NBA DFS: Impact Fantasy Basketball Rookies

Preseason is in full swing and before you know it, the regular season will be upon us! With only two weeks until opening night, I’m looking to give you an advantage over other NBA DFS players with a look at some impressive rookies who you should consider for your Fantasy Basketball rosters from day one. 

NBA DFS: Impact Fantasy Basketball Rookies

Luka Doncic – Dallas Mavericks

The Doncic hype train has left the station and I’m 100% on board with getting plenty of Fantasy Basketball shares early and often. The 6’7″ euro sensation made his preseason debut on Saturday (full highlights here) to the tune of 16 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, and 3 blocks.  He’s projected to start at either shooting guard or small forward for the Mavericks and can even slide to the 4-spot to spell Dirk Nowitzki.

Doncic’s game is smooth and well ahead of most of the other rookies on this list. He was the MVP of the euro-league last year as a member of Real Madrid and had solid averages of 14-5-4.5 in only 25 minutes per game. The ability to contribute in multiple categories on a nightly basis is going to make him a reliable fantasy asset from Day 1.  Dallas coach Rick Carlisle has been hesitant to play rookies big minutes, but it will be hard to keep Doncic and his shooting and play-making off the floor since Dallas is really lacking on the wings. The hype is real and we should expect big things from Doncic this season.

Trae Young – Atlanta Hawks

Young and Doncic will forever be linked since they were swapped on draft night. While Doncic has a more polished, NBA-ready game, Young may have more opportunity to be a volume scorer out of the gates for a team that traded away it’s leading scorer last season. If we were talking season-long fantasy, then I’d be a little more bearish on Young due to his inefficient shooting and potential for big turnover numbers, but since we are talking DFS here, I think there will plenty of nights when you’re going to want Young on your rosters.

Young is coming off one of the best seasons we’ve seen from a college point guard in a long time as he averaged 27 points and nearly 9 assists for Oklahoma last year. He doesn’t play much defense, but he does know how to score the basketball and is being an opportunity to compete for the starting point guard position with veteran Jeremy Lin, another shoot-first point guard. While Lin could beat Young out for the nod on opening night, it’s still very likely that Young will see minutes in the high 20’s and very possible they could be on the floor together at times with Lin bumping over to shooting guard. Put it this way, the Hawks didn’t trade Dennis Schroeder and then flip Doncic for Young only to let him sit on the bench. The kid is going to get a chance to play and is someone who should be on your radar right away.

NBA DFS: Impact Fantasy Basketball Rookies

Deandre Ayton – Phoenix Suns

The #1 overall pick, Ayton is projected to start for a team that is in desperate need of an injection of talent. In one season at Arizona, Ayton put up 20/11 with nearly two blocks a game and even showed some nice touch shooting 34% on three-pointers (limited sample size) Phoenix has lacked the athleticism and skill that Ayton possesses since the early days of Amare Stoudamire’s career.  Suns fans and DFS players are both watering at the mouth.

Seven-footers with a smooth shooting touch, rebounding prowess and a little shot-blocking don’t grow on trees and obviously, there are some high expectations for Ayton based on his #1 pick status. Last year, Devin Booker, TJ Warren, and Josh Jackson carried most of the scoring burden for the Suns, but we should expect the Suns to make an effort to run more offense through their young big man this year. While there’s a bunch of guys competing for minutes on the wing and the power forward position, there’s only Richaun Holmes and trade-bait/player-coach Tyson Chandler backing up Ayton. He should get 30 minutes and have a chance to be a nightly fantasy asset.

The Suns played an up-tempo style of play last year that means more possessions, more rebounds, and more scoring opportunities for Ayton.  I’m hoping the sites are slow to price him up because I think he has the potential to be an elite fantasy player in 2018.

Marvin Bagley III – Sacramento Kings

The #2 overall pick out of Duke, Bagley should be ready to contribute offensively right away. He put up 21 points and 11 rebounds a game last year while shooting 61% from the field and 39% from three-point range. He’s got a great touch around the basket and could be the inside scorer the Kings have been lacking since Boogie Cousins left.  He’s projected to start at power forward with Willie Cauley-Stein at center and the two could make a very formidable front court for the Kings for years to come.

Now, I have to pump the brakes a little bit because we are talking about the Sacramento Kings here and they’ve been known to spread the minutes out among their young players in years past. With veteran Zach Randolph and good young players Skal Labissiere and Harry Giles also vying for playing time, it’s possible that Bagley could have his minutes limited early in the season.  Beware of the timeshare! But by the end of the year, it’s likely we see Bagley’s minutes increase as Zach Randolph may get some DNPs or even traded to a contender at the deadline.

NBA DFS: Impact Fantasy Basketball Rookies

Kevin Knox and Mitchell Robinson – New York Knicks

Normally these two rookies might not be on our radar but the opportunity to contribute for Knicks may be there with Kristaps “the Unicorn” Porzingis injured and likely to miss a big chunk of the 2018-2019 season. Knox was the Knicks’ first-round pick at #9 this year in the draft and flashed some scoring ability with 21 points per game in 4 summer league games this summer.  At 6′ 9″ he’s either a stretch four type player with a nice shooting touch. He’s very raw and pretty scoring dependent, but without Porzingis, I’m not sure who New York plans on starting at the 4. If there’s a path to 25 minutes for Knox, he could easily be someone you consider for DFS in the right matchups…as long as the price is right.

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The Knicks second-round pick was Mitchell Robinson, who never played a minute of NCAA basketball and decided not to play overseas last year either. Robinson was an elite prospect coming out of high school though. He’s a 7-footer with a 7′ 4″ wingspan and projects as an elite rebounder and shot blocker. In five summer league games, he averaged 13-10 with 4 blocks per game in only 25 minutes.  Again, this is all about opportunity as the Knicks only have Enes “what is defense?” Kanter and Noah Vonleh as other options at center. Robinson has a lot of appeal to me as a punt play if he can crack 18-20 minutes with his elite rebounding and shot blocking upside.

Others to watch…

Jaren Jackson – Memphis Grizzlies

Elie Obobo – Phoenix Suns

Miles Bridges – Charlotte Hornets

Thanks for reading and be sure to check back next week for my breakout players for 2018!  Follow me @ThunderDanDFS on twitter and hit me up with questions any time!