The NBA season is here folks! So, it’s time for the staff at Fantrax to get together and place there most bold predictions of the 2022-23 fantasy basketball season! Being conservative in fantasy can only get you so far… it’s time to be bold baby! Here’s a few players to circle on draft day and help you get closer to that fantasy Championship!
The Staff
Below are the analysts that will be sharing their fantasy basketball bold prediction for the 2022-23 NBA season. We’ve included their initials so that you know who is who down below, and also their Twitter handles, so you can give them a follow and let them know what you think of their predictions and interact with them throughout the season for great insight!
- MO – Mike Omelan – @mikeomelan
- MJ – Mart Jürisoo – @MartFantasy
- JK – Jordan Kligman – @416Basketball
2022-23 Fantasy Basketball Bold Predictions
MO – Jalen Brunson will finish top-10 in scoring and will have a top-25 fantasy season.
Start spreading the news… The New York Knicks are absolutely enamored with new signee Jalen Brunson. Brunson, who was the Knicks’ big acquisition this summer, signed a massive 4-year/$104 million contract with the Knicks this offseason and he’s lived up to the hype so far racking up the points in the preseason. What else do you want to know? The Knicks outscored their opponent by 63 points when Brunson was on the floor during the preseason. He’s a star folks! Brunson put on a show during last year’s playoffs averaging 27.8 PPG in their 1st-round upset over the Jazz proving he can lead a team as Luka Doncic missed the first three games of the series. It’s going to be the Jalen Brunson show all year long at MSG. I want to be a part of it…New York, New York! Don’t miss out on drafting the next breakout star of the 2022-23 season.
MJ- Kyrie Irving will have a top-5 fantasy season.
On a per-game basis, Irving has finished each of the last three seasons among the five best fantasy players. All that needs to happen is for Kyrie to play the full season to his usual standards and we’re there. Perhaps playing the full season is the unlikely part. However, most of the recently missed games have not been injury-related so maybe they’re not repeatable like you’d expect physical injuries to be. New year, new Kyrie… right?
JK: O.G. Anunoby will win defensive player of the year and be a second-round asset in 9-cat leagues (top 24).
There was a betting website that listed Anunoby +20000 to win this award. +2000 would honestly make a lot more sense considering Mikal Bridges is +1300 whom OG often gets compared to. How many players can guard one through five in the NBA? Hint, I can count them on one hand. And Anunoby happens to be one of these rare commodities.
OG’s best per game finish when he finished 35th in 2020-21. The major obstacle here is games played. Some people might say OG is injury prone. We can agree to disagree. During the Raptors’ title run, Anunoby missed games because he had a death in his family. Then his appendix ruptured. After that, the Raptors went through the Tampa tank year when they were forced to relocate because of covid restrictions. And then last year everyone on the Raptors seemed to be out of the lineup at one point or another due to injury.
The Raptors still don’t have a true center on the team unless you count second-round pick Christian Koloko. We are going to see a lot of small ball again this season for the Raptors. These could lead to some more block opportunities for OG. Nick Nurse plays his core players heavy minutes. On top of that, OG expressed an interest to be more involved in the offense and the Raptors seem on board with that. I wouldn’t be shocked if OG averaged 20PPG with good percentages and elite defensive stats. Before you think I’m crazy I recommend watching some youtube. This man plays hard on both ends and doesn’t get frazzled in big moments. O.G. Anunoby’s ADP on Fantrax is 65. In 9-cat leagues, he finished a full round better than that last year based on per-game numbers in a year where his shooting percentage was down. I think he returns to that 39-40% range from three which he shot the previous two seasons. And that should push his field goal percentage back up to the high 40s. There was a time when O.G. Anunoby was thought of as a better asset than Pascal Siakam. In category leagues that is in play for fantasy this season.
For more great analysis check out our full 2022-23 Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit!