X
Lost password?

Don't have an account?
Gain Access Now

X

Receive free daily analysis

NFL
NBA
NHL
NASCAR
CFB
MLB
MMA
PGA
ESPORTS
BETTING

Already have an account? Log In

X

Forgot Password


POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

Seeing The Future: A Look At This Year's NBA Rookie Class, Part 2

Last week, we started our look through the league's rookies, focusing on the most well-known players.

Today, we look to move into that second tier of guys. These rookies won't be competing for any rookie of the year rewards, but they possess skill-sets that could yield many fruitful fantasy seasons to come.

Let's start with a guy that's already been a valuable contributor this year.

Upgrade To VIP: Win more with our NBA and DFS Premium Pass, get expert tools and advice from proven winners! Will Priester (@ChiefJustice06) from RotoGrinders leads the RotoBaller team in 2024-25 with his exclusive DFS picks, Prop picks and more. Gain VIP access to our Lineup Optimizer, Research Station, DFS Cheat Sheets and VIP Chat Rooms. Go Premium, Win More!

Seeing The Future: A Look At This Year's NBA Rookie Class, Part 2

Lauri Markkanen, Chicago Bulls

Markkanen has had an excellent rookie season from a fantasy point of view, already slotting into the top 70. He was given the green light to launch 3s right away, as the Bulls really didn't have many other options on offense and Markkanen was the best pure shooter in this draft class. He shot a lukewarm 34.5% on his 3-point attempts, but considering his pedigree, it's not a reach to expect that to move closer to the 42% he shot in college as he gains more experience playing in the NBA.

Player Comparison: Kevin Love

Markkanen's fantasy kit is almost identical to Kevin Love's. He's already hitting 2.0 3s a game in his rookie season, and with a bump in usage closer to Love's 25.5 and an expected uptick in accuracy, he can easily be a 3-3.5 3-pointer a game guy. As a 7-footer, even being a less than stellar technical rebounder will still allow him to get a good number of boards just by simply existing, and we can expect him to grab a few more boards per game going forward as well once his playing time goes up.

Both Markkanen and Love share the same defensive deficiencies, but Lauri is a better shot blocker than Love has ever been, and has the potential to creep up to 1 block per game at some point within the next few years. Markannen is also better at handling the ball than Love, and we could see that down the line if the Bulls give him more reign to do so, possibly bumping his assist rate up in the future.

Ceiling: Top 60 near term, top-30 long term

While Markannen likely won't reach the heights of Minnesota Kevin Love, it's not a stretch to picture him becoming a player somewhere in between Minnesota Love and the Cleveland version. As the centerpiece of Chicago's offense, Lauri should his points per game increase to 20+ at some point, which would carry with it the aforementioned uptick in 3 pointers as well. Unlike Love though, Markkanen has the opportunity todevelop in both the blocks and assists cats, which would help him separate from his spiritual predecessor.

 

Kyle Kuzma, Los Angeles Lakers

Kyle Kuzma as he is right now is the exact type of trap newer players fall for in category leagues. This season, he was purely a points, 3s and rebounds guy who's value was almost completely tied to how well he was shooting at any given moment during the season. Unfortunately, as a rookie, those percentages eventually evened out to something below average (.450 shooting, .715 free throw), and he ended up settling in as a player sitting outside the top-100 despite all the hype that surrounded some of his bigger performances earlier in the season.

Kuzma contributed almost nothing in defensive stats or assists, which along with the percentages, are the categories that newer players tend to overlook and undervalue in player evaluation, and he looks destined to become the kind of guy who is avoided by more savvy fantasy owners, due to being overdrafted by the less experienced ones.

Player Comparison: Tobias Harris

Tobias Harris is an example that this kind of skill-set can hold value when everything goes right, but there is a clear cap to how valuable a player with this kit can be. Harris' jump in value as a fantasy asset can be tied to a growing 3-point game along with a significant jump in free-throw percentage a few years ago, moving him from good but not great from the line on around 3-4 attempts per game, to an elite 84~% shooter albeit on less attempts.

In order for Kuzma to reach that kind of value, he will need to increase his poor free throw percentage by a significant margin. That's the danger of owning guys who impress in popcorn stats only - when the percentages aren't there, the value is almost all gone.

Ceiling: 100-ish short term, top-70 long term

Kuzma's outlook in fantasy will be tied to how soon he is able to bring those percentages up. If he gets his FG% up past .460 and his FT% closer to .800, he can be a top-70 guy in the Tobias Harris mold, possibly with more 3s than Harris. If he doesn't, he will languish at or below the top-100 mark, and be overdrafted and overrated while doing so.

 

Dennis Smith Jr, Dallas Mavericks

DSJ this season is the stereotypical example of a rookie starting point guard thrust into a feature role: a decent enough volume of counting stats brought down by percentages. Starting for a tanking Dallas team, Smith Jr has been given a 28.5 usage rate in his first year, and has turned it into an incredibly inefficient 15.1 points per game with decent numbers in assists, threes and steals. He was a trap for most builds - his terrible FG% and FT% on high volume made him a net negative on pretty much all teams except punt FG%, but spent the year stealthily tanking many teams as owners chased his counting stats.

Player Comparison: Damian Lillard

While the free throw percentage was never as bad as DSJ's, for the first 4 years of Damian Lillard's career, he was a trap in the same way as DSJ for most teams as well. His FG% on a monster amount of attempts was almost impossible to recover from, with the rest of the profile being similar to what Dennis brings, except with even higher volume. Lillard was one of the top value pickups in punt FG% builds, and that seems like it'll be DSJ's fate at least for the first few years of his career as the efficiency works it's way up.

Ceiling: Top-60 type player in punt FG% builds, unplayable elsewhere in the short term, top-50 long term if efficiency gets better

DSJ's shooting percentage will probably take a few years to get up to the level where he is draftable for any team not punting field goal percentage, but he will be one of the best later round targets for that build if he is not being severely overdrafted. Unfortunately, his skill-set is exactly the type of profile that players tend to value a lot higher than their worth, so there's a chance that even if you are in the right build, someone will scoop him up before you can realize that value.

 

Bogdan Bogdanovic, Sacramento Kings

BB8's rookie season was an exercise in frustration, as despite being probably the best player on a putrid Kings team, his minutes were jerked around all season as the comically mismanaged squad insisted on giving big minutes to guys like Vince Carter and Zach Randolph. There was a stretch during hte middle of the season where Bogdanovic was a top-80 type guy as the Kings seemed like they were figuring things out and giving their rookie import consistent minutes and more ball-handling duties, but that has seemingly evaporated recently and 2Bog sees himself struggling to stay standard league relevant.

Player Comparison: Evan Fournier

The kit looks remarkably similar to Evan Fournier, with a bit more assists and a bit less rebounds. Assuming the Kings come to their senses before next season, Bogdanovic should see an uptick in usage and shot attempts, putting him in line to return similar type of value as Fournier has over the last few seasons.

Ceiling: Top-100 short term, Top-70 long term

As with his player comp, Bogdanovic's value is capped unless he is able to greatly increase his steal numbers. The biggest knock on Fournier's fantasy value is his lack of steals, as that is what keeps him outside the top-50, and while that skill-set has value, it makes guys like BB8 and Fournier play more like 2 to 3-category specialists that some builds will want, while others won't.

 

Check back next week for another back of rookies as we move on with our analysis!

 

More Fantasy Basketball Analysis

that



POPULAR FANTASY TOOLS

Expert Advice
Articles & Tools
Import Your Leagues
Weekly Rankings
Compare Any Players
Stats & Leaders
Starts and Sit
Daily Fantasy
Who To Pickup
24x7 News and Alerts

REAL-TIME FANTASY NEWS

Noah Fant6 hours ago

Questionable For Week 12, Update Coming On Saturday
Brock Purdy8 hours ago

Week 13 Status Uncertain
Kyle Finnegan8 hours ago

Nationals Non-Tender Kyle Finnegan On Friday
Dylan Carlson9 hours ago

Rays Non-Tender Dylan Carlson
Brendan Rodgers9 hours ago

Rockies Non-Tender Brendan Rodgers, Cal Quantrill
Mike Yastrzemski9 hours ago

Avoids Arbitration With Giants
Jordan Romano9 hours ago

Blue Jays Non-Tender Closer Jordan Romano
Dustin May9 hours ago

Dodgers Sign Dustin May To One-Year Deal To Avoid Arbitration
Walker Kessler9 hours ago

Might Return To Action Saturday
Kyle Filipowski9 hours ago

To Miss Saturday's Game
Jordan Clarkson9 hours ago

Considered Questionable For Saturday
Miles McBride10 hours ago

Questionable To Face Jazz
Joel Embiid10 hours ago

To Remain Out On Sunday
Nikola Jokic10 hours ago

Returns To Action Friday
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope10 hours ago

No Longer On Injury Report
Wendell Carter Jr.10 hours ago

Considered Questionable For Saturday
Brady Singer10 hours ago

Shipped To Cincinnati
Jonathan India11 hours ago

Traded To Kansas City
Tre Mann11 hours ago

Listed As Out For Saturday
Torrey Craig11 hours ago

Available Versus Hawks
Nick Richards11 hours ago

Ruled Out For Saturday
Jarace Walker11 hours ago

Ready To Face Bucks
Ben Sheppard11 hours ago

Misses A Third Consecutive Game
Anfernee Simons11 hours ago

Returns To Action Friday
Ja Morant11 hours ago

Considered Doubtful For Saturday
Jerami Grant11 hours ago

Ready For Action Friday
Marcus Smart11 hours ago

Questionable For Saturday
Deandre Ayton11 hours ago

Remains Out On Friday
Yves Missi11 hours ago

Will Not Play On Friday
Stephen Curry11 hours ago

Available Versus Pelicans
Scoot Henderson11 hours ago

Absent On Friday
Rashod Bateman12 hours ago

Added To Week 12 Injury Report
Vince Dunn12 hours ago

Could Be An Option For Kraken Next Week
TOR12 hours ago

Alexander Nylander Joins Maple Leafs On One-Year Deal
George Kittle13 hours ago

Cleared For Week 12
Jason Dickinson13 hours ago

Expected To Play On Saturday
Cam York13 hours ago

Expected To Return Saturday
San Francisco 49ers13 hours ago

Nick Bosa Won't Play Against Packers
Mason McTavish13 hours ago

Remains Out On Friday
Brock Purdy13 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 12
Tage Thompson13 hours ago

Continues To Sit On Friday
Kevin Hayes13 hours ago

A Game-Time Call Friday
Kris Letang13 hours ago

Might Return On Friday
Ladd McConkey13 hours ago

Returns To Practice On Friday
CeeDee Lamb14 hours ago

Cleared To Play In Week 12
Sam LaPorta14 hours ago

Off The Injury Report, Cleared For Week 12
Jake Ferguson14 hours ago

Ruled Out With Concussion
DeVonta Smith14 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 12
Brock Purdy14 hours ago

Not Seen At Friday's Practice
T.J. Hockenson15 hours ago

Expects To Be More Involved In Week 12
Alexander Mattison15 hours ago

Zamir White Doubtful To Face Broncos
Nico Collins15 hours ago

Set For Increased Workload Against Titans
Mike Evans15 hours ago

Officially Listed As Questionable
Malik Nabers15 hours ago

Questionable For Week 12, Intends To Play
Sam Darnold16 hours ago

Cleared For Sunday
D'Andre Swift16 hours ago

Gets Questionable Tag For Week 12
Keenan Allen16 hours ago

Lands On Injury Report, Questionable For Week 12
Isiah Pacheco16 hours ago

Ruled Out For Week 12
Shohei Ohtani18 hours ago

In Early Stages Of Recovery From Shoulder Surgery
Tabatha Ricci18 hours ago

Looks To Extend Her Win Streak
Yan Xiaonan18 hours ago

Looks To Get Back In The Win Column
Muslim Salikhov18 hours ago

A Favorite At UFC Macau
Chris Sale18 hours ago

To Have Normal Offseason
Garrett Crochet18 hours ago

Drawing Plenty Of Interest
Song Kenan18 hours ago

Looks To Win Back-To-Back Fights
Zhang Mingyang19 hours ago

Set For His Second UFC Fight
Ozzy Diaz19 hours ago

An Underdog At UFC Macau
MacKenzie Weegar21 hours ago

Notches Three Assists Against Rangers
Macklin Celebrini22 hours ago

Tallies Two Assists In Thursday's Loss
Nikita Kucherov22 hours ago

Comes Up With Three Assists Versus Blue Jackets
Sean Monahan22 hours ago

Finishes Thursday's Win With Four Points
Zach Werenski22 hours ago

Enjoys Career Night With Five Points Against Lightning
Jack Hughes22 hours ago

Posts Three Assists Versus Hurricanes
Joonas Korpisalo22 hours ago

Records 21-Save Shutout Versus Utah
Carlos Ulberg1 day ago

Looking To Cement Himself As A Title Contender At UFC Macau
Volkan Oezdemir1 day ago

Eyes Another Knockout At UFC Macau
Gabriella Fernandes1 day ago

A Big Underdog At UFC Macau
MMA1 day ago

Cong Wang Puts Undefeated Record On The Line At UFC Macau
Deiveson Figueiredo1 day ago

Looks To Extend Win Streak At UFC Macau
Petr Yan1 day ago

A Favorite At UFC Macau
Shohei Ohtani1 day ago

Named National League MVP In 2024
Aaron Judge1 day ago

Wins American League MVP Award
Alex Ovechkin2 days ago

To Miss 4-6 Weeks With Fractured Fibula
Zach Hyman2 days ago

Expected To Miss 4-7 Days
Kent Johnson2 days ago

Back For Blue Jackets Thursday
Yaroslav Askarov2 days ago

Makes Sharks Debut Thursday
Mikael Granlund2 days ago

Good To Go Thursday
Alexandar Georgiev2 days ago

Returns To Action Versus Capitals
Cody Bellinger2 days ago

Cubs Looking To Trade Cody Bellinger?
2 days ago

Blake Snell Has Met With Red Sox, Dodgers
Chris Sale2 days ago

Wins National League Cy Young Award
Tarik Skubal2 days ago

Wins 2024 American League Cy Young Award
Austin Eckroat2 days ago

Heads To The RSM Classic After Win
Harris English2 days ago

Finding Form Heading To The RSM Classic
Ben Griffin2 days ago

Continues Playing Well Heading To The RSM Classic
Denny McCarthy2 days ago

Returns to The RSM Classic
Ludvig Aberg3 days ago

Looks To Defend RSM Classic Title
Si Woo Kim3 days ago

An Intriguing Option At RSM Classic
Maverick McNealy3 days ago

In Solid Form Ahead Of RSM Classic
Eric Cole3 days ago

Chasing First Tour Victory At RSM Classic
3 days ago

Guardians' Stephen Vogt Named AL Manager Of The Year
Milwaukee Brewers3 days ago

Pat Murphy Named NL Manager Of The Year
4 days ago

Nick Pivetta Declines Boston's Qualifying Offer
Jose Siri4 days ago

Mets Acquire Jose Siri From The Rays
Charles Oliveira5 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Michael Chandler5 days ago

Gets Dominated At UFC 309
Karine Silva5 days ago

Suffers Her First UFC Loss
Viviane Araujo5 days ago

Gets Back In The Win Column
Mauricio Ruffy5 days ago

Extends His Win Streak To Six
James Llontop6 days ago

Loses Clear-Cut Decision In Thrilling Fight At UFC 309
Paul Craig6 days ago

Loses Decision At UFC 309
Bo Nickal6 days ago

Remains Undefeated With Lackluster Performance At UFC 309
Stipe Miocic6 days ago

Retires After UFC 309 Loss

RANKINGS

QB
RB
WR
TE
K
DEF
RANKINGS
C
1B
2B
3B
SS
OF
SP
RP

MORE RECENT ARTICLES

 
Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Are Mike Evans, D'Andre Swift, and Keenan Allen Playing in Week 12? Fantasy Football Injury Update

Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Mike Evans (hamstring), Chicago Bears running back D'Andre Swift (groin), and Chicago Bears wide receiver Keenan Allen (ankle) are three key players listed on injury reports ahead of their Week 12 games. Well, Allen isn't exactly "key" to fantasy football this year, but he could be. Either way, it's always […]


Devaughn Vele - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

High-Upside Bench Stashes: Weekend Waiver Wire Adds for Week 12 Includes Blake Corum, Trey Benson, Keaton Mitchell, Jaylen Wright, Devaughn Vele, Theo Johnson, and more

Mastering the waiver wire is a crucial skill that can lead you to a fantasy football championship. It's not just about strategically placing your FAAB budget on specific players but also about knowing when to stash players. This dual strategy keeps you engaged and focused on your ultimate goal of winning a fantasy championship. As […]


George Kittle - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL Injury News, Draft Targets

Fantasy Football Injury Reports for Tight Ends: Week 12 - Updates for Jake Ferguson, George Kittle, Sam LaPorta, Noah Fant

After watching the Browns hand the Steelers their third defeat of the year on Thursday night, Week 12 rolls on, with 12 games left on the schedule. Unlike previous weeks, there aren’t many tight ends carrying an injury designation heading into Sunday and Monday.   Being up-to-date on NFL injury news can give you an […]


Mike Evans - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Fantasy Football Injury Reports For Week 12 (Friday Updates): Mike Evans, Isiah Pacheco, Tyreek Hill, George Kittle, CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Hurts, Calvin Ridley, more

It's now Friday of Week 12, meaning the final injury reports for all teams have been released. We now have the official designations of each player dealing with injuries ahead of their Week 12 contests, meaning we have the best information we'll have until unofficial speculative reports and final active/inactive lists are released. There are […]


Ashton Jeanty - College Football Rankings, NCAA CFB DFS Lineup Picks

Fantasy Football Dynasty Watch: Top College Fantasy Football Players Week 12 (2024)

Welcome back to another season of Fantasy Football Dynasty Watch, where I highlight the best and brightest performances from the college football week. The Big 12(16) took center stage this week and Tennessee fell to the ranks of most SEC contenders with two losses. Here are the players who showed out that you may have […]


Video: Week 12 Booms, Sleepers, and Streamers - 2024 Fantasy Football Start 'Em Analysis

And here...we...go... The YouTube team is dropping fresh fire content for the weekend ahead with our top Week 12 booms, sleepers, and streamers! NFL Network and RotoBaller contributor LaQuan Jones gives in-depth fantasy football advice, breaking down some of his high-upside, sleeper, and value plays as we head into Week 12 of the new fantasy […]


RotoBaller NFL Betting Picks Stock

2024 NFL Week 12 Betting Picks (Premium Content)

All other Premium Tools and Content can be accessed on the premium dashboard. To see ALL of Jamie's bets (and others from RotoBaller experts) then head over to the RotoBaller Discord. You'll find every bet and prop in the #NFL-BETTING-PROPS channel there!   Background My name is Jamie Calandro (@jac3600 on X) and I have […]


DeVon Achane - Fantasy Football Rankings, NFL DFS Picks, Injury News

Fantasy Football Start 'Em, Sit 'Em - Week 12 Matchups Analysis

Welcome back, RotoBallers, to another start'em and sit'em piece as we look ahead to Week 12! There will be a whopping six teams on bye this week (Atlanta Falcons, Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, New Orleans Saints, Jacksonville Jaguars, and New York Jets), so that means fantasy managers might need to look deeper on their benches. This Week 12 matchups […]


Josh Downs - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

WR/CB Matchups to Upgrade and Downgrade - Fantasy Football Week 12 (2024)

Welcome back to our WR/CB Matchups for Week 12 of the 2024 fantasy football season. For those unfamiliar, this weekly series looks at fantasy football matchups for wide receivers versus the cornerbacks who are projected to cover them. The data we access for offensive and defensive players continues to skyrocket. Though we mainly focus on offensive […]


Houston Texans Defense D/ST Streamers, Rankings, Waiver Wire - Derek Stingley Fantasy Football IDP

D/ST Strength of Schedule: Best Fantasy Football Defense Streamers and Matchups (Weeks 12-17)

Ahh, the good old Defense/Special Teams (DST) position in fantasy football. It is a controversial inclusion in fantasy lineups for some fantasy players, but strategizing around DSTs is one of my favorite aspects of the in-season fantasy football experience. In the article below, I will present the strength of schedule (SOS) for the fantasy Defense/Special […]


NFL DFS: FanDuel Daily Fantasy Football Picks for Week 12 - Top Lineup Plays Include Jayden Daniels, Jahmyr Gibbs, Jared Goff, Puka Nacua

It’s already Week 12, although the end of the 2024-25 campaign can’t come soon enough for teams like the Jaguars, Raiders, Giants, and Panthers, to name a few. On the other hand, clubs like the Bills, Chiefs, and Lions are only a few weeks away from officially punching their tickets to the postseason.   In […]


Braelon Allen - Fantasy Football Rankings, Draft Sleepers, NFL Injury News

Best Fantasy Football Playoff Schedules for Waiver Wire Streamers, Stashes (Weeks 15-17)

Planning too far in advance to align your fantasy football players for an optimal playoff performance comes with many pitfalls. However, positioning yourself for good fortune in Weeks 15 through 17 should be a key piece of your strategy if you're in line to make the bracket. Fantasy players still have time to trade for […]


Bo Nix - Fantasy Football Rankings, QB, NFL Rookies, Draft Sleepers

The King's Week 12 Lineup Rankings and Analysis (Premium Content)

RotoBaller senior writer Scott "The King" Engel shares his Week 12 fantasy football lineup rankings for PPR, half PPR, and standard scoring league participants. He also provides an analysis of the rankings at every skill position. Regular starting options are included to highlight that some of your must-start players have a good chance of supplying […]