Nikola Jokić sits atop the Points League rankings, but if you’re only focused on the stars, you’re missing the real championship recipe. Winning a fantasy basketball league title isn’t easy, even with the NBA preseason hype through the roof. You need those big names, sure, but you also gotta surround them with solid support and the right amount of sleepers. Throw in some good health, and you might just have that title run everyone dreams about.
The Big Guns and Deep Talent
Jokić, Luka Dončić, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Giannis Antetokounmpo , those guys are elite for a reason, absolutely no shocker they’re filling out the top five of the Points League rankings. But the list goes deep, man. We’re talking Cade Cunningham, Anthony Edwards, Jalen Johnson, Tyrese Maxey, Donovan Mitchell, Jayson Tatum. Even Cooper Flagg and Scottie Barnes are in the mix. These are the players you draft to anchor your team, the ones who deliver consistently. But a championship isn’t built on first-rounders alone. The real difference-makers often come from unexpected places.
Sleeper Alert: Ajay Mitchell Is Screaming Breakout
Forget those top 30 for a sec, because the real gold is in the sleepers, and Ajay Mitchell from the Oklahoma City Thunder is screaming breakout potential. This dude shouldn’t cost you a top 100 pick, but last season? He was putting up 18.9 points, 5.0 assists, and 2.1 stocks per 36 minutes. And he was efficient too, hitting 48.5 percent from the field and 87 percent from the line. The Thunder just cleared some serious runway for him, too. Lu Dort, Aaron Wiggins, and Isaiah Joe are gone this offseason, so his floor time has to be trending up, right? This is legitimate breakout potential for a mid-tier draft price. Between his efficiency, scoring, and two-way playmaking, he checks all the boxes for a fantasy asset. You need to keep an eye on him.
Sleeper Alert: Quentin Grimes With Lakers Value
And speaking of value, don’t sleep on Quentin Grimes with the Los Angeles Lakers. He seems a near certainty to start for a Lakers team that should field one of the league’s best offenses. And get this: he’s got a fairly compelling case to serve as their third option. Even playing a reserve role the past two seasons, he was quietly averaging more than 13 points with three-plus assists. The shot numbers are solid too: 45.9 percent from the field and an even 80 percent at the line. Think about him playing off gravitational forces like Luka Dončić , who Grimes played with in Dallas , and Austin Reaves. Grimes is a 38-plus-percent three-point shooter in three of his five NBA seasons, so he’s gonna feast on those clean looks. Plus, he’ll have opportunities to create offense when teams inevitably sell out on stopping the Lakers’ guards. He even helps in steals and is relatively useful on the glass. He’s touching enough stat categories to return real value on what should be a middling draft price, at most. This feels like a steal waiting to happen.
So, as we gear up for the season, the blueprint for a championship is clear: grab your stars, sure, but hit those sleepers hard. Keep an eye on these guys; they could be the difference makers on your roster when the real games tip off. That’s the real challenge this year, finding those hidden gems before everyone else catches on.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Bleacher Report.
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