Happy New Year and welcome to the December 2024 Fantrax basketball awards show! What a month we had in December, including highlights such as Christmas. On the basketball front, Victor Wembanyama kept growing into one of the best basketball players in the league. And teams like the Magic and Grizzlies kept spirits high through their injury crises’.
Fantasy Basketball Awards December 2024
Most Valuable Player – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Stats: 13 GP, 34.5 MIN, 21.3 FGA, 0.563 FG%, 2.3 3PTM, 7.7 FTA, 0.91 FT%, 33.3 PTS, 5.8 REB, 5.2 AST, 2.5 STL, 1.2 BLK, 2.5 TO
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander goes two for two in the Player of the Month for the season. Beating out Nikola Jokić and Victor Wembanyama this time. Increasing the three-point volume from last season has been great for Shai’s fantasy game. Interestingly enough, Jokić has also started shooting more threes and is closely trailing Gilgeous-Alexander in the overall race for fantasy MVP.
Rookie of the Month – Yves Missi (New Orleans Pelicans)
Stats: 13 GP, 30.8 MIN, 8.1 FGA, 0.571 FG%, 0 3PTM, 3 FTA, 0.667 FT%, 11.2 PTS, 10 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.5 STL, 1.6 BLK, 1.3 TO
Yves Missi, the 21st pick of the 2024 NBA Draft wins the December Rookie of the Month award. In this case, and more often than not, the best rookie in fantasy is the one with the best opportunity rather than pedigree. With star teammates Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram out with injuries, Missi has been able to stuff the stat sheet just enough to come out as the top rookie. Missi ranked as the 70th-best fantasy player overall in December.
Sophomore of the Month – Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)
Stats: 12 GP, 33.8 MIN, 20.2 FGA, 0.488 FG%, 3.6 3PTM, 5.9 FTA, 0.887 FT%, 28.5 PTS, 10 REB, 4.8 AST, 0.7 STL, 4.4 BLK, 3.3 TO
Obviously. Wembaynama is getting closer and closer to the best player overall spot. His unheard-of combination of threes and blocks is the main driver of the fantasy success. In 2025-26 fantasy drafts, he can justifiably go at #1.
Most Improved Player – Goga Bitadze (Orlando Magic)
Stats (2023-24): 62 GP, 15.5 MIN, 3.4 FGA, 0.603 FG%, 0 3PTM, 1.4 FTA, 0.655 FT%, 5 PTS, 4.6 REB, 1.3 AST, 0.5 STL, 1.2 BLK, 0.7 TO
Stats (December): 12 GP, 29.2 MIN, 8.3 FGA, 0.64 FG%, 0.1 3PTM, 2.8 FTA, 0.697 FT%, 12.7 PTS, 11 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.2 STL, 1.7 BLK, 1.7 TO
Goga has been the main fulcrum in the injury-ridden Magic offense since their main guys went down. That sounds ridiculous but it sort of works in both real life and fantasy. All the stats have increased appropriately with the increased playing time. It remains to be seen how much of this can continue once Banchero and the Wagners return. Likely, not all of it.
Most Declined Player – Paul George (Philadelphia 76ers)
Stats (2023-24): 74 GP, 33.8 MIN, 16.7 FGA, 0.471 FG%, 3.3 3PTM, 3.9 FTA, 0.907 FT%, 22.6 PTS, 5.2 REB, 3.5 AST, 1.5 STL, 0.5 BLK, 2.1 TO
Stats (December): 11 GP, 34.2 MIN, 14.1 FGA, 0.426 FG%, 2.1 3PTM, 2.8 FTA, 0.774 FT%, 16.3 PTS, 5.5 REB, 4.7 AST, 1.8 STL, 0.6 BLK, 2.2 TO
Paul George is suffering from new-contract syndrome as well as 15 years of NBA wear and tear. Regardless, he is not the same player he was just a year ago. It is clear he still has elite skills but it is also clear that he is taking a more passive role in the 76ers offense. Not great for those who expected a big role with Joel Embiid barely playing.
Best Single-Category Player – Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs) – BLK
Stats: 12 GP, 33.8 MIN, 4.42 BLK
If you could have one player for one fantasy category in December, it should have been Victor Wembanyama for blocks. If you have Wemby on your team, you’re most likely winning blocks every week. There’s no one really close in any other categories like that.
Performance of the Month – Luka Doncic (Dallas Mavericks) – 2024-12-15 @ GSW
Stats: 38 MIN, 23 FGA, 0.696 FG%, 6 3PTM, 9 FTA, 0.778 FT%, 45 PTS, 11 REB, 13 AST, 3 STL, 2 BLK, 3 TO
A lovely triple-double for Luka with a handful of steals and blocks gets the prize for the best game of the month. Other notable games include Wemby’s triple-double with 10 blocks, Jalen Brunson’s 55, and Jimmy Butler with 35-19-10 and 4 steals.