It’s fantasy NBA season and here at Bet For the Win, we’ve got what you need to dominate your season.
Need sleepers? We got ’em.
How about injured players to keep an eye on? Got those, too.
And as the season gets underway, we’ll have plenty more in store.
Until then, we’ve got more draft stuff for you. Yeah, we know, the end of the draft is usually a drag — you’ll probably queue up some picks for the auto-draft to make as you’re half paying attention.
We’re not here to judge. And if you’re going that route, at least make sure you’ve got the right players being put on your team. They can help you win!
So, here we present you with 10 last-round picks to target.
1
PG Jose Alvarado - New Orleans Pelicans
Don’t forget about Jose Alvarado.
No, seriously, don’t — he’ll emerge from the corner of the court to pick your pocket from behind and turn it into to points the other way.
All jokes aside, Alvarado is going to be a big part of what the Pelicans’ bench does this year. The scoring will fluctuate, but he’ll be a shoo-in for steals and some assists off the bench. Maybe he takes a second-year leap.
ADP: 140.7 (Yahoo)
2
SF/PF Dorian Finney-Smith - Dallas Mavericks
It seems like each non-Luka Doncic Dallas Maverick has a very specific role — shoot threes and play defense.
One of those better role-playing Mavs is Dorian Finney-Smith, who put up career-highs in points (11.0), assists (1.9), steals (1.1) threes (1.9) and minutes (33.1) a season ago.
He’ll play the same role in 2022-23 and might even take another step forward. Keep your eye on him if late if you’re looking for threes and steals.
ADP: 129.8 (Yahoo)
3
SG/SF Kentavious Caldwell-Pope - Denver Nuggets
It seems like everyone who plays with Nikola Jokic performs that much better. And Kentavious Caldwell-Pope seems like the ideal fit alongside the Joker.
Catch-and-shoot threes? Perimeter defense? 13.2 points, 2.1 threes and 1.1 steals per game (last season’s stats) feel repeatable as one of Denver’s starting wings, which is obviously good value at the end of drafts.
ADP: 139.5 (Yahoo)
4
C Daniel Gafford - Washington Wizards
Daniel Gafford is good at what he does. He’s a freak athlete that plays above the rim, which leads to a decent number of dunks, rebounds and blocks. He’s playing behind Kristaps Porzingis, but if KP deals with injuries throughout the season (likely), there’s no one standing in Daniel Gafford’s way of minutes and production.
ADP: 144.1 (Yahoo)
5
PF/C Kevin Love - Cleveland Cavaliers
What a fun story the Cavs were for much of the 2021-22 season, and what a heartwarming story Kevin Love’s return to relevance was.
K. Love’s shooting touch from beyond the arc is still very much alive and he’s still a good rebounder despite his age — it’s how you end up with an average of 13.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.5 threes per game while receiving votes for Sixth Man of the Year.
That kind of production doesn’t seem like it will be too hard to duplicate this season.
ADP: 136.0 (Yahoo)
6
PG/SG Markelle Fultz - Orlando Magic
It’s less than ideal that Markelle is already hurt. But when he’s back from his toe injury, he’ll be competing for a starting spot on an Orlando Magic team that probably won’t win many games. Think of how useful his 2021-22 stats (10.8 points, 5.5 assists, 1.1 steals) would be on your fantasy team this year if you can snag him late.
ADP: 142.7 (Yahoo)
7
PG/SG Ayo Dosunmu - Chicago Bulls
Ayo Dosunmu is currently the starting point guard of the Chicago Bulls. At least, that’s what the preseason has shown us as Lonzo Ball is still out indefinitely with a knee injury. Go look at Ayo’s rookie season production and watch some film on him. You’ll be sure to snag him toward the end of your draft.
ADP: 141.5 (Yahoo)
8
SF/PF Jaden McDaniels - Minnesota Timberwolves
Year 1 – 6.8 points, 3.7 rebounds, 1.1 threes, 0.6 steals, 1.0 blocks
Year 2 – 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 1.1 threes, 0.7 steals, 0.8 blocks
In Year 3, McDaniels will step into the starting small forward spot where he’ll see an increase in minutes and volume. Expect another leap, and expect him to be a steal for where he’s projected to be drafted.
ADP: 133.8 (Yahoo)
9
SG/SF Kelly Oubre Jr. - Charlotte Hornets
As I said in our fantasy basketball sleepers piece:
“He’s been around 15.0 points per game and a steal over the past two seasons. Last year he made a career-best 2.5 threes per game and maybe this year he’ll make a jump in another area.”
It’s likely Oubre Jr. will see more minutes and more opportunities as Miles Bridges’ NBA future is up in the sir.
It’ll be hard to find production like this during the last round, so don’t miss out.
10
PG/SG Lonzo Ball - Chicago Bulls
It sucks that Lonzo Ball isn’t playing basketball at the moment. It also sucks that we (or he) don’t know when he’ll be back. But what we do know is that when Ball does return, he’ll perform like a mid-round fantasy player — many threes, many steals, good rebounding, good passing and some blocks here and there.
ADP: 124.6 (Yahoo)
