2025-26 NBA Dynasty Rookie Rankings for Fantasy Basketball

September 16, 2025

Zach Reifschneider's Top 60 fantasy basketball rookie rankings for dynasty leagues. This is his first look at his rookie rankings for the upcoming season, what to expect for the top picks, and some of his favorite sleepers.

As we approach the 2025-2026 NBA season, many dynasty managers have already begun holding their 2025 rookie drafts. With a few months to let the draft percolate and see how the NBA’s newest players are performing early after Summer League, I’m prepared to enter the remainder of the offseason with a fresh idea of where to rank this class of 2025.

Today, I’m excited to reveal my latest update to my 2025 dynasty basketball rookie rankings, where I’m identifying my top 60.

In this article, you will find 60 total players ranked and placed in different tiers. In total, there are 9 tiers, starting with Cooper Flagg and Dylan Harper each in a tier of their own. I have ranked these players based on a wide range of factors, including overall upside, projected role, age, draft capital, my analysis of their games from both real-life and fantasy perspectives, team context, and more. You will also see a brief write-up for all 60 players that covers a small part of my analysis. Take these with a grain of salt as you begin to assess your team and take stock of your players. 

Zach's Top 60 Dynasty Rookie Rankings For 2025-2026 Fantasy Basketball

Cooper Flagg: Believe the Hype

Would you expect anything less? Cooper Flagg is not only the extremely obvious 1.01 of any dynasty rookie drafts this year, but also projects to be an immediate high-end fantasy contributor off the strength of his collegiate stats:19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists, 1.4 steals, 1.4 blocks, 1.4 3-pointers made, and 2.1 turnovers on 48.1% FG/38.5% 3PT/84% FT. With very few blemishes to his fantasy game, I’m expecting some very big things out of him early in his career. 

Blake Griffin says Cooper Flagg is the “most complete player we’ve seen come into the NBA in recent memory.” 👀🔥

(via Post Moves) pic.twitter.com/Vu5OBDscnd

— Basketball Forever (@bballforever_) August 22, 2025

Next to Anthony Davis, he should have a wide-open shot at near-elite production in his first season. As I mentioned in my previous top 150 dynasty player rankings, Flagg is ranked as my 6th best player, so you can see I am quite high on his potential.

Dylan Harper: Will Patience Pay Off?

To see the team with the last 2 Rookie of the Year award winners (Stephon Castle and Victor Wembanyama) get another top pick in this draft hurts. To see the same team add another guard on top of already having Castle and having traded for De’Aaron Fox back in February hurts just as much. Even still, the Spurs made the easy decision to draft the comfortable 2nd best player in the 2025 NBA Draft, and they do intend to play all three of their guards plenty.

How this will work will raise questions, but I do not expect Dylan Harper to inherently have a strong rookie season until we see the roster coming together on the court. This is often the case for rookie guards, as many will typically struggle to deliver strong fantasy statistics early on. Nonetheless, Harper is a very comfortable 1.02 selection and projects to have a strong real-life game that should translate effectively into fantasy basketball as he progresses.

Ace Bailey: Star or Bust?

Ask ten people, and you’ll probably get ten different answers about what to expect out of Ace Bailey in the NBA. I’m not going to say he’s the next Kevin Durant, and I’m definitely not going to say he’s an all-time bust. Is he somewhere in the middle as a quality starter?

I’d be shocked if he wasn’t at least pretty good as an NBA starter in his career, and I think his scoring ability is certainly an excellent skill he brings to the table for a Utah Jazz team struggling to find that true franchise guy. I have some questions about what his real-life skillset can translate into fantasy statistics, but he will certainly project as a strong scorer early on.

Thomas Sorber: Fade or Buy?

The Oklahoma City Thunder announced via press release that their 12th overall rookie out of Georgetown, Thomas Sorber, suffered an ACL tear during offseason workouts. While he is expected to make a full recovery, Sorber will miss the entire 2025-2026 NBA season just like their 2024 1st round selection, Nikola Topic, did. This is naturally concerning to many dynasty managers who likely selected him within the top 14 picks. Given his foot injury that shortened the back half of his breakout freshman season in Georgetown, it’s fair to ask if these injuries are early red flags.

While there are some valid concerns with the possibility that his development I once hoped would be prioritized, may be pushed aside, and the Thunder could opt to keep center Isaiah Hartenstein in town for longer, I personally am not very concerned about his health. While foot injuries in a center are never a good omen, Sorber’s medicals were reportedly clean and indicated he is healthy and has little risk for long-term issues in his lower body.

This missed time will add some risk and a slight decrease to his overall dynasty value. I am still interested in Sorber, and if he can be acquired for cheaper if managers in your leagues are a bit scared off, I would happily aim to trade for him. 

A Class Full of Wild Cards (Derik Queen, Egor Demin, Cedric Coward)

This draft class is full of intriguing options with a lot of swing skills and abilities. For many players outside of the top 8 down into the mid-teens, there are tons of boom-bust players that are not easy to predict outcomes for based on a myriad of factors.

For someone like Derik Queen, he has a standout offensive game that is sure to translate to fantasy numbers, but will his concerns on defense and his athleticism limit that, or could the fit in New Orleans be awkward?

For someone like Egor Demin with a ton of skill and flashes of being a high-end fantasy player, he has a massive margin for error if he cannot put the full package of high-end playmaking and shooting together.

Finally, for someone like Cedric Coward with off-the-charts statistics, advanced numbers, and ridiculous physical tools and length with a 7’2” wingspan, with a lot of fantasy potential, but not a big sample size to back it up. There are a lot of swing picks to make in this class, and fantasy managers will need to do their research and trust their evaluations and swings more than ever.

Buyer Beware

I want to be crystal clear here: I am not saying these players are going to be busts, nor am I writing any players off in this draft class before we see them play. That being said, there are a lot of potentially deceptive values all over the place in this draft class, and there are a handful that need a disclaimer alongside them. Let's talk about a few I'm approaching with caution as we head into their rookie seasons. 

Jeremiah Fears

I cannot emphasize this enough about Pelicans guard Jeremiah Fears: guards like Fears, and especially most rookie guards, take a while to be really good fantasy players. It will take him some time to play well and deliver on numbers conducive to fantasy basketball. When this happens, dynasty managers will start to get impatient. While his current price tag is much higher than I would prefer to pay right now, I would keep tabs on Fears in the hopes you can buy a little lower in 2026 if he has just enough flashes to keep you intrigued. If you could get him for the cost of the pick outside the top 15 in 2026 or 2027, I would jump all over that.

Yang Hansen

I mentioned it above in my actual rankings, but it bears repeating: I am very much a Yang Hansen skeptic. He was quite low on my 2025 big boards all year, and while I see the upside with his fantasy game that’s not so dissimilar from a young Alperen Sengun, I am not sold on Yang reaching highs like that. He has steadily gone from the mid-teens all the way to the top 10 and higher from immediately after the draft to now, and that is not a price I am willing to pay at all. I do not expect to see him on the court much this year. 

Nolan Traore

You can call any of the Brooklyn Nets' picks risky, but I certainly see the vision in what they plan to do by stacking up good passers at a variety of positions. That being said, of their first five round picks, I have the most skepticism around Traore, Saraf, and Wolf in particular. I think Traore is a very good passer, and we should not forget that once upon a time, he was a top 5-10 prospect in this class before drifting off. I think the upside is there, but a lot of it is hopeful on if he can shoot, and my concern is that his skillset overlaps far too much with Egor Demin. 

Adou Thiero

Thiero is going to be a big bet for the Lakers. What he does have is tantalizing in terms of athleticism, tools, feel, and two-way play, but Thiero ultimately needs to become a passable shooter if this is all going to work. Still, I like the upside and what he could offer if he manages to fall later. The Lakers bump is very real, and he has been going higher as a result. At a cost in the late 20s to early 30s, I feel there are better options that are more conducive to fantasy production. 

Zach's Dynasty Sleepers

Finally, we will close these rankings out with a few of my personal favorite sleeper picks that I’m taking in picks 24 and beyond into the 30s or 40s. These players are ones I am primarily interested in acquiring for cheap and for finding a potentially good value on a player that can get on the court early and often. There have been many players drafted later in the past few years that turn into fantasy stars, and hitting on one can work wonders for your team's future. This year, here are a few of mine I like that I'm hopeful will get on the court and have specific skills that may help them find an edge. 

Hugo Gonzalez

There are a lot of reasons to really like and buy into Hugo Gonzalez for dynasty. He's a very energetic player despite being raw on the offensive end. He’s likely going to go lower or around the range I have him in, so the investment is cheap and the potential for ROI is solid. He’s shown the ability to do a lot on the fantasy side already, and potentially be able to stuff the box score.

He fits the kind of wings Boston likes to a T, and he’s a tenacious defender and athlete with a high motor that will play, arguably, for long after the lost year while Jayson Tatum recovers from an Achilles tear if Gonzalez makes the correct progress. What caught my eye the most this summer was his defensive acumen and energy, and his ability to pass the ball as a wing. He received a surprising amount of on-ball reps, and while I don't expect a lot of those in Boston this year if he plays many minutes, I think it is worth noting that they seem to really value him and his development.

Noah Penda

Penda is a high-upside bet with some great role player skills that can make him a very useful fantasy player. I think role player outcomes are most realistic here, and I don’t really see any kind of star potential here. That being said, he has very notable fantasy corollaries with playmaking and defense. It’s going to take him some time to fully develop, and I can’t imagine he’ll see the floor a lot in his rookie season, but moving forward, the Magic need cheap role players, and Penda could be a really good one based on the investment to trade up.

Kam Jones

You’re probably noticing a theme with all of these if you know much about them as prospects. I picked a lot of guys with good, connective role player skills and who play with a lot of heart. These are the kinds of guys who work their butts off and secure opportunities.

Kam Jones is a great example of this, anecdotally from his time in college to now in Indiana, and it’s easy to see why Indiana wanted to add him to their guard room. He’s a good passer and inside scorer, and if he can manage to show more shooting, he could be a crucial piece to this team for the long haul. With Tyrese Haliburton out for the season and lead guard duties being passed to Andrew Nembhard, can Kam Jones secure a backup role?

Drake Powell

Much like Gonzalez, I was high on Powell for a lot of this cycle when he was touted as a real lottery-projected pick. His stock dropped a good amount after a rough season at North Carolina that I would argue was not on him as much as it was on Hubert Davis.

Despite not getting a ton of play, I’m still very interested. He’s an uber-athletic 3-and-D wing, he’s got a great frame and physicality, and he checks the right boxes for upside bets. He needs to find ways to find open looks and hit shots, and if he can do the right things, the opportunities will come. Honestly, if we looked back in 5 years and found that Powell was Brooklyn’s best player of those five first-round picks, I don’t think I would be that surprised. 

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