All teams need their anchors, but all fantasy championships are won by depth and finding great values in players on draft day. We all know it’s the LeBron and AD show in La La Land so there’s no room for much value there but let’s take a look and find key fantasy basketball sleepers elsewhere that can help bring you a fantasy title this season.
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Fantasy Basketball Sleepers for 2020-21
Coby White, PG/SG – Chicago Bulls
There’s a lot of optimism in the air in Chicago with the Billy Donovan hire. I mean he took a Thunder squad with no Paul George and Russell Westbrook and still finished in the top-half in offensive efficiency. Some call him the point-guard whisperer as he’s helped guards Chris Paul and Westbrook have amazing seasons year after year. Will Coby White be next!? Let’s just start by moving him up the rankings away from the ninety’s and closer to the sixties. White finished last season on a scoring tear averaging 26.1 PPG over the final 9 games adding 4.5 APG. After the all-star break White finished with totals of 24.7 points, 4.3 APG, 3.5 3PM along with very good shooting percentages. Last season, De’Aaron Fox finished as a top 35 fantasy player for the Kings averaging 21 PPG and 6.8 APG, something White may not be too far away from if he can improve on his assist numbers. Billy Donovan has already stated he wants White being the primary ball handler and point guard so he should improve on those assist totals with room to grow in other areas being a part of a more efficient offence going into his sophomore year. Do we have another making of a great Tar Heel in Chicago? Oh baby, draft with confidence.
Michael Porter Jr., SF/PF – Denver Nuggets
Michael Porter Jr’s ADP continues to rise after his stellar showing in Orlando. He put on a clinic over his final 6 games in the regular season bubble averaging 23.8 points, 9.8 rebounds, 1.2 steals while shooting 57%. The key with MPJ is getting the minutes and a starting role should be his for the taking with the team losing Jerami Grant and Mason Plumlee. It’s impossible to ignore someone with his stat-stuffing abilities racking up points, rebounds, three-pointers and steals. Just moved him from the high-70s to the low 60’s and even that might be too low. The arrow is pointing MILE high for MPJ in 2020.
Al Horford, PF/C – Oklahoma City Thunder
Quick, name the starting 5 this season for the OKC Thunder!? I had to double-check myself. It should be a long season for the Thunder this year, but I see some fantasy value here! There’s going to be production from somewhere besides Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Al Horford will be the man in the middle racking up the rebounds and adding in some points. The Horford Embiid combo did not work out well in Philadelphia, but Horford was productive in games without Embiid. Horford capped off March averaging 16 points, 9.4 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.2 blocks! Embiid missed 5 of those final 6 games during that span. Those are some very solid numbers for a guy who is not even sniffing the top-100 right now in fantasy drafts. Should be a solid source of rebounds, blocks and will add in the point totals. I just looked at the OKC Thunder starting lineup 5 minutes ago and I already forgot who was on it…
RJ Barrett, SG/SF – New York Knicks
All the talk about last year’s rookie class belongs to Zion Williamson and Ja Morant and deservedly so but lost in the shuffle is now sophomore RJ Barrett. Barrett finished last season pretty strongly as well averaging 18 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.3 assists, and 1.3 steals after the all-star break. He improved to 18.7 PPG over the final 7-games, not too shabby for someone with an ADP around the 115 mark. The Knicks are another team we like in fantasy land as there’ll plenty of opportunity for Barrett to lead the team in scoring with Marcus Morris’s 19 PPG out of town. The Knicks have stated this off-season that Barrett has been the team’s focal point and their moves have dictated spacing the floor better for Barrett. I expect some progression in year two for the 20-year-old. He was heavily criticized for poor shooting percentages but finished strong improving his FT% to 76% in the month of March. If he can stay closer to those numbers, he’ll be one of my favorite fantasy basketball sleepers and should be a steal come draft day.
Marvin Bagley III, PF/C – Sacramento Kings
Marvin Bagley III may not live up to his second overall selection in 2018 but he offers great upside this season not many can offer. His 2019 season was cut short due to a foot injury but in 13 games he averaged 14.2 points and 7.5 rebounds. The rebounds ranked him 33rd on the season where his value lies about also finished top 100 in points. The only other players to finish top 100 in points and top 40 in rebounds with an ADP outside the top 60 are Julius Randle, Aaron Gordon and Serge Ibaka. Bagley finished off his rookie campaign averaging 18.7 points and 9 rebounds over the final month and a half. Now finally healthy and locked into the starting PF role in Sac-Town, just put it in the bag that Marvin returns the upside this season.
If you enjoyed Mike’s take on his favorite fantasy basketball sleepers, then you’ll definitely want to check out his 2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Rankings and Draft Strategy!
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