Fantasy Basketball: How I'm Drafting the First Round (2026)

September 21, 2026

Dan Besbris explains why he would take each player in each of the first 12 draft slots of the first round of category leagues in fantasy basketball.

This year, drafting in head-to-head leagues based on 9-category player default ranks is a mistake.

We have said it a million times over the years: you can't win your league with a first-round pick, but you can absolutely lose it. Additionally, the right pick at the top of the board can set you up for easy selections the rest of the way, if done properly.

Freaky similarities in player stats in the middle and later parts of the first round have made choosing between those names nearly impossible, but we have a solution. Below, we will explore some potential pivots to make drafting simpler and create opportunities to gain an advantage on the masses.

The Undisputed Big Four

Pick #1 - Nikola Jokic
Yahoo Rank - 2

The masses may have Jokic second in line, but not me! There is simply no one in fantasy basketball doing as much in as many different categories as Nikola Jokic.

Jokic is elite in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals (particularly for a big man), and FG%. He's no slouch in three-pointers or FT%, either. Nikola Jokic is a rotisserie player's dream creation year after year.

The beauty of Jokic's fantasy game is that his wide variety of skills allow players to draft almost anyone they like in the second and third rounds and still have plenty of ways to build a solid team.

Hilariously, the only category where Jokic lags behind his peers is blocks. Teams looking to be strong in every category will want to focus on a more traditional shot-blocking big man in later rounds, but Jokic's unique stat set allows savvy head-to-head players to lean into a team that is weak in blocks to separate from the pack even further.

Pick #2 - Victor Wembanyama
Yahoo Rank - 1

Arguing between Nikola Jokic and Victor Wembanyama in the top-2 is a silly exercise, since you really can't go wrong with either stud, but for team-building purposes, the game is just a little easier with Jokic.

That, in turn, puts Wemby at #2 for me.

Wembanyama has the ability to post game-breaking fantasy lines, but the narrow gap between the first two horses comes down to how much of Wemby's value is tied up in one category: blocks.

Almost nobody in the NBA will give a fantasy team a bigger head-start in one area, and the Spurs franchise center is strong in scoring and rebounding as well, but being merely decent in threes, FG%, and FT% simply isn't quite enough for me to push him to number one.

Pick #3 - Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
Yahoo Rank - 4

Much like with the top two names, I'm in favor of flip-flopping the big board on picks three and four. This choice, however, is less clear-cut and may come down to your format of choice.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander provides hyper-elite percentages (best in the NBA when you consider them in aggregate), scoring, and steals, and while the variance of percentages on a week-to-week basis makes SGA a slightly harder player to build around, your opponents ignoring those categories should give you the chance to make them even stronger.

In the end, Shai is the clear choice for roto leagues at pick three. The debate between SGA and Doncic in head-to-head is a tougher one (don't sleep on a punt-three build around Shai), and may come down to your style of play.

Pick #4 - Luka Doncic
Yahoo Rank - 3

Because I feel strongly that far too few managers try to win the efficiency categories, Doncic slides in behind SGA for the fourth pick, but Luka is also a very easy choice here if he's still available in your draft.

But Doncic, like Jokic, makes drafting a fantasy team easy and fun. Luka brings monster contributions in points and threes, elite rebounds for a guard, and strong assists and steals. But where Jokic and Shai dominate percentages, Doncic is at risk of being a negative performer in both.

The exciting part about Doncic having weaknesses (turnovers also being a notable one) is that there are multiple easy-to-execute strategies to use moving forward. Players can grab another high-turnover volume player and start a guard-heavy squad. Poor foul shooters are on the table for players that want to work on a more big-laden team.

Stephen Curry ranked #1 in 3PT Shooting Talent 5 year in a row but was unseated last year by Luka Doncic.

Don't let his raw 3PT% fool you! He's an ELITE shot maker from 3, as we see on his Player Profile's Perimeter Shooting report card.

Full Profiles: https://t.co/AA6x5t6dKA pic.twitter.com/gyhZwDRcgq

— BBall Index (@The_BBall_Index) September 16, 2026

There's almost something liberating about being able to kick a category to the curb while still being as good in everything else as Luka allows, and that's why he should never slide past four.

Picks 5-8: No Man's Land?

Pick #5 - Cade Cunningham
Yahoo Rank - 5

Cade Cunningham is the consensus choice at pick five, and this is one that everybody is getting right.

Cunningham is your last chance to get a massive pile of assists without ruining an array of other categories in the process, and also gives teams an enviable start in defensive stats.

Normally, I might advise shying away from a guard-build fantasy team. In years past, Cunningham was one of four first-round picks that all funneled into the same strategy, but all that has changed for the 2026-27 season.

This year, Trae Young is going in the second round. James Harden is going in the third. Previously, fantasy managers had to draft those players in the top-15; now, managers have a shot to get all three!

The Cade Cunningham guard team is less optimal for a roto team, as it can lead to accidentally punting three categories. In head-to-head, though, it allows players to shuffle the draft board and attack poor shooting, preferably high-scoring players earlier than the competition. That, in turn, creates a playoff-ready fantasy squad that can reliably win 5-6 categories against any opponent, any week.

Pick #6 - Giannis Antetokounmpo
Yahoo Rank - 9

This pick is the big surprise for those who have followed my work. For a decade I have advised fantasy managers to skip Giannis in the first round because he forces teams to punt free throws right out of the chute.

This year, though, due to the similarities of subsequent picks and the dropoff in fantasy value after pick 17-18 in the second round, the 6-slot is the right time to take a hard left turn.

Much like with Cade Cunningham, drafting Giannis is not my favorite roto league strategy. In head-to-head, though, starting with Antetokounmpo's powerhouse numbers in most of the counting categories (besides three-pointers) is my preferred move.

Accept your fate and don't try to swim upstream. Instead, open up options in the second round that you might not have considered worthy otherwise. Alperen Sengun, a great scoring and passing center, becomes a good fit; Trae Young pairs well, providing scoring and assists to a team build that will likely have issues finding those categories later while stockpiling free-throw-bricking bigs.

The 5th and 6th pick slots are your last two chances to tip the draft board in your favor. Do it.

Pick #7 - Tyrese Maxey
Yahoo Rank - 6

After Giannis, the next player with an obvious build type is probably Tyrese Haliburton, and as much as I love his game, the risk is far too great for me to push him up this high. Instead, it's time to start diving into the group of players with eerily similar fantasy games, beginning with Tyrese Maxey.

We all know Maxey is going to take a hit this year. Where I believe folks have it wrong is thinking the hit is going to be substantial.

Maxey is still one of the alphas on this squad, and Joel Embiid's health means there will once again be a large portion of the season where Tyrese is the number one option. And while a dropoff from last season's robust numbers is likely, Maxey had a big enough lead on the players behind him in the rankings that I believe the dropoff will move him into the pack, as opposed to behind it.

From a pure numbers standpoint, Maxey is likely to give fantasy managers heavy positives in scoring, threes, steals, blocks (for a guard), and FT%. He is a plus in turnovers compared to nearby draft picks, and while his assist count isn't about to catch Cunningham, Doncic, or Jokic, it remains good enough to keep teams afloat.

Maxey gets the edge for me at pick seven because he has fewer weaknesses than the next few names.

Pick #8 - Anthony Edwards
Yahoo Rank - 7

Anthony Edwards slots in next on my board in this hair-splitting part of the first round because I think he has a bounce-back year in the health category.

Prior to this most recent campaign, you could count on one hand the number of games Ant was going to miss. I don't have a pile of data to back up this claim, but my gut (which many of you know is quite finicky) is all in on Edwards's returning to that prior form.

And that is, for better or worse, the only reason I have him ranked above Jalen Johnson, Jayson Tatum, and Tyrese Haliburton on this list. I believe every player on this list from Maxey through Donovan Mitchell ends up within 10 spots of each other on the per-game rank board. Anthony Edwards beats (most of) those others when he hits 75-plus games played.

And sure, having a serious head start in scoring, threes, and steals is pretty good, too. Your team will likely lag behind others in assists, so consider punting that category and instead focus more on scoring efficiently with a healthy dose of defense.

Picks 9-12: Perfect Pairing Partners

Pick #9 - Jalen Johnson
Yahoo Rank - 10

Ah, a player with a slightly different fantasy game. How refreshing! But wait. Is Jalen Johnson just Nikola Jokic but anywhere from barely to moderately weaker in every single category?

Nikola Jokic says he’s been watching the Hawks recently because of Jalen Johnson 🃏🗣️

“I watched Atlanta a few times recently, you know, because of that kid Jalen Johnson.”

“He is an interesting player. He’s like a little fawn. He’s good.”

🎙️ @XOsChat pic.twitter.com/BXvOisi386

— DNVR Nuggets (@DNVR_Nuggets) March 8, 2026

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but yes, Jalen Johnson is indeed basically just that. And that means beating the team that started with Jokic is going to be incredibly difficult. In roto leagues, making better picks ove the next 10 rounds can cover that gap, but for most of you who prefer a weekly battle against your best friend from college, we need to get creative.

I still really like Jalen Johnson at pick 10 because of his more unique skill set, but trying to build a balanced team is a guaranteed rump-kicking in head-to-head leagues if you face off against the Jokic team in your league or an opponent with a well-executed punt.

The answer? Punt harder! Punt blocks if you like. Punt points if you prefer. Either way, getting that rebounds-and-assists combination out of a frontcourt player is a blast, and we can make it work.

Pick #10 - Jayson Tatum
Yahoo Rank - 8

I am a little lower on Tatum than most, despite agreeing with what all of you are saying. Yes, Tatum is going to score a ton; he rebounds well for a wing, and hits a ton of three-pointers. But I feel like those counting stats being bright green on the ledger distract fantasy managers from weaknesses that, this season, are somewhat hard to fix.

Jayson Tatum is going to get teams off to a slow start in defensive stats and FG%, and fixing those puts a huge dent in the categories where Tatum teams previously held an edge! On the other side, if you then choose to ignore FG% and steals and draft mostly score-first players, you end up with a team that is very good in three categories but will struggle to grab three to four more.

I believe the best move for teams drafting Tatum early is to turn your brain off. Stop thinking about pairings and build, and instead simply grab the player with the best chance to succeed.

By December, you will have a much better idea about team strengths and weaknesses. Swing a few mid-season trades to get your club playoff-ready, and if you drafted well, you should have plenty of assets to use to get those deals done.

Pick #11 - Tyrese Haliburton
Yahoo Rank - 12

Ask me to write this same article again in three weeks, and I might move Haliburton up to pick seven. I love how unique Haliburton's fantasy game is compared to other first-round picks.

Almost none of Haliburton's value is tied up in scoring, making a points punt a no-brainer. Additionally, Haliburton provides hyper-elite assists with ultra-low turnovers. That rare combination allows fantasy managers the leeway to go get more assists in the second and third round while still likely holding an edge in giveaways over the other guard-heavy teams.

Haliburton is also strong in defensive stats, which makes low-scoring steals or blocks specialists jump in value.

If it weren't for a catastrophic leg injury suffered only 15 months ago, I'd be all in on Tyrese. As it is, I am awfully close.

Pick #12 - Donovan Mitchell
Yahoo Rank - 11

Didn't get Tyrese Maxey? That's fine, he's right here, too, just with a different name. Maxey and Donovan Mitchell have almost identical fantasy games (Maxey had a slight edge in blocks), but the beauty of Mitchell is that you can grab him at the tail end of the first round and have another pick right after!

I have a tendency to get a little silly near the tail end of articles, but I must stress how important that fact is.

The players at the beginning of the second round are bona fide studs that have legitimate first-round potential. The players going six to eight picks later are not.

If you are worried about Mitchell's lack of shot-blocking, grab Scottie Barnes or Cooper Flagg. If you prefer to tip the other way, Kevin Durant, Jamal Murray, and Austin Reaves are all available.

I still don't like how Mitchell, Maxey, Edwards and Tatum-led fantasy teams might all, either on purpose or by accident, end up fighting for the same player pool, but if you land one of them, I'd rather like having the pick of the litter in the next round.

That's a Wrap

If these meandering thoughts brought you to any conclusion, it remains that the top four players have a sizable advantage in building a fantasy team.

If you are not lucky enough to land one of those picks, getting creative with player strengths is the next best path. Hopefully, the above guide gets you at least part of the way there.

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