We’re nearing the first of the month, and it’s time to do a temperature check on the fantasy basketball rookies. My first rookie column featured the notable first-year players, but seven weeks into the NBA season, we’ve had a couple of young hoopers rising up the ladder.
Let’s dive into the latest rookie report in fantasy basketball.
1: Chet Holmgren – PF/C – Oklahoma City Thunder
Last rank: 2
Draft pick: Pick 2, 2022
Holmgren leap-frogged prized phenom Victor Wembanyama in my latest rookie rankings, as he’s 12th in nine-category leagues and 40th in points leagues. His unique combination of efficiency and defense is a cheat code for fantasy, and he’s already pacing to be an elite fantasy player.
Fellow Yahoo fantasy basketball contributor Justin Henry and I debated whether Chet is better than Kevin Durant through 17 games, and the numbers don’t lie.
Chet Holmgren: 663.2 fantasy points
Kevin Durant: 542.8 fantasy points
KD finished his rookie season 84th in category leagues, and with so much upside in Holmgren’s defensive game and better rebounding, he could be the best rookie in OKC/Seattle history.
2. Victor Wembanyama – PF/C, San Antonio Spurs
Last rank: 1
Draft pick: Pick 1, 2023
Wemby takes a small step back, but let’s not forget he’s still the favorite to win Rookie of the Year and is living up to the hype. He is 30th in category leagues and 26th in points leagues as of Thursday and notched his first 10 stock performance this past Sunday. He’s closing in on averaging 20 and 10, and through 17 games, he has more fantasy points than Tim Duncan did in his rookie season. I’m not saying that will hold, but it’s an excellent marker for his potential despite the Spurs winning only three games thus far.
Imagine a world where Coach Popovich decides to do less of the “point-Sochan” experiment and play Wembanyama with Tre Jones more frequently at the point. Just look at the difference between each player on the court with Wemby.
Wemby w/ Tre Jones and no Jeremy Sochan
54.6 FPs/g, 1.5 FPs/min
22.2 pts, 12.2 reb, 2.7 asts, 2.4 stls, 3.4 blks and 1.5 FPs/min
Wemby w/ Jeremy Sochan and no Tre Jones
Avg 44.8 FPs/g, 1.2 FPs/min
18.6 pts,…
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