Third-Year Fantasy Basketball Breakouts for 2025-26

September 18, 2025

Aidin analyzes 4 third-year fantasy basketball breakouts, sleepers for 2025-26 drafts. These NBA risers could be under-the-radar fantasy basketball picks.

We're just a few weeks away from the start of the 2025-26 NBA preseason, and around a month away from the start of the regular season. This offseason wasn't as "wild" as most fans and analysts had predicted, as teams are focused on copying the Thunder's blueprint and developing their young players.

When it comes to young players, their third season is crucial. 160 players throughout NBA history have averaged over 20 points per game in their third seasons, which include iconic seasons such as 2005-06 Dwyane Wade, 2010-11 Derrick Rose, and the highest-scoring seasons of GOAT candidates Michael Jordan, LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and Wilt Chamberlain. Seven out of the last 16 Most Improved Player winners have been third-year players, including last year's winner, Dyson Daniels.

If you can find the next third-year breakout, you'll get closer to winning your fantasy basketball leagues this year. Without further ado, let's look at four third-year players who can take the next step in the 2025-26 season.

Brandon Miller, SF/PF, Charlotte Hornets

Brandon Miller showed lots of promise as a rookie, and he began to shoot more in the 2024-25 season. In his last 14 games of the 2024 calendar year, Miller averaged 25.3 points and 5.6 rebounds a night and had six games with over five three-pointers made.

Yes, Brandon Miller is the next Paul George. This is why it's written in the stars!
A thread 🧵 @brandmillerr @Yg_Trece pic.twitter.com/YlTicoyMyZ

— Aidin (@NFLAidin) November 29, 2024

However, ankle injuries limited his playing time after the new year, and he eventually missed the rest of the season due to a torn ligament in his right wrist. Now, Miller is entering a crucial year, as he wants to show he can be the team's second star behind LaMelo Ball moving forward.

NBA teams are constantly shuffling their rosters, and that's the case even for a "bad" franchise like Charlotte. It signed Collin Sexton and drafted Kon Knueppel and Liam McNeeley, and Miller is motivated to prove that he deserves touches over these players so he can earn a big extension.

Also, Miller's favorite player of all time is Paul George. Miller and George have many, many similarities (see the thread above); for instance, they both had career-high nights in their age-22 season on November 21st, which is one of those wild sports coincidences that we all love. George won the MIP Award in his third season, and Miller has a chance at following in his favorite player's footsteps by doing the same.

Cam Whitmore, SF/PF, Washington Wizards

Despite not playing much early on and having to spend time in the G-League, Cam Whitmore put the league on notice in his rookie season, averaging 14.4 PPG in his last 27 games of the 2023-24 season. However, the rise of Amen Thompson caused the team's culture to transform.

Cam Whitmore has shown scoring flashes pic.twitter.com/5ykUtPDOU4

— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) August 18, 2025

The Rockets suddenly became contenders with a defense-first mentality, and head coach Ime Udoka couldn't afford to give Whitmore enough minutes to help him develop. The arrival of Kevin Durant was the final nail in the coffin, and the Rockets traded him to the Wizards this offseason. In Washington, Whitmore can finally play in an environment without much pressure and get consistent minutes on a bad team.

Veterans such as CJ McCollum (who happened to win the Most Improved Player award in his third season) and Khris Middleton can help Whitmore learn more about what it takes to be a star, as he grows alongside youngsters such as Alexandre Sarr.

Don't forget, Whitmore has played 17 games with over 25 minutes in his career, and has put up 17.7 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting 39.1% from behind the arc. On a rebuilding team that will have little motivation to play veterans down the stretch, Whitmore could see enough court time to be a difference maker in fantasy leagues this season.

Gradey Dick, SG/SF, Toronto Raptors

After a nightmare start to his NBA career, Gradey Dick was assigned to the G League. Despite an equally terrible start to life with the Raptors 905, Dick didn't quit, and eventually became an important part of the Raptors' NBA rotation as a rookie.

Y’all picked ’em 👀 Gradey’s Top 5 plays of the season are here. pic.twitter.com/9hkYchkeda

— Toronto Raptors (@Raptors) July 6, 2025

Big expectations were placed upon him by HC Darko Rajakovic heading into his sophomore campaign, and Dick initially responded well. He averaged 18.2 points a night in his first 25 games of the year, as he was one of the NBA's leaders in miles traveled and off-screen shot attempts.

However, this intense play style was far too demanding for someone this young, and his knees quickly gave out. His numbers and efficiency fell off, and he was eventually shut down after dealing with knee injuries for most of the campaign.

Having learned from last season's mistakes, Rajakovic is still a big believer.

"He’s young, I don’t expect that he has all the answers and tools to do it right now," Rajakovic said. "But I’m a big believer that he’s going to be able to in the long run."

Dick is also working on his conditioning to handle the rigors of a full NBA season with Rajakovic's playing style and his finishing at the rim (58.2% in 2024-25), which are the only things holding him back from becoming an offensive star. Of course, it'd also be ideal if Dick could become a more impactful defensive player to earn even more playing time, which is always a good thing in fantasy basketball.

Scoot Henderson, PG, Portland Trail Blazers

Much like Gradey Dick, Scoot Henderson had a nightmare start to his NBA career. He shot 36.4% from the field and 29.1% from three in his first 35 games, but he started to figure things out once he began to start more games, as he put up 16.1 points and 6.4 assists a night on better shooting splits (41/36/88) in his last 27 games to end his rookie year.

All eyes on Scoot. pic.twitter.com/ujU05WpK59

— Portland Trail Blazers (@trailblazers) June 8, 2025

However, with Anfernee Simons and Shaedon Sharpe returning to relatively full health, Henderson's starting opportunities diminished. He still had some great performances, such as a 39-point career night against the Nets in January.

Now that Simons is gone, Henderson no longer has to "compete" with youngsters for minutes. The team added Jrue Holiday in the offseason, who is one of the most seasoned veterans in the league, and is expected to help Henderson become a better defender.

And, of course, it brought Damian Lillard back. Henderson was supposed to be Lillard's replacement, but now they're teammates. Lillard isn't expected to play much (or at all) this season, which gives Henderson the perfect opportunity to establish himself as "the guy."

According to NBA insider Zach Lowe, Henderson was "super enthusiastic" about Lillard's return and doesn't feel threatened "at all." With a year as the team's starting PG while learning from Lillard and Holiday, Henderson can finally silence his critics.

Also, he's fully healthy this offseason, and HC Chauncey Billups believes this could be huge for his potential breakout season.

"This year, he’s been playing ball all summer," Billups said. "He’s been working on his game. Scoot is going to take an incredible leap this year."

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