2025-26 Fantasy Basketball Category League Rankings

Below you will find the preliminary category league fantasy basketball rankings for the 2025-26 NBA season. You should also check out our Top 25 Points League Rankings.

Rankings Methodology

The rankings are based on the weighted average of the last three seasons’ per-minute stats. Then adjusted for age, minutes projection, and games played projection. With a little touch of manual adjustment based on “hmm, this doesn’t seem right, let me change it”. The aim is to give a more-or-less neutral baseline ranking.

Specifically, the stats used for rankings are the 8 base category league stats – points, rebounds, assists, blocks, steals, three pointers made, free throw percentage, and field goal percentage. Turnovers are not included. However, I do recommend using these rankings for 9-category leagues just the same. Great players commit a lot of turnovers, and drafting to avoid them will result in a pretty dud team.

What!? Your fantasy football league wasn’t hosted on Fantrax last season!? Once you see how Fantrax stacks up to the competition, we think you’ll be singing a different tune in the 2025-26 season.

Tiers

The players are divided into tiers with the idea that, in general, the specific ranks within the tiers could be reasonably switched around, but the players in a higher tier are more definitely preferred to the ones in a lower tier. But it is a little bit arbitrary as the gaps smooth over the lower we get in the rankings. And especially near the bottom, I would suggest drafting for potential or need rather than keeping it strictly within the tiers.

Injury-prone Players

It’s pretty much impossible to project the number of games Joel Embiid, Kawhi Leonard, or Kristaps Porzingis will play. We can assume it’s going to be low, but how low? 65 or 25? With 65 games, Embiid would be an elite player, particularly if these 65 games include the fantasy playoffs. But what are the chances? So with that in mind, these players are ranked much lower than their reputation would entail. Feel free to take the risk, though.

Injured Players

Drafting the actually injured players (Jayson Tatum, Kyrie Irving, Tyrese Haliburton, Dejounte Murray) would be a waste of draft capital and roster space in a league with any kind of a standard ruleset.

Rookies

Rookies, generally, do not produce enough of a balanced stat line over a season to be really worthwhile in category fantasy. Yes, it is very exciting, and they come into the league with endless possibilities, but wait 2-3 years. Even with Cooper Flagg, I would suggest caution, as it is quite easy to overpay.

Veterans

Veterans like a rest. More so than younger players. Which is why the core of a good fantasy team should probably be made up of players below 30, even better, below 27. Feel free to draft your Stephen Curry or Kevin Durant, but don’t be surprised if they miss a few games here and a few there.

The #1 Pick

The number one pick is a simple decision – Nikola Jokic or Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. They have been the top 2 players of the last three seasons. But which of the two then? Whichever one you like more. The risk and reward balance isn’t quite there yet with Victor Wembanyama at #1.

2025-26 Fantasy Basketball Rankings for Category Leagues