2026-27 Fantasy Baseball: Small Forward Rankings

Jayson Tatum is healthy, Kawhi Leonard is back in Toronto, and there’s a lot to unpack at the small forward position. Oh, and both Jaylen Brown and LeBron James now play in Philadelphia for the 76ers. It was an interesting offseason, and now it’s time to prepare for the 2026-27 fantasy basketball season. Let’s take a look at our options in our small forward rankings.

Notes

OG Anunoby, New York Knicks

If there’s a category that needs production, Anunoby is likely going to be your guy. If you look at the forward in a vacuum, his statistical portfolio might not stand out. Overall though, all Anunoby does is fill the stat sheet, and that makes him a fantasy basketball asset to target.

While there might be some individual games in which we see more out of Anunoby offensively, the forward should be around 16 to 18 points per game once again. The forward is only going to average a few assists per game, but we’ll get rebounds and strong shooting percentages. What really helps, though, is the fact that Anunoby averaged 2.3 three-pointers, 1.6 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game last year. The benefits to having a player contribute across the board is very valuable from a roster construction standpoint. As is knowing what you are going to get, and then getting it.

Trey Murphy, New Orleans Hornets

The 66 games Murphy played in last season were his most in three seasons. At this point, we can’t deny the talent, but Murphy needs to stay healthy. When he’s healthy, Murphy averages over 35 minutes per game, and all he does is produce while on the court.

There’s plenty of opportunity to do that in New Orleans. For the most part, Murphy’s metrics are off the chart. It shouldn’t be surprising as he produced at a high level whenever he was on the court last season. His usage will continue to be high, and that makes Murphy one of the more intriguing options this season.

If we want to have a criticism of the forward, it’s that Murphy supplemented his 21.5 points per game last season with just 5.7 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. However, averaging 1.5 steals and 3.2 three-pointers per game is a nice boost to Murphy’s value, along with his 88.6% shooting from the free-throw line.

Deni Avdija, Portland Trail Blazers

The difference between last year and this season for the Trail Blazers could be startling. Neither Ja Morant nor Damien Lillard were in the fold. That meant Avdija took the lead from a ball-handling and usage perspective. By no means is he now going to be the third, or fourth (Scoot Henderson is the future in the backcourt), option. In fact, even as the forward’s usage suffers a decrease, it might be better for the overall health of the offense.

Avdija was held out of the World Cup due to his back injury, but while it’s something to be aware of, I’m not sure it will truly limit his performance in the upcoming season. The 6.9 assists Avdija averaged last season will likely go down as an outlier and last closer to the four he averaged the previous two seasons. Another plus to decreased usage might be that his 3.8 turnovers come back, and maybe there’s a little less strain on his back.

Overall, Avdjia might be a better player, and Portland should be better this season, but it might result in a slight dip in his value. Given the additions, it’s hard to expect him to consistently be the leading scorer at 24.2 points per game. There’s nothing wrong with 21/7/4; just don’t pay for anything more.

When you get done here, make sure to check out our full 2026 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit!

2026-27 Small Forward Rankings