No one, let alone rookies, has a direct path of production within a season. Obviously, for a rookie, it’s going to be an up-and-down season. There’s a lot to keep an eye on, and it’s generally filled with excitement and upside. Let’s take a trip around the NBA and dig into some players in their first year of professional action.
Fantasy Basketball Rookie Report
Ace Bailey, F, Utah Jazz
The pre-draft process surrounding Ace Bailey was certainly interesting. He entered college with the potential to be the number one overall pick, but then had an uneven season at Rutgers.
Bailey still finished with 17.6 points and 7.2 rebounds per game, as the upside and potential were clear. He then tried to engineer the draft process to get a team where playing time wouldn’t be an issue with the Utah Jazz, that has certainly proven to be the case for the forward.
Utah eased Bailey into action, but that was ultimately short-lived. The Jazz are very much in a rebuilding stage, so it shouldn’t be surprising that Bailey is getting plenty of chances to show what he’s capable of.
He’s working on a streak of three games of double-digit scoring, with two of those games coming as a starter. In his most recent game, Bailey scored 20 points in 26 minutes while making four of eight shots from downtown. Fantasy basketball is all about production, and Bailey has both the upside and now the opportunity. That should translate into a strong rookie season, even if there are some bumps at times.
Dylan Harper, G, San Antonio Spurs
A lot of the things we said about Ace Bailey above can be applied to Dylan Harper. After all, they were college teammates last year at Rutgers.
Harper got his professional career off to a strong start, averaging 14 points, four rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. In his first six games, it was a nice beginning to Harper’s professional career, and also quite efficient. That production came in just 23 minutes per game. It also should be noted that it came while De’Aaron Fox was sidelined due to injury.
Unfortunately, Harper’s development is now on pause thanks to a calf injury. San Antonio and fantasy managers will now be without Harper. However, the start of his career certainly has attracted our interest.
Tre Johnson, G, Washington Wizards
When it comes to fantasy basketball production, the Washington Wizards are the land of opportunity. It shouldn’t be surprising, as that’s what happens on rebuilding teams. That lines up perfectly for rookies, and Tre Johnson is the latest beneficiary.
From a fantasy perspective, Johnson’s value will likely be determined by how many points he scores. The guard is making 1.9 three-pointers per game this season while also shooting 92.3% from the free-throw line.
Volume hasn’t been an issue for Johnson, and he began the season producing offensively. In a start last week, Johnson showed what he’s capable of, scoring 19 points in 29 minutes. Overall, Johnson is scoring 11.9 points a game while proving to be a strong source of offense. Keep an eye on Johnson as he improves on his 43.4% field goal percentage and gets more comfortable in the NBA.
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