. The hype surrounding Sheppard only grew as we inched toward the draft. When the Rockets landed the 3rd pick in the draft, he became a nature fit for the roster. Sheppard will fall right into place on this hungry roster. Even though they have a true starting PG in Fred Vanvleet, Sheppard should see plenty of minutes. If he can keep up his elite level of shooting, he’ll be a dominant force behind the rest of that Rockets roster.
Sheppard might be a wait-and-see guy, though. As much as we love the guy, we’ll need to see his role on this Houston team, and if the shooting holds—plenty of elite shooters in college struggle to find their footing in the NBA. So we’d say, keep an eye on him on waivers, or if you have a good feeling about him, stash him on your bench late in the draft!