Fantasy Basketball Stat-Stuffers To Draft in 2026-27

September 23, 2026

Andrew Ball examines which players to take in each stage of your draft that can help you win multiple categories in your 2026-27 fantasy basketball leagues.

Think of the NBA's greatest players. You're picturing plenty of the best scorers, aren't you?

But scoring points is only a fraction of the fantasy basketball equation in category leagues. We need stats in eight other categories to field competitive teams.

Although some of these players may still be elite bucket-getters, they fill the stat sheet in other ways. Here are some of my favorite peripheral stat-stuffers in early, middle, and late rounds that you should consider drafting this season.

Peripheral Monsters: Early Round Targets

Kawhi Leonard, SF/PF - Toronto Raptors

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 4
• Current Yahoo Rank: 33
• Strongest Categories: FT%, STL, 3PM

Look past the Aspiration investigation. No, look further, behind the injury issues that consistently keep Kawhi Leonard under 70 games (at best). There, you can find one of the best all-around fantasy basketball options.

The 35-year-old has essentially converted more than half of his shot attempts in the last five seasons (49.8% in 2024/25). He’s good for 2+ threes per game. He was a hair under 90% from the charity stripe last season. He initially built his reputation on the defensive end, with a career average of 1.7 steals. Oh, and he just put together a career year in the points department (27.9).

Rebounds, assists, and blocks are the “weak point” categories. I’m not going to complain about 6.4 boards, 3.1 dimes, and 0.6 rejections.

What does his future look like in Toronto? The usage may slip just a smidge with Immanuel Quickley and Scottie Barnes also capable of running the offense. However, an all-switchable lineup when Jakob Poeltl is on the bench leads to team rebounding. Otherwise, barring an injury, it’s all systems go again for Leonard.

Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C - New York Knicks

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 25
• Current Yahoo Rank: 15
• Strongest Categories: REB, FT%, PTS

Karl-Anthony Towns may not be "the greatest big man shooter of all time", but he's a damn good one, and it translates well to fantasy hoops.

Like Leonard, he's above 50% from the field in four of his last five seasons. He sports an 84% career average from the line and has scored 20 points per game every season since his rookie year. That and his rebounds (11.9 per game last season) are the safe stats. Assists are the primary variable.

In the regular season, Towns was basically in line with his 3.1 career average. In the postseason, however, when the Knicks played their best basketball, Towns bumped that number up to 4.9.

Karl-Anthony Towns' playmaking against the Hawks cannot be understated.

The Knicks finished the series shooting 36-51 (71%) off his passes 🎯

Since ESPN began tracking assist opportunities in the postseason in 2015, there have been 444 instances of a player creating 50 shots… https://t.co/nq41NDWVsI

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) May 1, 2026

New York utilized him as the offensive hub. It was obviously successful, so why wouldn't that continue into the new season?

Trey Murphy III, SF/PF - New Orleans Pelicans

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 11
• Current Yahoo Rank: 35
• Strongest Categories: 3PM, STL, FT%

Trey Murphy III is the Kyren Williams of fantasy basketball: an underrated player ranked among the biggest names in the game, yet always puts up comparable numbers.

There's a reason the 26-year-old is constantly rumored as a hot commodity in the trade market, and why New Orleans has refused to move him. He's the perfect fit for any roster and lethal in the game we play online. He was below average in one category last season: blocks.

Where he really shined was as a shooter: 3.2 threes per game (8th in the league) and shot 88% or better from the free-throw line for the fourth time in five seasons. The FG% average (47%) is, well, average, but it's not dragging down your roster. Toss in the peripherals -- 1.8 steals, 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists, and just 1.8 turnovers -- and you have one of the most well-rounded players in hoops.

Peripheral Monsters: Middle-Round Targets

OG Anunoby, SF/PF - New York Knicks

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 35
• Current Yahoo Rank: 71
• Strongest Categories: STL, 3PM, BLK

OG Anunoby, arguably the most important player in the NBA Finals, remains underrated. Towns and Jalen Brunson captured the headlines and led the scoring efforts, but Anunoby does everything else while chipping in 15-18 points per game.

Of course, Anunoby's fantasy basketball argument begins on the defensive end. He's swiped 1.78 basketballs per game counting back to the 2019-20 season. He finished seventh among forwards in the category last year. Toss in 0.7 blocks per contest since the same season, and we're looking at ~2.5 "stocks" per game. Simply amazing.

Defensive attention on Towns and Brunson allows Anunoby to park in the corner. He knocked down 44% of his attempts from both corners en route to 2.3 threes. He's hit two or more per game since 2020-21. His free-throw percentage has more or less steadily improved throughout his career, now above 81% for consecutive seasons.

Yahoo has the 29-year-old ranked in the middle of the sixth round. I'm making that selection every time.

Brandon Miller, SF/PF - Charlotte Hornets

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 56
• Current Yahoo Rank: 46
• Strongest Categories: 3PM, FT%, PTS

With LaMelo Ball now in Minnesota, Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel are the Charlotte offensive engines.

Hornets - Ivo Strong - Brandon Miller

First play of the game: Iverson screens, followed by staggered down screen for Miller out of the right corner pic.twitter.com/TOBIdA7OvW

— Brian Geisinger (@bgeis_bird) September 12, 2026

Coby White is slated to win the starting point guard job, and while he's a solid veteran, he's much more of a score-first combo guard than a distributor. His career assist average? 3.9.

Miller totaled 3.3 dimes per game last season. That number should rise. In the very limited three-game sample size last season when Miller played without Ball, the former averaged five assists. The sticky stats are threes (first-round value), free throw percentage (third-round value), and points.

Onyeka Okongwu, PF/C - Atlanta Hawks

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 41
• Current Yahoo Rank: 50
• Strongest Categories: BLK, REB

The Atlanta Hawks have their retooled two-deep, but the impact on Onyeka Okongwu should be minimal. Jonathan Kuminga, Zaccharie Risacher, and Gabe Vincent have turned into Lugentz Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Kingston Flemings. But Jock Landale turned into, well, Jock Landale.

Replacement-level bigs on the roster led to career-high marks in minutes (31.0), points (15.2), threes (1.9), assists (3.1), and steals (1.1) for Okongwu, and while they weren't quite his season-best numbers, the rebound (7.6) and block (1.1) averages are nothing to scoff at.

Okongwu attempted 383 deep balls a season ago, 150 more than his previous five seasons combined. Because of his newfound perimeter campsite, his offensive-rebounding opportunities slipped from 3 to 1.9 per game. That is essentially the difference in his total boards average from 2024-25 to 25-26.

The outside shooting also contributed to a career-low field goal percentage (48%, down from a career 57.3%). It's a choice you'll need to make while building your roster: Do you want the bonus three-point shooting from your center spot, or the field goal percentage boost from a rim-runner?

Here's the thing: Of the 17 fantasy-eligible centers on Fantrax who knocked down at least 100 threes, Okongwu ranked eighth in field-goal percentage. Okongwu is really only below average from the charity stripe (75.7%).

Peripheral Monsters: Late-Round Targets

Ayo Dosunmu, PG/SG/SF - Minnesota Timberwolves

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 95
• Current Yahoo Rank: 110
• Strongest Categories: PTS, FG%, FT%

The Minnesota Timberwolves, already a top-heavy team, lost most of their depth when they salary-dumped Julius Randle and shipped Naz Reid to Charlotte in the LaMelo Ball trade, about a month and a half after Donte DiVincenzo tore his Achilles. The Jonathan Kuminga addition helps and is bringing Ayo Dosunmu's ADP down, and I'm totally okay with that.

Dosunmu will get plenty of opportunities, both on and off the ball, in the upcoming season. Ball hasn't posted fewer than seven assists per game since his debut campaign. Dosunmu shot 41.4% on catch-and-shoot deep ball attempts, highlighting the strong shooting metrics across the board. The former second-round pick has made over half of his career field goals and is better than 80% on freebies. He helped his average last year, knocking down 87.6%, albeit on about two attempts per game.

Dosunmu, in his 13 Minnesota starts, posted a respectable 2.5:1 turnover ratio. The mistakes stay low while the percentages stay high. Add in some solid averages in points, threes, and steals.

Brandin Podziemski, PG/SG - Golden State Warriors

• Last Season 9-CAT Per-Game Value: 125
• Current Yahoo Rank: 116
• Strongest Categories: STL, REB, 3PM

Maybe "monster" isn't the right word, but Brandin Podziemski's going to deliver plenty of good-not-great numbers. It's not a high-upside pick, but Podz can easily fill a need, depending on the roster build.

The Warriors took a unique approach to the offseason by essentially running it back after striking out in the LeBron James sweepstakes. The only notable change in the two-deep was drafting Yaxel Lendeborg to replace Kuminga, who was dealt before the trade deadline last season. Stephen Curry, Podz, and De'Anthony Melton man a very thin backcourt.

And, to that point, the Warriors aren't any younger. Curry missed half the year in his age-37 season. Jimmy Butler (knee) may not be available until the calendar turns. Kristaps Porzingis has averaged 43.6 games played in his last three seasons. There will be ample usage for Podz, and his per-game numbers are as steady as they come.

The improved free-throw conversion rate accounts for the bump in points per game. But you know exactly what you're getting in rebounds, assists, threes, and stocks. The numbers don't jump off the page, but he finished 11th in total rebounds among guards.

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