Dynasty Risers and Fallers: Top 150 Rankings and Updates for Fantasy Basketball (November 2025)

Zach Reifschneider's Top 150 fantasy basketball rankings for dynasty leagues as of November 21, 2025. This is his first look at his rankings for the upcoming season and includes rookies from the 2025 NBA Draft, as well as rookies in the 2026 NBA Draft.

We’re now one month into the 2025-2026 NBA season, and we’re already seeing a ton of changes, breakdowns, slumps, and everything in between. From a fantasy perspective, there are constant changes that significantly alter early returns, causing them to vary greatly from expectations.

As such, my dynasty rankings and player valuations have already changed significantly from my last update as I’m scrambling to adjust. It’s never an easy task to give an arbitrary numerical value to a player based on a small sample size, but as we start to adjust our priors, we’re getting an idea of what’s to come in the remaining 65+ games. 

Today, I’m excited to deliver my November 2025 update to my longstanding comprehensive dynasty basketball player rankings for category leagues. We will cover my latest top 150 players, along with discussing a few key players and notable names that have jumped or dropped in value. Along with that, I’ll also touch on a few players outside of my top 150 who I either expect to potentially keep rising or may begin to fall more, plus some players to monitor for later or if you're in a deeper league.

Zach's Top 150 Dynasty Rankings Update (November 2025)

Top 25 Riser(s) of the Month: Tyrese Maxey and Alperen Sengun

After some mixed feelings about the 2024 NBA Draft, 2025 came ready with a new, potentially generational prospect like Duke’s Cooper Flagg, who posted one of the best one-and-done seasons we’ve seen in a very long time.

This month, my two highest risers within the top 25 were 76ers guard Tyrese Maxey and Rockets center Alperen Sengun, who were both tied at an increase of 8 spots. Respectively, they now sit at 9th and 13th overall. What happened that made me push them up?

For Maxey, it’s been the blistering hot start that’s kept him both firmly planted in the driver’s seat of this team and its future. In years past, I’ve had some real concerns about Maxey being the number one offensive option on a playoff-bound team, and after last year, and with Joel Embiid constantly hurt, I wondered if the team balance would remain a problem. I always knew Maxey was a standout fantasy player, but would he ever be a top 10 player? I wasn’t totally sure.

ABSOLUTELY DOMINANT NIGHT FOR TYRESE MAXEY.

🔥 54 points (career high)
🔥 9 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks
🔥 powers Sixers OT win

The 7th player to record 50 points, 3 steals and 3 blocks since 1973-74! pic.twitter.com/VVJZGx0btV

— NBA (@NBA) November 21, 2025

Well, now I know. Maxey has been spectacular this year as the 76ers’ absolute centerpiece and taken the step up I always wanted to see. He’s done it all: he’s jumped as a scorer to 31.9 points per game and could seriously remain in the 27-30 per game mark, he’s continued to climb as a passer and surpassed his career-high in assists (7.8), he’s delivering on the stocks with 1.5 steals and 0.8 blocks, and he’s doing this efficiently on good, sustainable shooting splits (46.1%/42.3%/88.1%) and not turning the ball over (2.6 TOV). He’s earned the right to be called a top 10 fantasy player, straight up.

For Sengun, I think it ultimately comes down to me not being as high on the fantasy intersection of Sengun, Amen Thompson, and Kevin Durant. I just felt that at least one would start to get pushed out, and considering Sengun is the most gifted facilitator of the three with Fred VanVleet out, his scoring might take a slight detour this year. As it turns out, it doesn't really matter if Durant is in town because Sengun is just like that.

Sengun is seeing highs across the board in his points (23.4). rebounds (10.4), assists (7.4), steals (1.2), and blocks (1), but perhaps the biggest development is adding a consistent three-point shot to his game. He's currently averaging lower volume with 2.9 attempts per game, but he's making 1.3 of those (good for 44.7%) and has been a massive part of his growth in the fantasy department since he's good in basically every area now. 

Top 25 Faller(s) of the Month: Trae Young

I'm starting to worry about Trae Young long-term. Between Jalen Johnson starting to blossom into both a superstar and a winning player without Young in the lineup, Young's problem areas that make building around him difficult, the NBA's trend of seeing small, score-first guards disappear, and his contract negotiations, the vibes are not all that great to me.

Don't get me wrong, we know Trae Young can score the rock, and I'm not saying he's going to just disappear from the NBA by any means. However, we do need to start considering that there's a world where he leaves Atlanta if the money isn't there and if there are issues when he re-enters the lineup after recovering from injury and disrupts this exciting Atlanta offense that's winning games even without Young. With other players on the rise, this could be a fatigue decrease, but I am nonetheless keeping an eye on this situation just in case.

Biggest Riser of the Month: Ryan Rollins

No other player had a bigger jump in my top 150 than Milwaukee Bucks guard Ryan Rollins. Going into the season, I was excited about Rollins, but was trying to keep things a bit conservative, thinking he would likely start the season as the 6th man. However, quickly into the year after Kevin Porter Jr. got hurt, Rollins ran headfirst into the opportunity and completely broke out this early.

Rollins has traveled a long road to get here, from being a mid-2nd round pick for the Warriors, traded to the Wizards before getting off the ground, and bouncing around the Wizards' and the Bucks’ G League affiliate before finding a role. This year, he’s been the very best breakout candidate in the NBA, averaging 17.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5.3 assists, and 1.7 steals while shooting 51.3% from the field and 46.3% from 3.

While we can reasonably expect some of the percentages to dip, everything else has felt more than sustainable thus far, and he’s truly become the Bucks’ 2nd best player after Giannis Antetokounmpo. That doesn’t happen by accident or coincidence. 

Ryan Rollins gave his all tonight.

32 PTS | 14 AST | 6 REB | 50% FG pic.twitter.com/LymePNr9JN

— Milwaukee Bucks (@Bucks) November 21, 2025

As of today, I’ve ranked Rollins as my 108th best player in dynasty basketball formats, and he’s still rising after jumping 123 spots (which, funnily enough, is actually my second highest riser in my top 450 rankings; that honor would go to Will Richard after moving up 200+ spots). It would not be shocking to see him as high as the top 60-75 or possibly higher if he keeps this up. 

LaMelo Ball's Injuries and Drama

In my last update I wrote for RotoBaller, I called LaMelo Ball the most volatile asset in all of fantasy basketball, and it’s because the injuries are just never-ending. It’s disappointing because he’s a fantastic fantasy player when he is available. Prior to the season starting, Ball has averaged career numbers of 21 points, 6 rebounds, 7.4 assists, 1.5 steals, 0.3 blocks, 3.1 made 3s, and 3.3 turnovers on 42.1% FG/36.5% 3PT/83.7% FT. It just comes down to health at the end of the day, and considering Ball’s only season among his past 5 where he played over 52 games was in 2021-2022 in his 2nd year (wherein he became the youngest All-Star in NBA history). 

Well, so far, things aren’t feeling great. Ball has already missed 6 games this season due to the continued ankle injuries Ball continues to have. As a recurrent issue for years now, even after Ball started taking precautions and wearing ankle protection, this is concerning to see it flaring up again. With the Hornets now sitting at 4-11, it’s fair to wonder not only if Ball can ever be healthy again, but if Charlotte wants to wait around for him.

Sure enough, reports from Kelly Iko on Thursday seem to suggest Ball is becoming unhappy in Charlotte and is reportedly “open” to being traded elsewhere. It remains to be seen how accurate that reporting is or what comes of it, if anything, but if he was made available, it will be interesting to see what teams would be interested in giving Ball a try, hoping they can keep him happy and healthy. Either way, I’ve continued to drop Ball more and more in my rankings over the last year, and he’s now dropped from a top 10-15 player to close to the 30s. It’s way too difficult to trust him at this point.

2025 Rookies on the Rise

In this update, I’ve included eight rookies from the 2025 NBA Draft in my top 100, plus 15 total if you expand into the top 150. Flagg and Harper are still high up there and relatively unchanged from last update, but there are a few very big risers among them. As one of the current top Rookie of the Year candidates, guys like VJ Edgecombe (39th) and Kon Knueppel (65th) climb 25 and 12 spots, respectively. Ace Bailey (76th) remains in the 70s. One of the biggest risers is Grizzlies wing Cedric Coward (83rd), who has looked like the biggest bright spot in Memphis right now.

Coward went up 73 spots as perhaps the biggest riser of the entire top 100. Not far behind is Derik Queen (85th), who continues to climb with some brilliant Jokic or Sengun-like performances. Finally, there’s Jeremiah Fears at 95th, who is building a solid fantasy season, which is very rare for a rookie point guard. This and 2026, the class we’ll talk about briefly next, are full of fantasy stardom already.

2025 Rookies on the Rise

This year, I decided to get started on 2026 NBA Draft fantasy content early and start mixing in the 2026 rookies. While one way to view this is as a pick value based on the strength of the top 3 talents in this class and the divisiveness of how fans and fantasy managers view each player, I already have a clear top few picks in mind this early.

So, how do I rate the early best players of this class? I think Darryn Peterson from Kansas is the surefire 1.01 of this class and will be the next great guard prospect in the NBA and in fantasy basketball. I currently have him at 18th in my rankings, just under Jalen Johnson, Tyrese Haliburton, and Jayson Tatum, and just above guys like Devin Booker, Franz Wagner, Donovan Mitchell, Paolo Banchero, LaMelo Ball, and others. His stat profile suggests he’s loaded with appeal in this department, and just from the first few games before his injury, it’s obvious there are superstar outcomes here.

Next up is Cameron Boozer out of Duke, the next big thing after Cooper Flagg. The Twitter/X discourse has already been messy, but make no mistake: in fantasy basketball, Boozer has the potential to be an elite talent when you consider his mix of skills across the board. He can score effectively, he can shoot, he’s a solid rebounder, he has good passing touch, he can defend, he’s just doing it all. I have him at 25th overall, just under Scottie Barnes and Karl-Anthony Towns and just above Jalen Brunson and Paolo Banchero.

Cameron Boozer is first ACC player with at least 100 PTS, 50 REB and 20 AST in a 5-game span since BC’s Craig Smith in March 2006🍿 @accnetwork pic.twitter.com/3yUVJLAeHE

— ESPN Insights (@ESPNInsights) November 19, 2025

Last, but certainly not least, is AJ Dybantsa, a fiery scoring wing/forward out of BYU. He’s perhaps the best scorer of the three and has shown himself to be a fantastic shotmaker out in Provo. He’s got some areas of concern in real life and in the fantasy department, but one thing is for sure: his ceiling could be the highest of all three if he hits just right. I have Dybantsa at 30th overall, just under Paolo Banchero and just above Josh Giddey, Dylan Harper, and De’Aaron Fox.

Just for fun, I included a few other 2026 players I’m watching closely for higher picks, including Caleb Wilson, Mikel Brown Jr., and Jayden Quaintance. I intend to discuss these players in more depth for real-life and fantasy implications throughout the draft cycle, so stay tuned!

On the Bubble: Notable Players Outside of my Top 150

Just as I did last time, I wanted to close this out by touching on a few of the players who didn’t make my top 150. For each player, I’ll touch briefly on them, why they did not make it, or what I’m looking to see to get them into my top 150 later in the year or beyond. 

Daniel Gafford, Dallas Mavericks: Rank: 154

Gafford has been a longtime favorite of mine, dating back to his Arkansas days. At his best, most recently, he was Luka Doncic’s favorite lob threat and played a pivotal role during their championship run. Once Luka Doncic was traded for Anthony Davis, things have become a mess in their frontcourt with trading to balance all of Cooper Flagg, Davis, Gafford, Dereck Lively II, and PJ Washington. As a result, Gafford gets knocked down 20 spots.

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Atlanta Hawks: Rank: 160

I was very, very close to putting NAW within my top 150. He’s looked sharp in Atlanta so far, and when Trae Young is out, he’s been putting up some really big numbers. I think he’s really a solid contributor and will continue to post some great work. If he continues to show what he’s been doing so far, I will have no choice but to put him into the upper echelon.

Rob Dillingham, Minnesota Timberwolves: Rank: 163

I’m not one to panic about young guards not getting initial minutes, since it is a very difficult position to learn how to play. However, the fact that Dillingham is still struggling to carve out a role even in a rotation that’s tough to get into, like Minnesota’s, should be concerning. Dillingham is very small at about 6’1” without shoes and very skinny. It seems he’s not playing well enough yet to firmly break into the rotation and find a role. I worry that, with the end of the small offense-only guards trend, things may never properly pan out for Dillingham here.

Yang Hansen, Portland Trail Blazers: Rank: 171

I’ve been on the record that I was not a fan of the Yang Hansen selection in the 2025 NBA Draft, and that people selecting him very high was not something I could co-sign. I was lower on consensus in real life, and I was not at all interested in taking him at cost in rookie drafts. So far, Yang has not seen much NBA time and ultimately hasn’t looked ready to play on real NBA floors. He has struggled defensively in limited minutes and is likely best suited to learn in the G League this year. To keep rising, I will need to see him start to flash more in the G League or start to make some positive appearances in the NBA.

Carlton "Bub" Carrington, Washington Wizards: Rank: 202

I was a huge Bub fan during the 2024 draft and had some hope for him turning into a good NBA player after a lot of inconsistency last year. However, things have taken a sharp decline even since then. As of writing this, Carrington is playing like one of the worst players in the NBA with bad percentages, lots of turnovers, and the worst BPM in the NBA at -7.9 in 366 minutes. Bub needs to turn things around, and fast.

Will Richard, Golden State Warriors: Rank: 234

I'll close this one out by spotlighting Will Richard, whom I gave a shoutout to earlier as my biggest riser in my full top 450 rankings. Before the season started, I had Richard quite low at 430, out of wanting to see how things started to go, and assuming he might not see a significant amount of minutes all year.

Well, we should've known Steve Kerr would've done the typical Steve Kerr things and fitting him in, and so far, Richard has been one of Golden State's most important rotation pieces. He's skyrocketed up to 234, up almost 200 spots, and will remain there, if not possibly go higher, if he manages to take up more of a consistent role over time. It just goes to show how little we really know about these rookies until they get into a good situation to prove themselves. 

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