As the NBA season is shortly upon us, we need to identify which players for our points leagues during drafts are being overlooked. Finding these fantasy basketball sleepers during your draft can give you an early advantage and provide serious value throughout the season. Some of these names might surprise you. Let’s get into it.
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Points League Sleepers for 2026-27 Fantasy Basketball
Jusuf Nurkic
Let’s kick things off with a name I think is being overlooked way too much. I honestly don’t understand why Nurkic isn’t ranked higher, especially when you consider the upside he can offer after pick 100. His season ended in February due to a season-ending nose surgery and, of course, Utah not playing in the playoffs. However, in 41 games he averaged a double-double while posting a career-high 4.8 assists per game. How are we ignoring this? In the offseason, Utah traded away Walker Kessler to the Los Angeles Lakers opens more mins for Nurkic. He’s a player that can easily give you early-season value.
Jimmy Butler
Butler is 37 years old and coming off a torn ACL, so why even consider drafting him? He had really decent per-game stats before the injury. In 38 games last season, he averaged 20.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals in 31.1 minutes per game. Realistically, he should be going somewhere before pick 100. Butler is a player who I’m very comfortable taking and is one of those players you’ll be patting yourself on the back for versus letting one of your league mates get him.
Cedric Coward
Coward is in a perfect situation heading into the 2026-27 season. He was the 11th pick in last year’s draft and put together a great rookie campaign. Coward earned first-team All-Rookie honors while averaging 13.6 points, 5.9 rebounds, and 2.8 assists per game. Entering year 2, the usage rate could skyrocket. Ja Morant is now in Portland, and Jaren Jackson was dealt to Utah. This opens the door for the youth movement in Memphis, and Coward could truly be a star in the making.
Brandon Podziemski
Two Warriors making this list might seem like a lot; however, Golden State wants to make a playoff run while getting their young players ready for the future without them. Podziemski could become a pivotal player for life beyond Stephen Curry. He played and appeared in all 82 games, averaging 13.8 points, 5.1 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.9 three-pointers per game. Over his final 27 regular-season games, he averaged 17.5 points, 6.2 rebounds, 4.1 assists, and 1.0 steals per game.
Podz is someone worth drafting because of the early role he’ll see w/o Butler. Let’s see if he can continue right where he left off from last year.
Ajay Mitchell
Mitchell is one of those players that could go earlier than expected, and theoretically it makes sense. The Thunder cleaned house with several players, that included Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins and Isaiah Joe. Cason Wallace is the expected starter, but I’m more intrigued by Mitchell because I believe he has the higher upside. He showed this during the playoffs, as he averaged 15.1 points per game in the postseason. Now with fewer guys to compete with, the sky is the limit.
When you get done here, make sure to check out our full 2026 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit!
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