Zach Reifschneider's Top 150 fantasy basketball rankings for dynasty leagues as of March 20, 2026. This is another look at his rankings for the end of the 2025-2026 season, plus an early look at upcoming rookies in the 2026 NBA Draft.
For many fantasy basketball managers, the end of the 2025-2026 fantasy basketball season is always a thrilling end to a long season of keeping up with your matchups. However, for us dynasty basketball managers, there is no offseason, and we keep this up as a year-round grind.
The offseason is where we can begin to figure out what directions to take our teams, begin looking ahead at trades, scope out the next draft class, and try to gain any advantage we can over our league mates. It pays to keep up to date on trends and capitalize on offseason happenings, that’s for sure.
As such, I’m excited for today’s update of my dynasty basketball rankings for categories leagues. This will be my first update since January 2026 and, as you’d expect, there’s been plenty of movement all over. Today, let’s break down my top 150 players, who’s up, who’s down, some various thoughts on players on my list, and a brief discussion on the Class of 2026. Let’s get right into it!
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Zach's Top 150 Dynasty Rankings Update (March 2026)
Jayson Tatum Rejoins The Top 10
This month, Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum made his season debut following an Achilles tear during last season’s playoffs. This has been an incredible story to follow and a crazy breakthrough in sports science that might change the way a lot of athletes recover from these tears moving forward. Miraculously, Tatum is already starting to come back to his old self. I’d wager he’s still going to need a full offseason to get back to his 100% old self again, but the fact that he’s playing the way he is already is incredible.
What does that mean for his dynasty value? Well, I felt pretty strongly that he would turn out fine when he’s healthy, and the likelihood of losing what’s made him great is low, and sure enough, we’re about there. As such, I feel confident moving him back into the top 10, at 10th overall, as some other players trend down.
Kon Knueppel is Skyrocketing
Near the beginning of the 2025-2026 NBA season, Kon Knueppel was my solidified 1.04 in 2025 rookie drafts and within the same tier as Ace Bailey. Almost 6 months down the road, and he’s pushing into the top 25 players in all of dynasty basketball. How does that happen?
Knueppel has been unreal this year, and when facing off against fellow Duke teammate Cooper Flagg, I didn’t think anyone could stack up to Flagg, whom I pegged as the runaway Rookie of the Year choice going into the season. Up to now, it’s been Kon’s, and he’s run with it, delivering on fantastic numbers of 19.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 49% shooting from the field, and 43.7% from beyond the arc on eight attempts per game!
That is just ridiculous stuff. Add in that he’s led Charlotte on a great season where they look like a serious playoff pusher and meshed amazingly with LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller and arguably been their best player often this year, and it’s clear he’s been perhaps the most significant riser from my initial thoughts.
Players Trending Up
I picked a few select players that were on the rise in this update to touch on my process as to why I pushed them up in my rankings. There are myriad reasons why other content creators or I will push or drop players in their work, so I want to illustrate some of the different reasons why this can happen or how my perception can adjust on a month-to-month basis.
Kawhi Leonard, Los Angeles Clippers: Up 20 Spots
Leonard took a nice jump up 20 spots in these rankings, and the reason is simple: he’s a player who, when he plays, is an absolute star and a killer in the fantasy column. However, when he does play, it is becoming more far and few between with Leonard’s slew of injuries and load management-isms over the years.
However, this year, he’s started largely healthy down the stretch with 54 games played as of publishing this. Plus, Leonard is having a statistical-best year of his career and turning back the clock at age 34. Yes, the injury concerns and otherwise are not minimized, but do I have more faith in him as a higher-end asset for this year going into the next if the good health continues? Absolutely.
Keyonte George, Utah Jazz: Up 21 Spots
Keyonte George is a lot simpler of a sell if you’ve been keeping up this year: he’s been an excellent breakout story and playing at a high level for the first time in his career. His job in Utah was looking sketchy with the addition of Walter Clayton Jr. in the 2025 draft and Isaiah Collier rising from the 2024 draft, and he needed to step up.
Boy, did he. He’s made gains as a scorer, shooter, and playmaker with the ability to take on more of the offense in Utah. Yes, the defense is still a blemish area, and many are going to worry about that when he’s owed a new contract, but for how he’s grown, he’s worth the bump.
Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers: Up 13 Spots
We had a good feeling about Donovan Clingan coming into the season. As a rookie, he was flashing all over the place in Portland as a rim protector, shot blocker, and ridiculous rebounder. Still, some work was needed, especially on the offensive end. Well, apparently, he can shoot threes! Clingan, getting some shooting and making natural progression in his second year, has turned him into an absolute beast, with 12.2 points, 11.6 rebounds (plus a league-leading 4.6 offensive rebounds), 2.2 assists, 1.6 blocks, and is making 33.1% of his 3.1 attempted 3s per game.
Jalen Suggs, Orlando Magic: Up 18 Spots
I have a pretty simple answer for this one here: I just was too low on Suggs and the continued impact that will keep him in the NBA for a long time to come needs more respect. Suggs might not be scoring as well as he did last season, going from 16.2 points per game to 13.9, but the passing is up, and the defensive impact continues to be stronger.
The modern-day NBA is seeking out the Derrick White variants of the world, and Suggs should maintain high impact. He’s been better than I gave him credit for, even if I have knocks about past injuries and availability.
Dejounte Murray, New Orleans Pelicans: Up 29 Spots
We’re not fully out of the woods on this one, as I still have my share of concerns about Dejounte Murray’s long-term prospects on his contract, the team situation in New Orleans, and what his play will look like when he returns. In general, though, he’s looked better than I expected coming back from his Achilles recovery when I had some concerns that he or his game might struggle in returning.
So far, he’s looked good with nothing to play for in New Orleans and has won 5 of the 9 games he’s played in to date. I don’t expect that to sustain when everyone’s healthy, simply put, but with back-to-back seasons with unrealistic field goal percentages at 39.3% and 55.1% this year, it’s hard to know exactly what to expect. I’m cautious, but again, he’s looking sharp upon return, so he gets the bump.
Trending Down
Just like how I picked a few select players that were on the rise in this update, I also picked a few with stock trending downward. I want to illustrate some of the different reasons why this can happen or how my perception can adjust on a month-to-month basis. I should be clear here, also: while some of these players do not have the most spots down of this list compared to others, these are simply players I want to talk through as fallers, not just in the current moment or my perception, but how they could fall further down as well from a narrative perspective. That can always make a big difference when you rank them in this format versus based on your own needs.
De’Aaron Fox, San Antonio Spurs: Down 5 Spots
I suppose it was always going to come as the Spurs youngsters like Stephon Castle and Dylan Harper got more into the mix, but De’Aaron Fox is starting to trend down a bit from what he once was as a heavy on-ball player. He’s come more off the ball this year and been more of a selfless adapter to what the team needed. It’s great to see, but it does hurt some of the impact, and now is the time when we’ll likely see some of the best days of Fox behind him in favor of other players. Plus, given his contract and the Spurs’ looming cap decisions, the urgency to trade Fox might come sooner than later, and he’s certainly not getting younger.
Dyson Daniels, Atlanta Hawks: Down 9 Spots
Dyson Daniels was so good last year that he had very few realistic routes to go higher. He’s just not been as good across the board this year: the shooting has fully regressed after seeing some hope last year, the stocks are down, and he’s just not scoring the ball as well in this current offensive setup. Still a very impactful player, no doubt, but it’s not the same for fantasy. Granted, Daniels is still young and progressing and only just turned 23 this week, but the time for this progression is now, before Atlanta brings more players into the fold.
Derik Queen and Jeremiah Fears, New Orleans Pelicans: Down 5 Spots, Down 13 Spots
I lumped the two Pelicans rookies into the same bunch here because a lot of my concerns are similar for the two. Both rookies have had very electric moments as rookies and moments where you could make a strong argument that both were running for a top 5 rookie spot among this strong class. However, there have been many moments where the Pelicans have given them inconsistent minutes or pulled away from playing them.
There are multiple reasons I could theorize on that. They’re rookies, and this team wants to be competitive (blame that on Joe Dumars and Troy Weaver for trading their pick away). They’ve both been frankly terrible on the defensive end, and the team is hurting with them on the floor as much. There are fit issues with their other pieces, particularly in Dejounte Murray and Fears sharing the floor. Both are young players, so I’m giving them some grace, and I fully expected both to boast concerning impact/advanced numbers, but there is reason to be concerned early on that New Orleans is not putting either rookie in a great place to succeed.
Aging Vets Anonymous (James Harden, Kevin Durant, Anthony Davis, LeBron James)
Here’s a fun fact for you: If I’m going off my top 100 players strictly, the average age is 25.2 years old. The market for older players is starting to dry out as we see the old guard starting to break down, and young blood is the only currency. The oldest among them? Stephen Curry, AKA the Teflon Don, or the only player above 35 years old who actually had a slight uptick in their ranking (2 spots).
So, where are we at on the oldsters of this group? Well, I think the only answer is that they’re trending down, and because of that, it’s a lot harder to gauge or receive fair value on them when they will automatically be discounted by most leaguemates on that basis.
So, what does that balance of production and age/injury concerns get you? For the high-end guys like James Harden and Kevin Durant, who have perhaps a year or two left at this high bar left in them, coming in just outside my top 50 based on the fact that they’re still good for top 20 fantasy basketball seasons at their ages. In Harden and Durant’s cases, their value feels fairly insulated by the fact that they’re key, synergistic cogs on their teams that aren’t likely to undergo significant change.
Now, with Anthony Davis, totally different story beyond just turning 33 years old. He’s also good for top 25 seasons when he’s healthy, but his healthy seasons are far and few between these days after the disaster that was his Dallas Mavericks tenure. That Mavericks trade to now has tanked his value by at least 20+ spots from my rankings, as he continues to rack up mileage and wear.
However, considering he’s joined a Washington Wizards squad with a lot of opportunities for shots beyond Trae Young, could a healthy season be just what he needed to rise again? Maybe, but can we trust him enough to shake that away when he’s going to be 34 by the end of next season? I don’t think I can, and it’s going to be hard to maintain him, Durant, or Harden in this top 50 range this time next season.
LeBron James, do I even need to explain? He’s literally 41 years old, and even though he can still dominate and play at such a high level IRL and in fantasy, he’s on the cusp of retirement as soon as this season or next. There’s just no way to put a proper gauge on the value for a guy you know is on borrowed time. So, if you have him, you just hold him, because the ROI on trading versus keeping is quite different.
The point of this is that it’s not easy to properly value veterans when they get to a certain point in their careers. Regardless of whether you’re known as Street Clothes or you’re a model for longevity and games aging well, having a mixture of aging veterans producing very well with a lot of young players loaded with upside that aren’t producing as well can lead to some disparities in value and areas where nuance is needed. In general, though, as the landscape of basketball changes and it becomes much more of a young man’s game with the faces of the league starting to get up there, objective and subjective value have a lot of blurred lines.
The Class of 2026 At a Glance
The giant, hulking elephant in the room: the slew of incoming 2026 players that have worked their way into my rankings. 14 incoming rookies in my top 150? Am I crazy to be very, very in on this class and the sheer amount of talent coming into the NBA?
Let’s just take a glance down the board as I quickly summarize some names. Up top, I have Duke’s Cameron Boozer at the 11th overall spot. Yes, it’s definitely a lot to think about someone coming in that’s already ranked above the Chet Holmgrens and Tyrese Haliburtons of the world, but man, Boozer is really like that. The numbers are off the charts good, and the advanced stats have painted a picture that this guy is an absurd talent coming into the NBA.
After him, I have Darryn Peterson and AJ Dybantsa in the late tens to the twenties as two players I see having some high scoring potential with more to their game that will come. Peterson, in particular, I’m trusting my priors on him in the hope he can bolster the passing at the next level. Do I think he’s the next Cade Cunningham in terms of the statistical profile? Not quite. Can he be like a Donovan Mitchell or Devin Booker type of player? I think so. With Dybantsa, he’s not quite on the level as Peterson at his best, but he’s a beast and could comfortably be the best scorer of the 3 at the next level.
Caleb Wilson took quite a jump from last time, and I think for me, it was underestimating just how good he’s been and how much fantasy potential is here. For what he does now, there’s a lot here, but with some further offensive development? This is a guy who has legitimate All-Star/multiple All-Defensive team nods in him if things go really well.
The guards in this class are sure to be controversial this year. Kingston Flemings is the one many of us in the draft world are happy to call the PG1 without much doubt, with his strong combination of athleticism, downhill scoring, playmaking, defensive aptitude, and franchise guard-level potential, but there is some concern about the 3-point shooting.
In the other direction with Mikel Brown Jr. out of Louisville, is he just a shot chucker at the next level despite the nice blend of playmaking, shotmaking and good size at 6’5”? For Keaton Wagler, he’s been a fantastic discovery with a lot of role malleability, great playmaking, great shooting and nice size at 6'6”, but how will he translate defensively? He needs to pack on weight to play up to the next level, no doubt.
One of the biggest risers from January to now, between both current and future NBA players, is Arizona’s Brayden Burries. He might sound pretty high as the 9th 2026 Draft player on my board, but I think he’s got a great combination of NBA skills teams will like if they want to find the next Derrick White or Jalen Suggs-y kind of player: good strength and intangibles, good shooting, good playmaking, really strong defense and the ability to play on and off the ball in different gameplans. I love role malleability, and boy, does Burries have that.
As for the rest, there is some risk involved with the immense upside that could be here. Darius Acuff is an absolute monster on offense, but can it translate, and can he survive being a very bad defender in the NBA?
Dailyn Swain has a lot to like as an on-ball, do-it-all wing that can pass, rebound, defend, and drive at will, but the 3-point shooting will be a concern, and the off-ball game is not inspiring. Can Nate Ament’s ideal NBA role be conducive to fantasy success, and what can we expect based on his developmental track? Yaxel Lendeborg is old and will be 24 when making his NBA debut in October, but he’s got the goods to be a Josh Hart-style role player. Patrick Ngongba II has some concerns, most notably with his foot issues that have plagued him for years, but he’s a highly impactful rim protector with excellent touch around the rim.
So, in short, this is a lot of really intriguing NBA players coming in with obvious fantasy-conducive skills as we dive deeper into their profiles, as I plan to do in the near future. Is it a little crazy to have this many players yet to be drafted as high as they are? Probably. Is the upside there for this to be an all-time impactful fantasy draft class? Without a doubt, yes.
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