Friday marked the end of the 2024-25 NBA preseason with the Warriors trashing the Lakers. With only days until the start of the regular season on Tuesday, this is one of the last chances to speculate recklessly about the players until reality sets in. Below, we’ll look at some of the non-obvious players who shone in the preseason and evaluate their chances of keeping it up. Also, we’ll look at some of the players who struggled and see if there are, indeed, any reasons to panic.
2024-25 Preseason Stars & Scrubs
Star: Payton Pritchard (PG, SG) – Boston Celtics
Pritchard gets the unofficial preseason MVP award from me. In 5 games, he averaged 16 points, 6 assists, and 4.2 threes in 22 minutes. That may not look great on paper but in preseason all players average around 20 minutes. In per-36 minutes, the averages were 26 points, 10 assists, and 6.8 threes. Pritchard may be in line for increased playing time for the regular season, especially considering Jrue Holiday is entering his 15th NBA season. Even if he doesn’t beat out Holiday for the starting spot, which he probably will not, there are still 96 guard minutes in every game to be split between Holiday, Derrick White, and Pritchard. And since Pritchard is more offense-minded than the other two, he is one to keep an eye on for fantasy purposes.
Scrub: Al Horford (PF, C) – Boston Celtics
Horford only played in one game in the preseason in which he made a layup, grabbed 2 boards, and had 1 assist in 23 minutes. Not that a player of his experience should be judged on a single preseason game but let’s do it anyway. Just kidding. This will be year 17 for Horford and he’s somehow hung on, as an impactful player on the floor but also in fantasy basketball, which is, usually, a young man’s game. Your Luke Kornets and Xavier Tillmans will likely share the center position with Horford until Porzingis returns. Expect Horford to average around 20 minutes per game – not enough to be a useful fantasy player in most formats.
Star: Dalton Knecht (PG, SG, SF) – Los Angeles Lakers
Knecht, the 17th pick in this year’s draft, was one of the biggest stories of the preseason when he scored 35 points, including 20 straight, against the Suns. He ended up making 4.8 threes per 36 minutes. The Lakers can use more shooting after ranking 28th in the league in three-point attempts last year. It’s not quite clear yet that Knecht will be playing heavy rotation minutes but great shooters will usually find their way onto the court. Knecht shot 39.7% from three in college. I wonder if new head coach JJ Redick sees something in Knecht. Perhaps himself?
Scrub: Kyle Kuzma (SF, PF) – Washington Wizards
Kuzma had about the preseason you’d expect him to have. The stat columns to highlight are 5 turnovers per 36 and 31% from the field. I don’t think that means anything for the season. He’ll likely have a lot of turnovers and shoot, generally, poorly. Otherwise, expect Kuzma to deliver about the same season he has done in the last three years in Washington.
Star: Josh Minott (SF) – Minnesota Timberwolves
According to head coach Chris Finch, Josh Minott has been one of the best players in the Wolves training camp. He averaged 20 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.5 threes, 1.8 steals, and 2.1 blocks per 36 minutes in the preseason. That’s great – put him in the starting lineup, Finchy! Alas, Finch also said that Minott will not be in the regular rotation to start the season. For now, then, it’s a no for Josh Minott. But he remains one to keep an eye out for in the future.
Scrub: Franz Wagner (SG, SF, PF) – Orlando Magic
It was a dismal showing from Franz in the preseason. He missed all 7 of his three-point attempts and shot an overall 29.7% from the field. Maybe the shooting isn’t going to improve from the last season. Maybe all the shouts of “surely, he can’t keep shooting this poorly forever” were for naught. Paolo Banchero looks great though – clearly the #1 option on the Magic.
Star: Tyus Jones (PG) – Phoenix Suns
The new Suns offense was clicking and ticking in the preseason with Jones running the point. Jones averaged 15.5 points, 8.5 assists, 3.2 steals, and 3.2 threes per 36 minutes. There is not much else to say but congratulate those who drafted Tyus Jones. It’s going to be great.
Scrub: Klay Thompson (SG, SF) – Dallas Mavericks
Thompson was largely unimpressive in the three games he played in. He can still shoot it from deep (33% in the preseason but whatever) but as far as fantasy is concerned, that’s all he can do. Depending on your league setup, that’s only 1 out of 8 or 9 categories. Not great. Add to that his, likely, decreasing playing time and the fact that making 3 3-pointers per game isn’t as impressive as it was 6-7 years ago, Thompson is likely not someone you want on your fantasy league.