Fantasy Basketball Punting Guide and Strategies - Top Targets for 2025-26 Drafts

Max Kulish's fantasy basketball punting guide, punting strategies, and top sleepers for 2025-2026. He gives you his favorite targets if you decide to punt categories.

When drafting your fantasy team, there are several different strategies that you can deploy. Rather than blindly building out your roster based on who's available, it's crucial to enter your draft with a well-defined game plan.

Over the last decade, punting categories have become a tactical strategy across the fantasy community. If you aren't familiar with the term, Hashtag Basketball describes it this way. "Punting is when you ignore a specific category in your draft to maximize your chances of drafting players who make your other categories stronger. Punting a player's worst category can increase their value, making it easier to find players more valuable than where you can usually draft them."

Punting can be a necessary evil; chances are you're not going to be able to assemble a team that can legitimately compete in all nine categories week after week. I let my first 2-3 picks determine my strategy regarding punting, as opposed to going in with a set plan of what categories I don't care about. The four most popular categories to punt are threes, free-throw percentage, field goal percentage, and assists. In this piece, I'll discuss the ins and outs of punting these four categories and run through a couple of guys whose value will spike as a result.

Targets For Punt Threes Builds

Shooting 3's is so heavily ingrained in the NBA at this point that it's near-impossible to assemble a team with no 3-point shooting. However, 3-point shooters are one of the two most common "specialist" categories (along with rebounds), so by choosing to punt on 3's, what you're really doing is actively deciding that all 3-point specialists (guys like Sam Hauser, Donte DiVincenzo, or Duncan Robinson) are off your board no matter what.

Punting threes is an interesting strategy that allows you to eliminate players from the queue who are primarily good three-point shooters. As a result, you'll find that most of your options will now be big men or guys who dominate the paint. This also has the potential trickle-down effect to help your overall field goal percentage, as most of your guys' shot attempts will come from mid-range or close distance.

When removing threes from the equation, you'll notice how many players' value is attached to the ability to shoot the long ball, and plenty of mid-late-round guys jump the ranks and move up into the first handful of rounds. Here are a few of my favorite guys to target when implementing the punt threes strategy.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander - PG, Oklahoma City Thunder

The reigning Finals MVP is undoubtedly the best scorer in today's NBA, and he does it without relying on his outside shot. He averaged the most 3's of his career last year; however, that figure was only 2.1 per game. He plays on a team loaded with outside shooters, so it's not typically a role he needs to fill.

Jimmy Butler - SF/PF, Golden State Warriors

Butler is a wing player who doesn't even average one made 3 per game. He's been the poster boy in this punt strategy for years at this point, and now that he's a Warrior, he's an even better fit for punting 3's. In Miami, he was always leaned on as their clear #1 scoring option, which is certainly not the case when playing alongside Steph Curry.

Dyson Daniels - SG/SF, New Orleans Pelicans

Daniels had a breakout year in his first year in Atlanta, averaging career-highs across the board. While that does include 3s made and attempted, those averages were only 1.1 and 3.1, respectively. Finding viable guards is the most challenging part of punting 3s. Daniels is an excellent option for this strategy due to his multi-positional designation and the fact that he'll provide a massive advantage in steals, as he led the league with three per game last season; second place was at 1.8 per game.

T.J. McConnell - PG, Indiana Pacers

It's still unclear who will move into Tyrese Haliburton's spot in the Pacers' starting lineup, but even if McConnell stays in his 6th man role, he's still a lock to see elevated playing time. McConnell's game is predicated on penetration and facilitation, as he's never averaged more than .4 made 3s per game once in his 10-year career. His scoring numbers aren't going to move the needle, but he's a legitimate asset for assists and steals, which are the focuses for guards when punting 3s.

Also consider: Scottie Barnes, Zion Williamson, DeMar DeRozan

Targets For Punt FT% Builds

Punting free-throw percentage can lend itself to building a well-rounded team, but it can feel like you're restricted in your options at times. Unless you draft a specific player in the first round (more on him in a second), you're not likely to know this is a punt-worthy category until you're starting to hit the middle rounds (rounds 4-8).

If you adopt this strategy, you'll end up with a lineup that's heavy on big men, but that goes hand-in-hand with success in categories like rebounds, blocks, and FG%.

Because the majority of big men are typically worse free-throw shooters, there is a great opportunity here to double down on blocks and rebounds. Here are my favorite targets when implementing the punt free-throw strategy.

Giannis Antetokounmpo - PF/C, Milwaukee Bucks

Giannis is the key to this strategy. If he's your first-round pick, you should immediately have punting FT% as a strategy in mind for the rest of your draft. He shot a league-worst (among qualified players) 61.7% from the line last year, which was the worst mark of his career. His poor free-throw shooting forces him to the back end of the first round, so if you can build your punt free-throw team around him, you have the chance to do something special.

Unsurprisingly, he sees the biggest value jump of all players when you remove free throws from the equation. I will note that if your league plays by "Total Number of Free Throws Made" and not by percentage, Giannis is an absolute stud in that scenario.

Jaylen Brown - SG/SF, Boston Celtics

The de facto #1 option in Boston as a result of Jayson Tatum's injury, Brown's already large workload figures to increase. With the Celtics losing both Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, they'll be leaning even more heavily on their backcourt to provide scoring. Derrick White and newcomer Anfernee Simons are both more of a threat from outside. I expect Brown's team-leading 12.7 drives per game figure from last season to increase significantly, which means more (missed) free throws.

Rudy Gobert - C, Minnesota Timberwolves

Gobert, like Giannis, has been a poor FT shooter for his entire decade-plus tenure in the NBA. Obviously, you won't get major offensive numbers from him, but he's an absolute beast defensively. He's still one of the most dominant defensive forces in the league, and his lack of offensive production pairs perfectly with the two other players mentioned, who are #1 scoring options on their respective teams.

Also Consider: Paolo Banchero, LeBron James, RJ Barrett, Jonathan Kuminga

Targets For Punt FG% Builds

Our first two punt strategies have been geared more toward playing through big men, but that's not the case here. If you're punting FG%, you want all the ball-handling, shot-chucking guards and forwards your roster can hold. With this strategy, you'll be stronger with offensive categories and likely weaker in categories like blocks and rebounds. Ultimately, we're looking to sacrifice efficiency for sheer volume.

Trae Young - PG, Atlanta Hawks

Young has always been a high-usage player throughout his career. Last year, he "only" averaged a 29.5% usage rate, good for 10th in the NBA. He has the lowest FG% out of those in the top 10 of usage rate, at 41.1%. I believe he'll be a bit more efficient with scoring this year since he'll have more offensive talent around him, but after seven years in the NBA, he's still only a 43% shooter from the field. It's fair to say this is who he is as a player. He remains an elite fantasy asset due to his absurd assist numbers, and if he's your first-round selection, you should absolutely consider punting on FG%.

LaMelo Ball - PG/SG, Charlotte Hornets

Ball only played in 47 games last year, so he didn't qualify for most of the season-long statistical rankings, but his 21.3 shot attempts per game would have landed him second in the league in attempts per game. Pair that with an abysmal 40.5% FG%, and you've got a perfect fit for a strategy that prioritizes volume over efficiency. When he actually does play, he typically produces a well-rounded fantasy stat line. Deep down, he's still the shot-chucking 16-year-old at Chino Hills, but we can embrace that when punting on efficiency.

Jordan Poole - PG/SG, New Orleans Pelicans

Poole has a well-deserved reputation as one of the biggest shot-chuckers in the NBA. He shot just over 43% from the field last season as the primary scoring option on a very young and inexperienced Wizards team on 15.5 attempts per game. Now on the Pelicans, he appears to be in an extremely similar role as the primary perimeter offense generator on a young and inexperienced team.

Alexandre Sarr - PF/C, Washington Wizards

Much like how the guard options are limited when punting FT%, bigs that fit a build of punting FG% are few and far between. Speaking of those young and inexperienced Wizards, Sarr looks like a perfect fit for a strategy like punting FG%. He shot a terrible 39.4% from the field, good for third-worst in the league among qualified players. It's reasonable to expect him to improve in his sophomore year, but even if he were to improve to 45%, that would still comfortably put him on the low end of big men.

Also Consider: Anthony Edwards, Kristaps Porzingis, Draymond Green

Targets For Punt Assists Builds

Punting assists is simply avoiding players who typically put up high assist numbers. Most of the top assist mavens happen to be point guards with the ball in their hands frequently, so deploying this strategy should also indirectly cut down on your turnover numbers because you can't turn the ball over if you're not the one handling it. By punting on assists, you might be dealing with a bit more volatility due to having a roster largely comprised of wings & bigs.

Kevin Durant - SF/PF, Houston Rockets

The Rockets went all-in on this iteration of their roster when they made the trade for KD over the summer. They brought Durant in for one specific reason: to be their closer and get buckets. The Rockets were excellent in many facets last year, but their lack of iso scoring reared its ugly head in the playoffs when they were upset in the first round by the Warriors. The Rockets were tied for fourth-worst in the NBA at .84 points per iso possession, while the Suns finished first at 1.04. Durant's assist numbers have been declining steadily over the last few years, and in his new role in H-Town, that trend should continue.

Lauri Markkanen - SF/PF, Utah Jazz

Markkanen averaged less than two assists per game last season and was the only non-center under two assists per game in the consensus top 60 players. He's an excellent shooter and is his team's primary offensive option, and finding a primary option that isn't a ballhandler isn't exactly easy to do. It should be noted that he'll be one of the hottest trade candidates on the market this year, but that shouldn't have any effect on his assist numbers.

Michael Porter Jr. - SF/PF, Brooklyn Nets

After being traded from Denver to the rebuilding Nets, the green light should be greener than ever for MPJ. Boasting a career average of 1.4 assists per game through six seasons, it's fair to say facilitating is not one of his strong suits. Granted, he has played with the best passer in the league in a catch-and-shoot role, so that number will likely increase in Brooklyn. Even still, he'll be much lower on the assist leaderboards compared to other primary scoring options.

Shaedon Sharpe - SG/SF,  Portland Trailblazers

Sharpe is a quintessential SG - he takes a lot of shots (15.3 per game) and 3's (6.6 per game) and doesn't pass the ball often (averaging less than 3 assists per game in his two years as a full-time player). Sharpe has had a world of opportunity open up in Portland's backcourt with the departure of Anfernee Simons, an injury to Scoot Henderson, and the arrival of Jrue Holiday, who is a pass-first PG at this point in his career. Sharpe is one of my favorite late-round upside picks in all of fantasy basketball this year, and he's perfect if you're punting assists.

Also Consider: Jalen Johnson, Tyler Herro, Myles Turner, Aaron Gordon

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