The 2024-25 NBA regular season is over, and thus the 2024-25 fantasy basketball season is over. It was the best of times and the worst of times. In a way, we’re all winners, but in a more accurate way, the one person who won our league is the winner, and the rest of us are losers. Speaking of winners and losers, below you will find the 2024-25 fantasy basketball season awards.
Fantasy Basketball Awards 2024-25
Most Valuable Player – Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (Oklahoma City Thunder)
Stats: 76 GP, 34.2 MIN, 21.8 FGA, 0.519 FG%, 2.1 3PTM, 8.8 FTA, 0.898 FT%, 32.7 PTS, 5 REB, 6.4 AST, 1.7 STL, 1 BLK, 2.4 TO
Gilgeous-Alexander finished his second season in a row as the best fantasy player and is all but certain to win the not-as-prestigious NBA MVP award too. SGA led the league in points per game and adjusted free throw percentages, but contributed positively in all fantasy categories. In fact, he was the only player in the league to be elite in both field goal and free throw percentages. He’ll turn 27 in the summer and enter his official prime, so it looks like we’ll have the best fantasy player set for a while.
Rookie of the Year – Zach Edey (Memphis Grizzlies)
Stats: 66 GP, 21.5 MIN, 6.6 FGA, 0.58 FG%, 0.3 3PTM, 1.9 FTA, 0.709 FT%, 9.2 PTS, 8.3 REB, 1 AST, 0.5 STL, 1.3 BLK, 1.3 TO
In a race for the ages, Zach Edey barely beat out Kel’el Ware for the Rookie of the Year honors. I had them ranked 97th and 98th in the league. Ware can always console himself by knowing he has a cool Superman-inspired name. So, who’s the real winner here really?
Sophomore of the Year – Victor Wembanyama (San Antonio Spurs)
Stats: 46 GP, 33.2 MIN, 18.6 FGA, 0.476 FG%, 3.1 3PTM, 4.1 FTA, 0.836 FT%, 24.3 PTS, 11 REB, 3.7 AST, 1.1 STL, 3.8 BLK, 3.2 TO
Despite barely playing just over half the season, Wembanyama was head and shoulders above fellow sophomores. On a per-game basis, he was the third-best fantasy player in the league. Assuming, and expecting, a full recovery from his illness, the sky is still the limit for Wemby.
Most Improved Player – Christian Braun (Denver Nuggets)
Stats (2023-24): 82 GP, 20.2 MIN, 5.9 FGA, 0.46 FG%, 0.8 3PTM, 1.6 FTA, 0.694 FT%, 7.3 PTS, 3.7 REB, 1.6 AST, 0.5 STL, 0.4 BLK, 0.7 TO
Stats (2024-25): 79 GP, 33.9 MIN, 10.4 FGA, 0.58 FG%, 1.1 3PTM, 2.7 FTA, 0.827 FT%, 15.4 PTS, 5.2 REB, 2.6 AST, 1.1 STL, 0.5 BLK, 1 TO
Braun did a lovely job picking up the slack in quite a chaotic Nuggets team. More of a high-energy guy than a go-to guy, in general, his best ability was availability. Going forward, can we expect a bigger role? Probably not. I wouldn’t go out of my way to draft him in 25-26.
Most Declined Player – Terry Rozier (Miami Heat)
Stats (2023-24): 61 GP, 33.5 MIN, 16.4 FGA, 0.443 FG%, 2.4 3PTM, 3.2 FTA, 0.869 FT%, 19.8 PTS, 4 REB, 5.6 AST, 1 STL, 0.3 BLK, 1.7 TO
Stats (2024-25): 64 GP, 25.9 MIN, 9.9 FGA, 0.391 FG%, 1.4 3PTM, 1.7 FTA, 0.852 FT%, 10.6 PTS, 3.7 REB, 2.6 AST, 0.6 STL, 0.2 BLK, 1.2 TO”
Speaking of someone not to draft in 25-26, here’s Terry Rozier.
Best Single-Category Player – Dyson Daniels (Atlanta Hawks) – STL
Stats: 76 GP, 33.8 MIN, 229 STL, 3.0 SPG
Dyson Daniels stole our hearts away in 2024-25 as well as stole the ball away from the opposing teams 229 times. 229 is the highest regular season total since Gary Payton’s 231 in 1995-96, which was 30 years ago. For reference, on the last day of the 95-96 season, the airwaves were ruled by Return of the Mack by Mark Morrison, which is a sweet song. As for Daniels, I don’t think there is any stopping him going forward.
Performance of the Year – Stephen Curry (Golden State Warriors) – 2025-04-01 @ MEM
Stats: 37 MIN, 31 FGA, 0.516 FG%, 12 3PTM, 8 FTA, 1.000 FT%, 52 PTS, 10 REB, 8 AST, 5 STL, 1 BLK, 2 TO
There it is, there’s the best single-game performance of the season. On April Fool’s on all days, too. What’s the significance of that? None, as far as I can tell.
Best Worst Real Life Player in Fantasy – Nikola Vucevic (Chicago Bulls)
The Best Worst Real Life Player in Fantasy award goes to the player whose fantasy contributions outweigh their real-life basketball contributions the most. And this year the award goes to Nikola Vucevic, whom I had ranked as a top 10 fantasy player but an average-at-best real-life NBA player. Congratulations, Nikola!
Worst Best Real Life Player in Fantasy – Herbert Jones (New Orleans Pelicans)
If you looked at the previous award, you might know where this is going – it is the exact opposite of the previous award. Herb Jones was not really worth having in your fantasy squad in 2024-25, but he sure is worth having in your NBA roster. He is the kind of player who is described on NBA podcasts as “so good”. As in “Herb Jones is so good”. High praise indeed.
