Welcome to the final installment of WYT for the ‘22-’23 season, where I’ll be sharing some of my random thoughts, opinions, and questions about the NBA landscape as it pertains to fantasy basketball. Feel free to drop your comments and questions below! Let’s get started.
Even though it may be uncomfortable to look several months into the future, since many of you are in the midst of your playoff weeks, I thought it’d be appropriate to end this season with a prospective for next year’s fantasy draft. Here are a few players who are sure to see their spots move up.
Mikal Bridges
Ever since he arrived in Brooklyn, Bridges has been flourishing with a career-high 28% usage rate. This is about double his career average. He’s been posting gaudy averages of 26-5-3 while shooting 53% from the field and 92% from the line. Bridges used to be a stable, jack of all trades mid-round pick that puts up solid lines and doesn’t hurt you anywhere. This will quickly change next season. As the first option on the Nets, Bridges is looking to continue his momentum and step into the land of NBA stardom. He projects to be a top-15 player next season and could easily be drafted in the 13-18 range next season. He’s only missed one game so far in his career (due to being traded), boasts a fantasy-friendly game, and still offers upside with a strong floor. Truly, a star is born.
Walker Kessler
I’ve discussed Kessler earlier but it still feels important to mention him here. He’s ranked 20 over the last ten games (roughly since Jarred Vanderbilt got moved to the Lakers) and is averaging more blocks than Jaren Jackson Jr. Next season he feels like a fourth or fifth round player, a huge step up from the waiver wire. The Jazz will look to continue his development as a rim protector on a rebuilding team. So far so good; Kessler is third amongst all rookies in +/- and is tied for the most games played on the list. Safe to say those blocks probably aren’t going anywhere.
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SGA is currently ranked third overall and is one of the biggest surprises of the season. I’ve been clamoring for a sell-high since Week 1, skeptical about his shut-down threat and abnormal stock numbers. The former is still true: Mike Daigneault has announced that SGA will see his minutes restricted and begin sitting some B2B sets, but damn it if those stocks aren’t still glorious. SGA should be an easy first round pick next season, edging out players like James Harden, Karl-Anthony Towns, and maybe even Trae Young.
As always, feel free to leave comments below and let me know your thoughts on how next year’s draft is going to look.
