Fantasy basketball: LaMelo Ball plays 70+ games and other bold predictions for 2025-2026
Sometimes, it takes an expert’s eye to see something before others do, like Tyler Herro’s 13th-place finish. Player Evaluatoror Ivica Zubac putting up 16.8 PPG and 12.6 RPG, as each of them did last season.
How many people saw this coming?
If you do, you’ve got a huge leg up on the competition in your fantasy basketball leagues – that’s for sure!
With that in mind, we gathered our fantasy basketball experts — Andre Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick, and Steve Alexander — and tasked them with breaking down their boldest fantasy projections for 2025-2026.
Brandon Miller will finish in the top 40 in the player rankings
Currently ranked 85th on average in ESPN’s live drafts, Miller’s coaching staff already trusts him to find his own shot, and his ability to create offense for others is only growing. With the potential to score an incredible number of 3-pointers per game and a knack for putting up defensive numbers, he could follow Trey Murphy III’s path to becoming a special 3-and-D fantasy wing early this season. Few players his size are so skilled at shooting and shooting, making Miller an outsider at his position. — McCormick
Both Joel Embiid and Kawhi Leonard will finish in the top 50 in fantasy points this season, and at least one of them will finish in the top 20.
Both Embiid and Leonard are extremely elite fantasy hoops artists on a per-game basis and have a history of missing significant amounts of time. Last season, they missed 108 of a possible 164 games. But I’m looking forward to this season being a rebound for both of them. They both enter the season relatively healthy and all it takes is 60-65 games at their typical levels to reach these milestones. — Snellings
Four Celtics will finish in the top 10 for 3-pointers this season, even with Tatum out
No team attempted more 3-pointers than the Boston Celtics last season, and that’s hardly going to change since superstar Jayson Tatum missed most, if not all, of the season. Four Celtics — Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Anfernee Simmons and Sam Hauser — would finish among the top 10 in 3s this season, while a fifth (leading scorer Jaylen Brown) would come close. — Karabell
Matas Bozlis will be a top 25 fantasy player
I expect the Bulls to start him and give him about 30 minutes per game, and his stat set is designed for fantasy, hopefully providing blocks, steals, 3-pointers, rebounds and blocks. He was overlooked until later in the draft after last season’s less-than-stellar numbers, but he has as much upside as almost any player in this year’s draft. I try to get it everywhere. — Alexander
LaMelo Ball plays over 70 games
Ball has an elite upside-down imagination when he’s on the floor. Everyone knows that. He averaged 25.2 PPG, 7.4 APG, 4.9 RPG, and 3.8 3-pointers last season, showing his all-around impact. The issue has always been one of health, with only 105 games played over the past three seasons. I think this is the season where you play the ball over 70 games. At just 24 years old and fully recovered from ankle and wrist surgeries, Charlotte’s extra depth should help manage his workload. If he stays on the field, he has fantasy top-15 potential. — Moody