Fantasy Basketball: League-Winning Late Fliers (2026)

October 10, 2026

Dan Besbris provides his values values from the later rounds of fantasy basketball drafts for the upcoming 2026-2027 season.

Everyone always wants to know who you are drafting first. The fantasy community simply cannot get enough content on the 15 best players in the world. I am absolutely guilty of feeding that machine, too.

Come a little closer, now, and soak in the worst-kept secret in fantasy basketball. The truly fun part of your draft comes in the final four rounds. This is the zero-pressure, all-upside final 20 minutes where most of the picks end up back on the waiver wire before mid-November. Most...but not all.

I also believe that fantasy managers should begin to take shots in the 8th round of a standard league draft. The vast majority of predictable names have already been selected by then, so let this be your permission slip to get a little wild earlier than you have done in the past. That said, I will only cover players ranked outside the first 95 names, which aligns a bit more closely with when an intermediate draft starts to pivot toward unpredictability and upside-chasing.

The Huge Values (My Favorites)

These late grabs have big-time potential and surprisingly low risk and should be grabbed first.

Collin Murray-Boyles - F/C
Yahoo Rank - 102

I am excited beyond belief at the season Murray-Boyles is about to put together. Darko Rajakovic has already told us that Murray-Boyles will be logging minutes at both power forward and center, and is expected to play alongside Jakob Poeltl for stretches as well.

Darko Rajakovic says Collin Murray-Boyles will see time at both the four and five, potentially even alongside Jakob Poeltl.

(Pretty clear how the smaller lineups will function, that pairing will be interesting to see what they can do spacing-wise.)

— Blake Murphy (@BlakeMurphyODC) September 28, 2026

Murray-Boyles probably will not log full starter-level minutes right out of the gate, but 25-28 minutes per game feels extremely attainable in a thin Raptors frontcourt. If we extrapolate his per-minute numbers from last year, that playing time should be enough for top-75 value. Collin is also one Jakob Poeltl injury away from becoming a 3rd or 4th-round value.

Josh Hart - G/F
Yahoo Rank - 98

Josh Hart does not have quite the upside of Collin Murray-Boyles, but he should still be one of the first players taken off the board once you hit the Flier Free-for-All Zone.

Hart saw his role shrink last year on a Knicks team looking to keep its core healthy for the playoffs, which has caused his draft price to slide this season. This is classic market overcorrection.

Hart's role grew as the year went on, peaking in the Knicks' playoff run. And with Mitchell Robinson gone, New York will have no choice but to run smaller lineups for longer stretches. More Hart means more rebounds, more assists, more steals, and far more fantasy value.

Keegan Murray - F
Yahoo Rank - 99

The Dan Besbris love for Keegan Murray is well-documented, so we can keep this brief.

Murray is part of the future in Sacramento. His role will be large and safe, and with even an average three-point shooting season, Keegan can waltz into top-75 value.

Boring Winners

John Collins - F/C
Yahoo Rank - 97

Collins finds himself in Detroit, more or less replacing Tobias Harris, but with a slightly better 9-category fantasy game.

Look for Collins to give you a boost in the percentages, a small bump in defensive stats, and post-average scoring and rebounding.

This should be enough for a 75-to-95 range fantasy rank.

Neemias Queta - C
Yahoo Rank - 107

The Celtics signed Mitchell Robinson, and fantasy managers are petrified to draft Queta.

Don't be scared. Queta was a top-65 player in 9-category leagues last year in just over 25 minutes per game. Robinson rarely ever exceeds 20 minutes; his injury history seemingly precludes him from doing so. We have every reason to believe Queta should still be able to reach that 23-26 minute threshold and rank inside the top-85 again this season.

CJ McCollum - G
Yahoo Rank - 106

If you thought John Collins was boring, wait 'til you get a load of this one!

CJ McCollum should be a decent source of scoring late in drafts, and while the days of CJ jacking up enough shots to zoom up rank boards are long gone, there is a certain relief in knowing you can get a near-certain single round of value on a late pick.

Myles Turner - C
Yahoo Rank - 118

This is obscenely late for a player that posted a top-50 fantasy season just two years ago.

Clearly, the fit in Milwaukee was bad in 2025, but his role is completely new for 2026. Turner is now the veteran leader (and starting center) on a young team, and I expect him to embrace that job, rack up blocks, and show that he still has a little drop of that Unicorn-esque fantasy game left in the tank.

I expect Turner to finish inside the top-90, and a good season could push him 15-to-25 slots higher.

Cason Wallace - G/F
Yahoo Rank - 123

To be clear, I am still waiting on confirmation that Wallace is a starter for the Thunder. Keep an eye on the preseason rotations.

If he is, as we predict, a starter, Wallace should be a tremendous source of steals late in drafts. His upside is capped by a lack of offensive involvement, but top-100 production is a conservative estimate based just on his specialist appeal.

Home Run Hacks

Jakob Poeltl - C
Yahoo Rank - 117

The upside of drafting Jakob Poeltl is undeniable. He is expected to start at center for the Raptors, and as recently as two years ago, he was the #43 player in fantasy basketball in that exact role.

The risk, however, is also undeniable. Poeltl played only 57 games in that powerhouse per-game season above, and back injuries not only sidelined Jakob for 36 games this past 2025-26 campaign but caused erosion in his numbers even when he was healthy enough to play.

At pick 117, though, the reward outweighs the risk. If Jakob can stay remotely healthy, he has the potential to be one of the biggest wins available - take the shot.

Khaman Maluach - C
Yahoo Rank - 117

Mark Williams is cooked, and Maluach is the future. Annoyingly, Oso Ighodaro is still part of the present.

I expect a pretty even timeshare between Ighodaro and Maluach, but Khaman's shot-blocking ability should give him a nice top-110 floor as the far better fantasy player to grab between the two.

If Maluach begins to outplay Ighodaro, the upside kicks in, and we could be looking at the breakout of the year.

Khaman Maluach blocked 2.9 shots per 36 min in his rookie season.

And then he went nuclear in the Summer League, adding an impressive 3-point stroke.

Now he has a chance to compete for the starting center job in Phoenix.

These prototypes don't grow on trees - read why you should reach for Maluach in 9-CAT this year! 👇

— "Thunder Dan" Palyo (@ThunderDanDFS) October 1, 2026

Kevin Porter Jr. - G
Yahoo Rank - 128

It's honestly not clear if the Bucks intend to play Porter Jr. He was forced to exercise his very affordable player option this summer, which felt like a pretty bright indicator that the market for his services was dry.

Still, the Bucks badly lack creators. Tyler Herro can get his own bucket; Ryan Rollins is a firm "maybe" in that department. Milwaukee might have no choice but to turn KPJ loose and hope he can keep them competitive night-to-night.

Porter is coming off a second-round per-game valuation last year. He is definitely not sniffing that rank this season, but even 25 minutes would make him a huge win in this area of the draft.

And if not, drop him.

Late Stabs

These players are going in the 11th round and beyond and are worth a look for various reasons. I have organized this section by priority.

Reed Sheppard - G
Yahoo Rank - 141

Sheppard has one of the best fantasy stat sets in the NBA. We only need 24 minutes per game to make him playable every day.

DeMar DeRozan - G/F
Yahoo Rank - 142

DeRozan will get enough shots as the Nuggets' sixth man to creep into the top-100 range.

Ajay Mitchell - G
Yahoo Rank - 126

Was ranked #106 last year in approximately 26 minutes per game. A thinned-out Thunder bench should give Mitchell a chance to repeat those numbers, or improve just slightly.

Toumani Camara - F
Yahoo Rank - 109

Camara was a terrible letdown last year. His steal rate and percentages dipped. Can they bounce back?

Tre Jones - G
Yahoo Rank - 138

Jones figures to be one of the very few bench guard options for the Bulls. I love his rare combination of assists, steals, and strong field goal and free throw percentages from the point guard spot.

Rui Hachimura - F
Yahoo Rank - 119

The Purgatory Clippers are a scoring mess behind Darius Garland. I do not much care for Hachimura's fantasy game, but he may have no choice but to take enough shots to post top-100 value.

Darius Acuff Jr. - G
Yahoo Rank - 127

The learning curve is going to be a buzzkill for anywhere from one to fifteen weeks, but if you can suffer through it, Acuff should be a great play down the stretch.

Yaxel Lendeborg - F
Yahoo Rank - 133

I don't trust Steve Kerr to play rookies, but a Warriors "gap year" may force Kerr's hand by mid-season.

Isaiah Jackson - C
Yahoo Rank - 169

Jackson appears to be the Clippers starting center. He may lose the job within three weeks, but almost any starting big in the NBA is at least worth a look.

Awesome Stop-Gaps

Grayson Allen - G/F
Yahoo Rank - 177

Friends, the Hornets may be down Kon Knueppel and Coby White on opening night. Grayson Allen was a top-40 fantasy player when he got a similar short (or medium) term starting job for the Suns last year.

Jalen Smith - F/C
Yahoo Rank - 165

Nicolas Claxton is hurt for the Bulls and is unlikely to be ready for their season-opener. Jalen Smith is a fantasy juggernaut who is clearly not as good in reality. The Bulls may not have a choice but to give us the fantasy king we desire.

Conclusion

You made it to the end! Well, almost.

Here is a list of other players I would consider at the tail end of drafts if every option above is off the board.

Daniel Gafford, Moussa Diabate, Cameron Johnson, Gui Santos, Fred VanVleet, Jaime Jaquez Jr., Aaron Nesmith, Christian Braun, Sandro Mamukelashvili and Tari Eason.

Now you made it. The fliers list is long because we can never know what other teams are going to do in the final four rounds. Be prepared, load your queue, and scoop the late leapers with maniacal joy.

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