Second-Year Fantasy Basketball Breakouts (2026-2027)

September 30, 2026

Thunder Dan Palyo analyzes second-year fantasy basketball breakouts, sleepers for 2025-26 drafts. These NBA risers could be under-the-radar fantasy basketball picks.

This year's rookie class has a ton of hype surrounding it, and rightfully so. We are all collectively excited about the NBA debuts of Cameron Boozer, A.J. Dybantsa, Caleb Wilson, and Darryn Peterson (among others).

But let's not overlook last year's rookies either. Cooper Flagg has already established himself as a first- or second-round pick in drafts this year, so you won't find him in this article (I guess you could probably say he's already "broken out," right?)

But there are a lot of second-year players to target much later in drafts. They bring varying degrees of upside, but each of these players could end up being draft-day values.

Second-Year Breakouts To Target

Just like I did with my third-year breakouts, I'm using a little rating system for just how big I think each player's breakout COULD be.

• League Winner = Full-blown breakout, smash the button, reach if you must!
• Easy Click = With steady improvement or more minutes, should easily meet or exceed expectations
• Chasing Upside = Has potential for major improvement, but everything has to work out just right

Dylan Harper, G - San Antonio Spurs

• Yahoo ADP: 85
• "Easy Click"

Last year's second overall pick finished outside the top-200 in his rookie season in only 22 minutes per game. But he's clearly on an upward trajectory, as he was 133 over the last two months and then posted 14.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 26 minutes per game across 23 playoff games.

Year 1 Dylan Harper pic.twitter.com/mVWXSPy5hS

— Pitless (@pitlessball) June 16, 2026

The biggest challenge here is for San Antonio coach Mitch Johnson to find him more minutes with Stephon Castle and De'Aaron Fox both returning to the Spurs backcourt. Johnson was quoted at media day saying that he wants to get all three of them on the floor together more often, which bodes well for Harper's outlook. But he's still probably capped at like 28 minutes a night as long as the three guards are all healthy.

But 28 minutes of Harper might be more than enough for him to pay off this price tag. He shot the ball really well last season (50%) from the field and is a plus rebounder from his position. He can add steals and some out-of-position blocks without hurting your percentages.

The only wart to his 9-CAT game would be a lack of threes, but I'm alright with fewer threes from Harper if it keeps his FG% high.

His upside is capped for likely one more year, but he's a guard that I love this season, as I think he'll improve across the board and push for minutes. There were times in the NBA Finals when he was the best player on the court for San Antonio along with Wemby.

If either Fox or Castle were to get hurt, he instantly vaults into the top-50. At this price, he's a solid investment.

Cedric Coward, G - Memphis Grizzlies

• Yahoo ADP: 87
• "Chasing Upside"

Coward played quite a bit for Memphis in his rookie campaign, averaging 25.8 minutes per game while appearing in 62 games and starting 47 of those.

He showed some solid rebounding from his wing position, putting up 5.9 boards per game, but I was hoping for more blocks and steals (he combined for just 1.0 stocks) with his defensive reputation that he brought into the league. But he also added 1.5 threes on 34% shooting from behind the arc, while shooting 47% overall from the floor.

He should start again this year, and could see an uptick in minutes - though Memphis could still be a bit annoying with minutes this season. I expect some improvement in his offensive efficiency, and the potential for defensive stats is there with Coward's massive wingspan.

He averaged over 15 points per game in the final month of the season, and I think he's a good bet for 15-6-3 this season with decent peripherals. That's enough to put him into the mix for the top-75, even as a role player in Memphis, and he's still being drafted outside of that range.

Collin Murray-Boyles, F/C - Toronto Raptors

• Yahoo ADP: 116
• "Easy Click"

Last year, CMB ended up playing a pretty significant role for Toronto (22 minutes a game across 57 games) as starting center Jakob Poeltl dealt with back issues all year. He and Sandro Mamukelashvili were tasked with picking up Poeltl's slack, and the undersized Murray-Boyles (just 6-foot-7) held up quite well at center going up against taller bigs.

CMB is a beast at 245 pounds and was able to bully other bigs in the paint, while also showing impressive athleticism. He did a little of everything, including showing off a nice passing touch in addition to solid defensive stats (0.9 blocks and 0.9 steals).

Rookie Collin Murray-Boyles pic.twitter.com/Jxix5LIQ0v

— Pitless (@pitlessball) May 6, 2026

This year, Mamu is in Los Angeles, and the Raptors have replaced him with rookie Allen Graves, who may (or may not) be ready to jump into the rotation. Poeltl is supposedly healthy, but is probably capped at around 28 minutes per night in order to keep him on the floor.

His coach came out and already said he'll get minutes at both center and power forward, which tells me he's probably the first guy off the bench for Toronto and could be ticketed with a 25-28 minute role right out of the gate. That should be plenty of minutes for him to carve out some nice value with his solid all-around game. And if Poeltl's back acts up and he ends up moving into the starting lineup, the sky is the limit!

Egor Demin, G - Brooklyn Nets

• Yahoo ADP: 120
• "Chasing Upside"

Demin's rookie campaign was a very mixed bag of results, with not a lot to get excited about at first glance. 10 points, three boards, and three assists on 40% shooting isn't anything to write home about, but he did connect on 2.3 threes per game, while shooting 87% from the line in 25 minutes per contest.

Dëmin mode been activated this summer 🔥 https://t.co/lmdOuRFXJW pic.twitter.com/TLFhRtcStI

— Brooklyn Nets (@BrooklynNets) July 11, 2026

Demin looked like a new man in Summer League - quite literally. He added some muscle to his frame and was much more aggressive on offense. Across five games this summer, he averaged 19-5-4 with 2.6 threes on 47% shooting.

I don't think we'll see anything close to that from him this year in Brooklyn, especially with Mikel Brown Jr. joining the backcourt and Julius Randle coming over from Minnesota. However, I do think Demin will shoot the three-ball better and be more efficient overall.

It's hard to get too excited about the Nets, and they could still cap his minutes around 28-30 by playing a bunch of guys in the rotation. But if Demin plays with that same confidence he showed in Summer League, he's bound to improve upon his rookie numbers and provide some solid late-round value in threes and assists without hurting you in turnovers.

Khaman Maluach, C - Phoenix Suns

• Yahoo ADP: 119
• "League Winner"

We probably throw the term "league winner" around far too often in fantasy sports, but I think Maluach really fits the bill. The former lottery pick didn't play much last year and has only been playing basketball for seven years. He was an incredibly raw prospect coming out of Duke, but has already shown off some of his massive potential by dominating in Vegas this summer.

Khaman Maluach was a force in the paint at NBA Summer League!

💪 19.5 PPG
💪 12.8 RPG
💪 1.3 SPG
💪 2.0 BPG
💪 40.0 3P%
💪 53.2 FG%
💪 Summer League Second Team

Year 2 in Phoenix up next… pic.twitter.com/X7x0XCyZIQ

— NBA (@NBA) July 23, 2026

We always have to take Summer League stats with a grain of salt, but heck, you could cut those counting stats down by 30%, and you're still talking about some pretty impactful numbers. He was a deep league sleeper a few weeks ago, but the injury to Mark Williams has thrust him into a position battle with Oso Ighodaro for the starting center job in Phoenix.

Maluach just turned 20 years old, and maybe he's not being viewed by the coaching staff as ready for the task of matching up with established NBA big men every night just yet. But I think it's only a matter of time before I think his superior shot-blocking and floor spacing force the Suns to consider him as the starter.

Reports out of camp have been glowing so far. He has the fantasy skill set we are looking for with the ability to contribute blocks and threes from the center position, and I think he'll make the Suns better in real life, too. I'm content to reach on him in drafts this year and patiently wait for him to ascend to the top of the depth chart.

Deep League Only Targets

Joan Beringer, C - Minnesota Timberwolves

Beringer is set to start the year as Rudy Gobert's backup. He played just 9 minutes per game last year, but nearly blocked a shot per game. Like Maluach, he's still very young and raw, but developing quickly.

Joan Beringer transition dunk + emphatic block, great two-way sequence pic.twitter.com/GduXNBEzx9

— Timberwolves Clips (@WolvesClips) April 13, 2026

He averaged 17 points and 11 boards per game this summer with 4.0 blocks! He racks up boards and blocks at a high enough rate that 18 minutes a night just might be enough to flirt with standard league value, but definitely don't sleep on him in deeper formats where his blocks alone will have a lot of value.

Maxime Raynaud, C - Sacramento Kings

Raynaud started 56 games at center for the Kings last year while Domantas Sabonis missed most of the season. He put up 12.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game on 57% shooting from the floor, but didn't do much else. He does have a three-point shot, but only made 0.3 threes per game, and he only added 0.5 steals and 0.5 blocks.

Sabonis's future in Sacramento is very much up in the air, so while Raynaud will likely function as his backup to start the year, he could easily slide into the starting center spot again if Sabonis were to be traded. He'll probably only play around 18-20 minutes a game to start the year, but is a guy who should be rostered in deep leagues as a stash. You never know what the Kings are going to do!

Honorable Mention - Need More Minutes!

Yanic Konan Niederhauser, C - Los Angeles Clippers

The former Penn State big man from Switzerland is dealing with an injury, so he's probably not playing for the first few weeks of the season. However, he only has Brook Lopez and Isaiah Jackson ahead of him on the depth chart, and the 7-footer was a first-round pick last year, albeit the very end of the first round (pick 30).

He has some rebounding and shot-blocking potential, and with the Clippers being a non-contender this year, I wouldn't be surprised if they prioritize his development at some point.

Nique Clifford, G/F - Sacramento Kings

Clifford ended up starting 25 games in his rookie campaign and finished with 25 minutes per contest. He shot only 41.8% from the floor, but improved as the season went along. He's a classic 3-and-D wing who could see an uptick in playing time if/when Zach LaVine is traded.

Danny Wolf, F/C - Brooklyn Nets

Wolf got quite a bit of playing time last year as Brooklyn had no problem rolling out their young guys often. He'll likely back up Julius Randle and Day'Ron Sharpe to start the year, but his fantasy game has some sneaky appeal, as he's an above-average passer and he can step out and hit the three-ball.

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