Five Very Deep Center Sleepers For Fantasy Basketball

October 14, 2022

Justin Carter looks at five very deep fantasy basketball sleepers at the center position heading into the 2022-23 NBA season.

Winning in fantasy basketball starts with your top picks, but it ends with your ability to identify some sleepers who can help you round out the roster.

For this article, we'll be looking at some deep sleepers—very deep ones. The kind of players who will very likely be on the board when you make your final pick and who have the upside to really help your fantasy lineup.

Below, you can find five very deep sleepers at the center position.

Santi Aldama - Memphis Grizzlies

It's going to be really interesting to see what kind of role Aldama ends up with. He has PF and C eligibility in fantasy and will probably end up playing the four more than the five, but he can give the team some good minutes at both positions.

Aldama didn't play a ton last year. He appeared in 32 games for the Grizzlies, averaging 11.3 minutes per contest. Aldama posted averages of 4.1 points and 2.7 rebounds per game.

But heading into this season, Aldama has a good chance to start for the Grizzlies. It's still unclear when Jaren Jackson Jr. will be back, and Aldama's ability to stretch the floor and shoot—something he did poorly in limited time last year but that he's done well this preseason—should make him the favorite to start at the four beside Steven Adams until JJJ is back.

Once Jackson returns, Aldama might lose some value, but I love him as a late-round pick who can help you win for at least a little while to start the season. You might end up dropping him once Jackson is back, but he'll be useful until then.

Walker Kessler - Utah Jazz

Heading into this season, I'm pretty high on Jazz rookie Walker Kessler.

The Jazz have transitioned into rebuild mode after trading Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell. This opens up some interesting possibilities for how this team's lineups look this year.

Maybe the Jazz decide they don't want to be bad and tank for a high pick. In that scenario, Kelly Olynyk gets most of the center minutes. Olynyk's a good veteran who would be pretty interesting when it comes to fantasy if the team goes this route.

But, like...come on, Jazz. You have a projected starting five of Olynyk, Lauri Markkanen, Malik Beasley, Collin Sexton and Mike Conley. That's not a good basketball team. And if the Jazz recognize that early on, we could see a lot of Walker Kessler.

Kessler's had a great preseason. In three games, he's averaged 8.7 points per game on 71.4% shooting and has also added 5.3 rebounds per game. If the Jazz put him on the floor, he'll be a huge help for fantasy managers who need a field goal percentage player.

Jalen Duren - Detroit Pistons

Like Kessler, Duren's a rookie. Unlike Kessler, Duren's path to minutes is a little less clear, as the Pistons have Isaiah Stewart starting at the five, plus have Marvin Bagley III and Nerlens Noel on the roster as well. A late-round pick used on Duren might take a bit longer to pay off than a late-round pick used on the other four players in this article would.

Duren has gotten minutes this preseason, as he ranked seventh on the Pistons in minutes per game. He's averaged just 4.7 points per game and is shooting 42.9% from the floor. That's not ideal.

But Duren has averaged 12.0 rebounds in the preseason, including 5.3 offensive rebounds per game, the best mark in the NBA. His rebounding ability is the thing that gives him the best chance to rocket up this depth chart, and with some good passers on this team and some improved spacing with the addition of Bojan Bogdanovic and Jaden Ivey, we might see a world where Duren really thrives on the interior, shooting 60% from the floor and averaging a double-double. I'm not saying it's the most likely outcome, but it definitely isn't the least likely outcome.

Mo Bamba - Orlando Magic

Most of the hype around Bamba has evaporated over the years, but I think he can really excel as the third big on this Magic team behind Wendell Carter Jr. and Paolo Banchero.

Last season, Bamba started 69 of his 71 games, averaging a career-high 10.6 points per game, plus 8.1 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He shot 38.1% from three on a career-high 4.0 attempts per game.

Basketball Reference's play-by-play position estimates show that Bamba played the five 99% of the time, while Wendell Carter played the five just 37% of the time. So even though the addition of Banchero sets up Bamba to move to the bench and Carter to move to the five, I think we should see a good bit of minutes where Bamba comes in and Carter slides back to the four, or Carter exits and Banchero stays at the four. Bamba's interior defense combined with his three-point shooting makes it easy to build lineups with him in them.

He's not a super exciting play, but Bamba is someone who can get you rebounds and blocks for cheap, plus some good out-of-position threes.

Thomas Bryant - Los Angeles Lakers

Bryant's game has always been about his efficiency. He led the league in two-point field goal percentage in 2019, and then the next year he shot 40.7% from three on 2.0 attempts per game while playing 46 contests.

But last year, Bryant's 27 games with the Wizards saw a ton of fall off. He shot a career-low 61.3% from inside the arc and dropped to 28.6% from behind the arc.

Now, Bryant moves over to the Lakers. Will he be able to get that efficiency back?

Maybe. I find it hard to hold last year against him too much, as there were two factors working against him. First, he was returning from a torn ACL, so there was some rust to knock off. And second, he was playing for the Wizards.

Washington as a whole ranked fifth in field goal percentage, but the team struggled to produce threes, with the fifth-worst three-point field goal percentage in the league. Even Davis Bertans couldn't buy a three.

Bryant opens this season as the backup five, but if his efficiency re-emerges for the Lakers, then he should be able to earn some heavy minutes at the five, especially since he can stretch the floor with his shooting.