NBA Fantasy: Early risers in category leagues

Zion Williamson has been an excellent draft pick to date in all formats.

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We’re into Week 4, and below is my 9-cat risers list through Week 3, featuring five risers. Ranks are my rest-of-season 9-cat projections, not a summary of who’s performed best so far. Stats are through Nov. 9 (about 8–11 games played per player), so sample sizes are still small.

📈 Risers

Davion Mitchell

– PG, Miami Heat

Mitchell has become one of the NBA’s top playmakers. Not bad for a guy who went around pick 120 during draft season. His 8.5 assists a night rank fifth in the league. That’s just the passing. His shot volume has almost doubled, boosting his scoring to over 16 points per game, along with 2.3 3s. And he’s still getting steals, averaging 1.3 per outing. The only knock to his game is his free-throw shooting. Playing high minutes on a team with little creation outside of Giannis Antetokounmpo and sometimes Pelle Larsson, Mitchell has real staying power as a PG anchor. He ranks near the top-50 in both points and 9-cat through three weeks.

Ayo Dosunmu

– PG/SG, Minnesota Timberwolves

It’s a luxury for the Timberwolves to have a player of Ayo’s caliber to step in for Anthony Edwards. He’s been a model of efficiency for years and has been impactful whenever he saw an increase in minutes and opportunity. That tracks with what we’ve seen from Dosunmu this season. Dosunmu is shooting 52% from the field and 89% at the line, scoring 18.1 points, grabbing 4.9 rebounds, and adding 4 assists, while still tacking on 1.9 3s and 1.3 steals in 31 minutes. As long as Edwards is out, Ayo is a top-40 player in 9-cat and top-60 in High Score, averaging over 36 fantasy points per night.

Zion Williamson

– PF/C, New Orleans Pelicans

Health is wealth. So far, Zion is pacing to last season’s numbers — similar shot volume, but excelling in the paint. Zion is fourth in the league in points in the paint, averaging 14.1 per game. Zion is shooting 63% while getting to the line 7.2 times a game. Bully ball. Also, his steal rate is pacing to a career high, with 2.2 per game. That number is bound to regress, but the combination of his high FG and steal rates, improving free-throw percentage (76.4) and scoring over 20 PPG with 5 boards is what’s elevated him to 22nd in 9-cat, 34th in points and 43rd in High Score.

Jabari Smith Jr.

– PF/C, Houston Rockets

Smith is in the midst of a breakout campaign. Through 11 games, everything is clicking for the third pick of the 2022 NBA Draft. He’s averaging 17 points, 6.5 boards, 2.7 3s, 50.4% shooting, 44.8% on 3s and 86.2% at the line. There’s even been a boost in assists to almost 3 per game. I think it’s more of a testament to Fred VanVleet’s leadership and opening up the floor for the supporting cast to operate more freely. Smith’s success has been one of the biggest surprises three weeks into the season. A couple more weeks of this level of play and he might be able to fetch something real on the fantasy trade market.

Miles Bridges

– SF/PF, Phoenix Suns

Bridges is definitely a riser in 9-cat leagues. He’s currently 27th, averaging 15-7-3 with 45.2/32.8/86.4 shooting splits. He’s also getting over a steal per contest. Now, while those numbers are solid, I don’t trust he’ll be able to keep this up all season. The supporting cast outside of Booker has been dreadful. I expect their improvements will alter some of Bridges’ success to date. Bridges’ rebounding numbers are pacing to the best of his career, as is his low turnover rate. But top-30 (and top 70 in High Score and points formats) is too good to be true. Sell, sell, sell.

Full 9-cat rest-of-season rankings

Rank

Player

Position

Team

1

Victor Wembanyama

C

SAS

2

Nikola

Jokić

DEN

3

Luka

Dončić

PG,SG

LAL

4

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

PG

OKC

5

Cooper Flagg

PF,SF,SG

DAL

6

Tyrese Maxey

PHI

7

Stephen Curry

GSW

8

Jayson Tatum

SF,PF

BOS

9

Jamal Murray

10

Cade Cunningham

DET

11

Alperen Sengun

C,PF

HOU

12

Giannis Antetokounmpo

PF,C

MIA

13

Karl-Anthony Towns

NYK

14

Kevin Durant

15

Scottie Barnes

C,PF,SF,SG

TOR

16

Anthony Davis

WAS

17

Tyrese Haliburton

IND

18

Devin Booker

PHX

19

Ty Jerome

MEM

20

Austin Reaves

PG,SF,SG

21

Kyrie Irving

22

Jalen Johnson

PF,SF

ATL

23

Bam Adebayo

24

Walker Kessler

25

Domantas Sabonis

SAC

26

Donovan Clingan

POR

27

Donovan Mitchell

CLE

28

Cameron Boozer

PF

29

Evan Mobley

30

Jalen Duren

31

LaMelo Ball

MIN

32

Jalen Brunson

33

Dyson Daniels

34

Amen Thompson

35

Trey Murphy III

NOP

36

Brandon Miller

CHA

37

Kawhi Leonard

38

39

Paul George

40

Nickeil Alexander-Walker

41

Yaxel Lendeborg

42

LeBron James

43

Jaden McDaniels

44

45

Derrick White

46

Onyeka Okongwu

47

Joel Embiid

48

Keyonte George

UTA

49

Dejounte Murray

50

Jaylen Brown

51

Ajay Mitchell

52

Franz Wagner

ORL

53

James Harden

54

Michael Porter Jr.

BKN

55

Lauri Markkanen

56

Dylan Harper

57

Payton Pritchard

58

Paolo Banchero

59

Trae Young

60

Deni Avdija

61

Wendell Carter Jr.

62

63

64

Duncan Robinson

SG,SF

65

Brandin Podziemski

66

VJ Edgecombe

67

68

De’Aaron Fox

69

Tyler Herro

MIL

70

Immanuel Quickley

71

Jarrett Allen

72

Josh Hart

SF,SG

73

Darius Acuff Jr.

74

Pascal Siakam

C,PF,SF

75

Damian Lillard

76

Zach Edey

77

Devin Vassell

78

Fred VanVleet

79

Cedric Coward

80

OG Anunoby

81

Andrew Nembhard

82

Kris Dunn

LAC

83

Julius Randle

84

Anthony Black

PG,SG,SF

85

Darius Garland

86

Naz Reid

87

Zach LaVine

88

Caleb Wilson

CHI

89

Jrue Holiday

90

Jeremiah Fears

91

Stephon Castle

92

Ja Morant

93

Josh Giddey

94

Christian Braun

95

Grayson Allen

96

Daniel Gafford

97

Alex Sarr

98

Darryn Peterson

99

Jalen Smith

100

Desmond Bane

101

Ausar Thompson

102

Matas Buzelis

103

AJ Dybantsa

SF

104

Kyshawn George

105

Jaxson Hayes

106

Moussa

Diabaté

107

Tari Eason

108

Saddiq Bey

109

Peyton Watson

110

Norman Powell

111

Paul Reed

112

Anthony Edwards

113

Chet Holmgren

114

Jalen Suggs

115

Daniss Jenkins

116

CJ McCollum

117

Day’Ron Sharpe

118

Justin Champagnie

119

Derrick Jones Jr.

120

Brayden Burries

SG

121

Isaiah Hartenstein

122

Aaron Wiggins

123

Brook Lopez

124

Collin Murray-Boyles

125

Myles Turner

126

Aday Mara

127

Julian Champagnie

128

Jared McCain

129

Meleek Thomas

130

Jaime Jaquez Jr.

131

Neemias Queta

132

Matisse Thybulle

133

P.J. Washington Jr.

134

Mikal Bridges

135

Ryan Rollins

136

Mo Bamba

137

Kingston Flemings

138

Andrew Wiggins

139

Yves Missi

140

De’Anthony Melton

141

Alex Caruso

142

Quenton Jackson

143

Isaiah Stewart

144

Cam Spencer

145

Ziaire Williams

146

Ace Bailey

147

Kel’el Ware

148

Robert Williams III

149

Pelle Larsson

150

Mario Hezonja

151

Leaky Black

152

Klay Thompson

153

Nolan Traore

154

John Collins

155

Jakob Poeltl

156

Nic Claxton

157

Derik Queen

158

Toumani Camara

159

Sandro Mamukelashvili

160

Precious Achiuwa

161

Jordan Goodwin

162

Kyle Kuzma

163

Jamal Shead

164

Collin Gillespie

165

Khaman Maluach

166

Obi Toppin

167

Karlo Matković

168

Tristan da Silva

169

Jaylen Wells

170

Kevin Huerter

171

Isaiah Jackson

172

Jonathan Kuminga

173

Ja’Kobe Walter

174

Sam Merrill

175

Ryan Kalkbrenner

176

Charles Bassey

177

Bilal Coulibaly

178

Dillon Brooks

179

Zaccharie Risacher

180

Reed Sheppard

181

Max Strus

182

Spencer Jones

183

Kobe Sanders

184

Bobby Portis Jr.

185

Keaton Wagler

186

Aaron Gordon

187

Jaren Jackson Jr.

188

Ryan Dunn

189

Al Horford

190

Kentavious Caldwell-Pope

191

Cameron Johnson

192

Jake LaRavia

193

Tre Jones

194

Dean Wade

195

Draymond Green

196

DeAndre Jordan

197

Clint Capela

198

Bones Hyland

199

Moritz Wagner

200

Luguentz Dort

201

Joan Beringer

202

Rui Hachimura

203

Anfernee Simons

204

Jerami Grant

205

Marcus Smart

206

Javonte Green

207

Walter Clayton Jr.

208

Trevon Brazile

209

Sam Hauser

210

Naji Marshall

211

RJ Barrett

212

Trendon Watford

213

Brandon Williams

214

Miles McBride

215

Jordan Poole

216

Jay Huff

217

Kenrich Williams

218

Keon Ellis

219

Keegan Murray

220

Bub Carrington

221

Tyrese Proctor

222

Aaron Nesmith

223

Bennett Stirtz

224

Luke Kennard

225

Georges Niang

226

Thomas Bryant

227

Baylor Scheierman

228

Tidjane Salaün

229

Danny Wolf

230

Jamison Battle

231

Gradey Dick

232

Dalton Knecht