When it comes to fantasy sports, the biggest key to winning is simply finding value. If you draft players onto your team who overproduce compared to when they were drafted, you’ll probably end up with a strong team. Finding those sleepers throughout your draft is no easy task, but if you’re able to do it, there’s a solid chance that you’ll be the one bragging to all your friends at the end of the season.
So as we take a few days off from the strenuous grind of the fantasy basketball season to watch the All-Star weekend festivities, let’s take a look at some of the players who have been most valuable to fantasy teams thus far. A number of players have taken massive leaps forward this year, and regardless of whether or not they actually made it to the NBA All-Star game, these overperformers are the true all-stars in fantasy basketball.
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Midseason NBA All-Value Teams
Eastern Conference Backcourt
G LaMelo Ball, CHA
A little over three years ago, LaVar Ball confidently claimed that LaMelo Ball would become the best basketball player out of the three Ball brothers. Now just two and a half months into his rookie season, LaMelo is already looking like the best Ball brother. The 19-year-old is already one of the most electrifying players in the NBA, and he’s getting better every day.
Ball is averaging 15.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 6.3 assists, 1.6 steals, and 2.0 threes per game this season, helping any fantasy team that took a shot on the rookie and his ADP of 72 entering the season. In the last month, those numbers have gotten even better, posting 21.1 points, 6.3 rebounds, 6.6 assists, 2.0 steals, and 3.0 threes per game on 47.4% shooting and a strong 82.6% from the free throw line. Ball is already playing like one of the best point guards in the league, and those numbers should only increase further as the season and his career continue to progress. It seems as though this was the one and only chance to draft LaMelo Ball as a true value pick in fantasy leagues.
G Terry Rozier, CHA
After a disappointing first season in Charlotte a year ago, the consensus was that things would only get worse for the former Celtics guard once the Hornets drafted LaMelo Ball with the third overall pick in the NBA draft. This assumption could not have been more wrong. Rozier is putting up career highs in points (20.5), threes (3.4), field goal percentage (49%), and three-point percentage (43.9) to go along with 3.8 boards, 3.2 assists, and 1.4 steals per game. With an ADP of 118.1 entering the season, Scary Terry is proving to be one of the most valuable picks of draft season.
Eastern Conference Frontcourt
F Jerami Grant, DET
In six NBA seasons, Jerami Grant had never averaged more than 10.3 shot attempts per game. He was a nice role player for teams, and one of those guys who was probably more valuable to his NBA team than to fantasy teams. That all changed this year when he signed with the Detroit Pistons. Becoming the focal point of an offense severely lacking in talent, Grant has more than risen to the occasion.
Grant has smashed his 106.7 ADP on a career-best 17.8 shot attempts per game, putting up 23.4 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.8 steals, 1.1 blocks, and 2.5 threes per contest. The former second-round pick is now a top-25 scorer in the league, despite a previous career-high of just 13.6 points per game. It’s too early to know for sure, but I imagine a lot of fantasy basketball champions will have Jerami Grant on their rosters this year.
F/C Julius Randle, NY
Similar to Grant, Julius Randle has taken full advantage of being the top scoring option on his team. Randle has produced career bests in every main statistic except blocks (0.2), averaging 23.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.9 threes per game. As a result, Randle was selected to his first NBA all-star game, and he is a huge part of the Knicks surprisingly sitting as the 5 seed in the east currently.
Randle is one of just six players averaging double-doubles with over 23 points per game this season. The rest of that list with their ADP goes as follows: Giannis Antetokounmpo (2.3), James Harden (2.7), Nikola Jokic (6.9), Joel Embiid (15.7), and Nikola Vucevic (25.3). Randle was an incredible value at his 62.7 ADP, and fantasy teams should keep reaping the rewards.
F/C Jarrett Allen, CLE
Before the season began, Jarrett Allen’s 89.6 ADP almost seemed too high. Though incredibly talented, he was projected to come off the bench in a timeshare with veteran center DeAndre Jordan. This, along with the fact that the Nets had a surplus of scoring options including Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, Caris LeVert, Joe Harris, and Spencer Dinwiddie, made for an overall poor environment from a fantasy perspective. However, Allen quickly commandeered the bulk of the center minutes in Brooklyn, making the most of his time on the floor by averaging 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game.
He was then traded to Cleveland, where he landed in an even better position to thrive. Again Allen has made the most of his time on the floor, averaging 14.7 points, 9.7 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. The 22-year-old has double-doubled in each of his last nine games, and he now leads the league in field goal percentage at 66.9%. The Cavaliers value him as their center of the future, so his minutes and opportunities should only increase across the second half of the season as he builds chemistry with his new team.
Western Conference Backcourt
G Jordan Clarkson, UTA
Jordan Clarkson, just like the Utah Jazz as a team, is having a somewhat unexpectedly great season thus far. Clarkson is scoring 17.9 points per game with 4.0 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 3.2 threes per game, adding a spectacular 96.7% mark from the free-throw line. This production has helped give the Jazz the best record in the NBA at the all-star break, while Clarkson has made himself a serious candidate for sixth man of the year. Coming into the season with an ADP of 144.4, I don’t think anyone expected this type of production from the seventh-year guard.
G/F Malik Beasley, MIN
Entering the season, there was a lot up in the air regarding Malik Beasley’s status, as he was dealing with some legal issues regarding an arrest back in September. Up until recently being handed a 12-game suspension, however, Beasley was not only playing but dominating.
Throughout a season in which Karl-Anthony Towns and D’Angelo Russell have missed time, and coach Ryan Saunders was fired, Beasley has been the one bright spot in an otherwise abysmal season for the Timberwolves. Beasley is averaging 20.5 points, 4.6 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 3.5 three-pointers per game this season. In the last month, his 4.6 threes per game are second in the league behind Stephen Curry. Unlike Curry, however, who was a consensus first-round pick in all fantasy leagues, Beasley had an ADP of 184.7. This means he was going undrafted in the majority of standard fantasy leagues this season, arguably giving him the highest relative value of any player in fantasy basketball this year.
Western Conference Frontcourt
G/F Kyle Anderson, MEM
Objectively speaking, Kyle Anderson might be one of the least exciting players in the NBA. He’s not super athletic, he’s not the guy to end up on the SportsCenter top 10 plays, and he definitely will not be the guy to drop 50 points on your favorite team.
That said, Kyle Anderson is also a terrific team basketball player, and he does just enough of everything to make him quite valuable in fantasy. The former UCLA standout has posted strong across-the-board production this season, scoring 13.6 points per game to go with 6.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, 1.2 steals, 0.7 blocks, 1.6 threes, and 1.6 turnovers on 47.7% shooting and 75.3% from the line. This has given Anderson top-100 fantasy value, despite being undrafted in most fantasy leagues with a 341.7 ADP. He’s not flashy, but he fills the box score in a way that few others do, helping both the Grizzlies and your fantasy teams win games.
F/C Christian Wood, HOU
Christian Wood made this list despite missing the past month of the season, because, when he was on the court, he really was that good. Wood is averaging 22 points, 10.2 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 1.5 blocks, and 1.9 threes per game on 55.8% shooting. Just for reference, Anthony Davis is averaging 22.5 points, 8.4 rebounds, 1.3 steals, 1.8 blocks, and 0.7 threes per game on 53.3% shooting. Karl-Anthony Towns is averaging 22 points, 10.9 rebounds, 0.9 steals, 1.7 blocks, and 1.9 threes per game on 49.4% shooting. All three of these stat lines are extremely similar, but the difference is that Davis and Towns had respective ADPs of 4.0 and 7.4, while Wood had an ADP of 53.8. In simple terms, anyone who drafted Wood essentially got first-round value for a fifth-round price, making him well worth it, despite his lengthy absence.
C Enes Kanter, POR
In a similar fashion to Jarrett Allen, Enes Kanter began the year as a backup center, playing behind Jusuf Nurkic. Just three weeks into the season however, Nurkic fractured his wrist and required surgery. This allowed Kanter to step into the starting lineup and he took full advantage of the opportunity. The big man is averaging 11.6 points and 11.6 rebounds on 58.7% from the floor. He has recorded 15 double-doubles in his last 22 games, including each of his last five.
Eventually, the return of Nurkic could impact Kanter’s playing time, but there is no saying when that might be. Either way, Kanter has provided tremendous value at his 439.8 ADP, having gone undrafted in most fantasy leagues, and he will remain a strong source of efficient scoring and rebounding even after Nurkic makes his eventual return.
Looking for more value? Check out the Week 11 Waiver Wire.
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