Thunder Dan's 2023-2024 Fantasy Basketball Rankings and Draft Analysis

Draft season is officially upon us! Before jumping into your draft, take a look at Thunder Dan's latest 9-Category draft rankings.

It's about that time! If your league hasn't drafted yet, odds are you are going to draft soon! I have been doing a number of drafts in industry leagues and staff leagues and I am finally ready to unveil my first look at my rankings.

Now there are still two weeks of preseason games and some injuries and contract situations yet to be sorted out. And even a few position battles remain to be settled in camp, so these rankings - like any rankings - are still in flux and may be updated in the next few weeks.

So it's been with great earnestness that I dug into my rankings this season and I wanted to bring you a unique 150 that you're not likely to find anywhere else in the industry. I wasn't afraid to take some stands here on players, moving guys up and down quite a bit from where they're ranked elsewhere. In addition, I will highlight a couple of guys that I'm either higher or lower on than the current consensus ADP (Yahoo! and ESPN). And so here they are, my top-150 9-Category draft rankings for the 2023-2024 fantasy basketball season.

Fantasy Basketball 9-Category Head-to-Head Rankings

Player Name	Ranking	Consensus ADP
Nikola Jokic	1	1
Joel Embiid	2	4
Luka Doncic	3	2.7
Giannis Antetokounmpo	4	4
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	5	5.3
Tyrese Haliburton	6	8.7
Jayson Tatum	7	4.7
Damian Lillard	8	9
Anthony Edwards	9	13.7
Kevin Durant	10	11
Stephen Curry	11	7
Domantas Sabonis	12	13
LaMelo Ball	13	14
Anthony Davis	14	14.3
Donovan Mitchell	15	18.3
Kyrie Irving	16	19.7
Karl-Anthony Towns	17	26.7
Jimmy Butler	18	21.3
Mikal Bridges	19	26
De'Aaron Fox	20	27.3
Trae Young	21	14.3
Devin Booker	22	14.3
LeBron James	23	18
Bam Adebayo	24	28.7
Jaren Jackson Jr.	25	31.7
Dejounte Murray	26	30.7
Victor Wembanyama	27	24
James Harden	28	32.3
Fred VanVleet	29	39.7
Lauri Markkanen	30	26
Paul George	31	43
Jalen Brunson	32	31.3
Kawhi Leonard	33	37.3
Brandon Ingram	34	44
Nikola Vucevic	35	33
Darius Garland	36	39.7
DeMar DeRozan	37	39
Jaylen Brown	38	32.3
Pascal Siakam	39	28
Desmond Bane	40	40.7
Evan Mobley	41	46.7
Jamal Murray	42	40.7
Chet Holmgren	43	55
Jrue Holiday	44	50
Kristaps Porzingis	45	37.7
Paolo Banchero	46	44
Cade Cunningham	47	42.3
Walker Kessler	48	53.3
Zion Williamson	49	41.3
Tyrese Maxey	50	60.3
Scottie Barnes	51	53
Jordan Poole	52	43.3
Zach LaVine	53	45.7
Myles Turner	54	54
Alperen Sengun	55	62.3
Jarrett Allen	56	60.7
Josh Giddey	57	50.3
Jalen Williams	58	75.3
OG Anunoby	59	69.3
Bradley Beal	59	55.3
CJ McCollum	60	67.3
Rudy Gobert	61	64.7
Deandre Ayton	62	52
Tyler Herro	63	70.7
Franz Wagner	64	67.3
Klay Thompson	65	72.7
Nicolas Claxton	66	71.3
Chris Paul	67	87.3
Ja Morant	68	64
Kyle Kuzma	69	66.3
Scoot Henderson	70	75.3
Jakob Poeltl	71	81.7
Tyus Jones	72	80.7
Tobias Harris	73	84.3
Austin Reaves	74	80
Jalen Green	75	76.7
Brook Lopez	76	78.3
Spencer Dinwiddie	77	78
Khris Middleton	78	68.7
Devin Vassell	79	94.3
Keegan Murray	80	93.3
Derrick White	81	98
Michael Porter Jr.	82	87.7
Jerami Grant	83	80
Clint Capela	84	86.3
John Collins	85	95
Julius Randle	86	38
Andrew Wiggins	87	81.7
Anfernee Simons	88	77
Terry Rozier	89	85.7
Keldon Johnson	90	94
Marcus Smart	91	99.7
D'Angelo Russell	92	93
Cameron Johnson	93	92.3
Jabari Smith Jr.	94	95
Draymond Green	95	100.7
Jusuf Nurkic	96	95.7
Jonas Valanciunas	97	83
Buddy Hield	98	94.7
Mitchell Robinson	99	122
Wendell Carter Jr.	100	102.3
Onyeka Okongwu	101	120
Ben Simmons	102	112.3
Bobby Portis Jr.	103	102.3
Daniel Gafford	104	120.3
Mark Williams	105	110.7
Zach Collins	106	138
Aaron Gordon	107	103
Robert Williams III	108	112.7
Miles Bridges	109	110
Jalen Duren	110	118
Bennedict Mathurin	111	114.7
Brandon Miller	112	117
Malcolm Brogdon	113	127.7
Shaedon Sharpe	114	117
Jaden Ivey	115	113.7
Jordan Clarkson	116	104.3
Markelle Fultz	117	103
Ausar Thompson	118	131.7
Tre Jones	119	122
Collin Sexton	120	111.7
Patrick Williams	121	153
Russell Westbrook III	122	78
Al Horford	123	139.3
Kevin Huerter	124	115
RJ Barrett	125	103.3
Bojan Bogdanovic	126	129
Trey Murphy III	127	128.5
P.J. Washington	128	119
Bruce Brown Jr.	129	134
Dennis Schroder	130	133.3
Ivica Zubac	131	127.7
Amen Thompson	132	136.3
Immanuel Quickley	132	140.3
Jaden McDaniels	134	140.3
Mike Conley	135	123.7
Josh Hart	136	127.7
Obi Toppin	137	141
Christian Wood	138	125.7
Gary Trent Jr.	139	146.3
Obi Toppin	140	141
Jalen Johnson	141	191
De'Anthony Melton	142	160.7
Herbert Jones	143	150
Jonathan Kuminga	144	160
Bogdan Bogdanovic	145	152
Rui Hachimura	146	148.7
Harrison Barnes	147	144.7
Naz Reid	148	161
Gradey Dick	150	164

My Guys - Players I'm Higher On Than The Field

I am higher than the Yahoo/ESPN/CBS consensus ADP rankings on the following players

Anthony Edwards (SG/SF, MIN) - Consensus Ranking: 13.7, TD Ranking: 9

I have been trying to leave every draft with Anthony Edwards in the second round when I can. But he's actually being taken at the end of the first round and I am not the only analyst high on the fourth-year player. This season feels like a MVP-caliber breakout so you are probably going to have to reach for him a bit if you want to build around him. He's been healthy in his career and is just 22 years old, the sky is the limit.

De'Aaron Fox (PG - SAC) - Consensus Ranking: 27.3, TD Ranking: 21

He took a huge jump last year that I didn't even think was possible and I had kind of given up on him being an elite player. But he has some really nice pieces around him with Sabonis, Murray, Huerter, and Barnes. Fox delivered in a big way for this team down the stretch, leading them to a top 4 seed in the playoffs and a thrilling series against the Warriors. His 51% shooting on solid volume takes him well above the other point guards with his similar skill set. I will take 25-4-6 with a steal per game on 50% shooting all day and I love pairing high-percentage guards with big men on fantasy teams.

Paul George (SG/SF, LAC) - Consensus Ranking: 43, TD Ranking: 31

Brandon Ingram (SF/PF - NOP) - Consensus Ranking: 44, TD Ranking: 33

I love both of these guys about a round earlier than they are going. George is always an injury risk and Ingram missed a lot of time last year, but you're going to find too many complete skill sets like these guys have down past 40 in the draft. PG13 finished in the top 25 in the Basketball Monster per game value rankings and Ingram casually dropped 25-5-5 with a big uptick in assists at the end of the year.

Chet Holmgren (PF/C - OKC) - Consensus Ranking 55, TD Ranking 43

Jalen Williams (SG/SF/PF - OKC) - Consensus Ranking 75, TD Ranking 55

It's only his second year, but Williams made a huge impression on me last season and I think OKC is fantasy gold this year with young, exciting players who are going to play fast and mesh well together. Williams can do a little of everything and looks like he added a bunch of muscle to an already solid frame.

Chet is the real deal and about as skilled of a 7-footer as you're going to see in the league this year. He was outstanding in Summer League and just dropped 20-9 in his first preseason game. I expect some pretty efficient scoring from him with some occasional threes and a whole bunch of boards and blocks.

Devin Vassell (SG/SF - SAS) - Consensus Ranking 94, TD Ranking 74

The addition of Wemby is really only going to enhance these other Spurs guys this season in my opinion. Tre Jones, Devin Vassell, and Keldon Johnson all put up very useable stats last season but they should add some efficiency this year with Wemby drawing a ton of attention and being able to stretch defenses with his outside range and guard skill set. Vassell can shoot a solid percentage while also being a huge boon in threes, steals, and points. He's a guy I want to reach on for sure.

Later Rounds: Onyeka Okongwu, Zach Collins, Malcolm Brogdon, Patrick Williams

Stay Away - Players I'm Lower On

I am lower than the Yahoo! consensus on the following players

Pascal Siakam (PF/C - TOR) - Consensus Ranking: 28, TD Ranking: 39

Have we seen peak Pascal? It feels like he may have maxed out in Toronto and his future there is uncertain. FVV is gone and maybe that keeps his assists up, but Poeltl has cut into his rebounding. He's really a better points league guy as he didn't do much damage in blocks or steals last year and is middling at best in threes and FT%.

Jordan Poole (PG/SG - WAS) - Consensus Ranking: 43.3, TD Ranking: 54

I know Poole is going to put up a ton of shots and score a lot of points, but he isn't really built for 9-cat as he's likely to tank your FG% and turnovers without offering many steals, blocks, or boards. I will let others be drawn to his big point totals but I really am not interested in his inefficient, hollow scoring.

Julius Randle (PF/C - NYK) - Consensus Ranking: 38, TD Ranking: 86

Here's my annual warning to "never draft Randle in 9-cat leagues" as he's really only a points league player (ala Russell Westbrook). Jalen Brunson is now the guy in New York and if Randle isn't scoring a ton of points and piling up rebounds and assists, his value plummets. He is a negative player in both percentages, blocks, steals, and turnovers.

Jonas Valanciunas (C - NOP) - Consensus Ranking: 83, TD Ranking: 97

Jonas is still doing his thing and has developed a nice outside game over the years. But he has really been phased out in New Orleans to where he is a borderline platoon player at times, as the Pelicans opted to play small in the fourth quarter a lot of nights. With Zion set to return to the lineup, JV is basically the fourth option on offense behind McCollum, Ingram, and Williamson.

Others I will never draft: Russell Westbrook III, R.J. Barrett, Andrew Wiggins, Anfernee Simons

Color-Coded Draft Rankings

These rankings are the same as the ones above, but a different view with some color-coding:

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