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André Snellings
In the first ESPN mock draft of the season, the first round featured zero small forwards, one power forward and one shooting guard with four centers and four point guards. Meanwhile, in that same draft, the fourth and eighth rounds were dominated by shooting guards, small forwards and power forwards.
This gives a quick snapshot of the trend we’ve been seeing in recent seasons, where the top of the draft is dominated by point guards and big men while the talent on the wing can be found later in the draft. Information like this is important, because it can help guide the decisions each manager will and should make when building their squads. And that is why the tiers-based approach in this article is useful.
One way to utilize the info might be to put a premium on small forwards in the first few rounds, knowing those are limited commodities.
Another approach might be to identify where the talent for each position is most clustered. For instance, among power forwards, Tier 3 has the largest cluster whereas for small forwards, Tier 5 is deepest. Among centers, Tiers 1 and 2 are deep, but Tier 3 only has a single name. You can utilize this information to build a roadmap for what a successful team might look like.
There are many ways to build a successful team, but all of them require finding strong producers on your team from top to bottom. The following is my breakdown of players into tiers, by position, based upon my preseason projections.
It’s worthwhile for you to see how I break things down, but ultimately you’ll get the most benefit out of taking a few minutes for yourself and breaking down the players into your own tiers based upon your own valuation. You would be shocked how much a little exercise like that can do to prepare you for your draft, and how much this 20-minute exercise could set you apart from the other team managers in your league.
Point guard
Thoughts on PGs:
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There are more point guards in the top-2 tiers than any other position, led by reigning MVP Shai Gilgeous-Alexander at the top of Tier 1.
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Luka Doncic remains on the top tier even after his trade from the Mavericks to the Lakers, while Cade Cunningham made the leap to the top tier with a monster effort last season.
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Tier 2 is full of guards that are the franchise players for their teams, while Tier 3 is split between franchise players and All Star second options.
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Tier 4 features two specialists in Dyson Daniels (steals) and Derrick White (3-pointers), while Tier 5 is split between star-caliber players expected to miss the start of the season (Tyler Herro and Darius Garland) and younger players that should have bigger roles in new situations (Jordan Poole and Kevin Porter Jr.).
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The first rookie, Egor deminmade the list in Tier 8.
Shooting guard
Thoughts on SGs:
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For the second straight season, Anthony Edwards is the only shooting guard in Tier 1.
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Tier 2 has two All Stars in Devin Booker and Jaylen Brown that look to have bigger roles this season with their previous co-stars, Kevin Durant (traded) and Jayson Tatum (injured), not on the court to share minutes. They are joined in Tier 2 by Amen Thompsonwho burst into the fantasy landscape as a sophomore and has superstar potential with an expanded team role in Year 3.
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Tier 3 features Donovan Mitchellwho likely would be Tier 2 if the Cavaliers’ team success didn’t reduce his minutes as it did last season, as well as three other young up-and-coming stars.
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Tier 4 is just two names, Jalen Green and Austin Reaveswho both have shown the ability to produce strong scoring volume but that will be the second or third options on teams with other high-volume options.
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Reed Sheppard is an intriguing player. He is in Tier 6 despite not playing many minutes as a rookie, because he looks to have a much larger role on the Rockets this season after trades and injuries depleted their backcourt.
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Dylan Harper is the only rookie to make this list, in Tier 9.
Small forward
Thoughts on SFs:
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LeBron James is the only small forward in Tier 1. It is remarkable to have a 40-year old in this spot, but he is coming off a season in which he scored the ninth-most fantasy points with the sixth-best average fantasy scoring average in the league.
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Jalen Williams finished 26th in the league in fantasy scoring average, but is still young and improving so he lands in Tier 2.
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The highest-ranked rookie in the game, Cooper Flagglands among an eclectic group in Tier 3 along with two other high-scoring wings in young veteran Franz Wagner and DeMar DeRozan. Josh Hart also landed in Tier 3 because his unique all-around game, as well as his tendency not to miss games, keeps him among the higher fantasy-scoring wings in the game.
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Tier 4 features two Bridges, Miles and Mikal, as well as Michael Porter Jr. who is expected to have a larger role in Brooklyn than he did with the Nuggets. Deni Avdi started his breakout last season, and could very well outplay his Tier 5 status this season.
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Brandon Ingram and especially Kawhi Leonard would be several tiers higher based on their play, but find themselves further down the list due to their injury history.
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Some of the more intriguing names in the upper tiers include Ausar thompson in Tier 7, who could look to bounce-back after health issues contributed to a sophomore slump, as well as rookie Ace Bailey and 2024 No. 1 overall pick Zaccharie Risacher in Tier 9.
Power forward
Thoughts on PFs:
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Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a staple in Tier 1 for power forwards, but this season he is joined by Anthony Daviswho now plays power forward instead of center for a Mavericks team that is deep in the middle.
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Pascal Sakak is the only name in Tier 2, and his volume is expected to increase with Tyrese Haliburton out.
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Tier 3 is packed, with a range of players spanning from Kevin Durant to Zion Williamsonwho is still trying to prove that he can be healthy and play at a superstar level for an entire season.
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Tiers 4 and 5 have a total of four names, three of which are tall, slender types that combo shotblocking with perimeter scoring at the other end.
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None of the rookie power forwards made any of the tiers, but Matthew Buzel in Tier 9 was a rookie with upside last season and could develop into a fantasy contributor as a sophomore this season.
Center
Thoughts on Cs:
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Tiers 1 and 2 are deep with centers, including the seven listed as well as two power forwards with dual eligibility. Nikola Jokic remains the consensus top overall pick in fantasy basketball for the umpteenth year in a row, while Victor Wembanyama continues to be one of the few players in the league with the upside to challenge for that top spot.
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Tier 2 features some new names, in particular Ivica Zubacwho made the star-leap last season.
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BAM adebayo is the only name in Tier 3, though Tier 3 power forward Evan Mobley is dual eligible.
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Tier 4 is where Joel Embiid fell, but question marks about his availability could have him fall much further. In the first ESPN points mock, I took Embiid in the sixth round but we haven’t heard much positive about his health moving into the season. If the news doesn’t get better soon, he could fall to the lower tiers.
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Alex Sarrthe No. 2 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, showed enough promise as a rookie and again in the Vegas Summer League that he debuts in Tier 5. Four of his classmates also made this list, including three in Tier 8 and one in Tier 9.
Final thoughts
There’s more than one way to build a champion, but one way to do it is to maximize your value at each position based upon where you’re picking. Keep track of what type of talent might be available at different parts of the draft and watch for the benefits in your team results. You’ll be happy that you did.
