2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Sleeper - Nemanja Bjelica

"'Tis the season to be drafting /Fa la la la la, la la la la"

With fantasy drafts in full swing, all of us are doing our final preparations for that glorious draft night! Spreadsheets open, two notebooks and four pens in front 0f me, I've got another monitor linked up with my laptop. I'm ready, bring it on!

Just like every year, some players are ranked lower than expected, and fantasy GMs should be on the prowl! Bargains like these can be the decisive factor when it comes to winning the whole thing so make sure you take full advantage of every opportunity that presents itself! Here is my take on one of them: Sacramento Kings forward Nemanja Bjelica.

2020-21 Fantasy Basketball Sleeper - Nemanja Bjelica

I hope we can all agree that Bjelica is a great and vastly undervalued player. His averages from his previous season speak for themselves: 11.5 points on 48.1% from the field and 82.1% from the line, 1.9 threes, 6.4 boards, 2.8 assists, 0.9 steals, 0.6 blocks, and 1.4 turnovers in just under 28 minutes per outing. This is flirting with top-100 value with that kind of efficiency. He is currently ranked at #234 on Yahoo.

He is a PF who is shooting over 40% from three-point range in his last three consecutive seasons. Not too shabby, is it?

Now, the biggest question mark in my mind is: Will he get minutes? If he gets close to 30 a night, I am sure he will obliterate his current rank. But with both Vlade Divac and Bogdan Bogdanovic out, it seems to be "Serb season" in Sacramento at the moment. Just kidding, of course.

There was a moment where I thought the Kings will go for the rebuild and try a "process" of their own, but with Harrison Barnes on the books for another three seasons, and them signing Hassan Whiteside and letting Harry Giles III go, it seems that they are making a playoff push again this year. And Bjelica can be a serious contributor there.

His biggest competitor is Marvin Bagley Jr. but with the change of management, there might not be so much pressure for him to play, as him going in front of Luka Doncic is not their call, so they won't be roasted if he doesn't prove to be a wunderkind Divac believed him to be.
Furthermore, Bagley is injured more often than not. He played just 13 games in the previous season (that was cut short to be fair, but 13 is still way too low), and 62 the year before in his rookie campaign, so it is not far fetched to expect him to struggle with fitness or see decreased minutes this season with the schedule being denser due to the season being so short.

Moreover, Bjelica is very versatile and can play multiple positions. He has been known to fill in at center when the situation calls for a stretch five and has played SF both back in Europe and even in the NBA when it was necessary.

All this should help him get close to that magic 30 number, but even if he gets stuck at 25, he should do enough for a top-150 finish this season, especially if you are looking for someone who will help out across the board without hurting you in any category. Drafting him around the 200 mark should be your target, but if he fits your build too well, or you play in a league with some Serbian people, you might have to reach 10 picks or so into the 180s to get him.

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