Welcome to the ninth installment of Weekly Yinteresting Thoughts (WYT). In these posts, 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.
Too Good to Be True
We’re going to pull out our Spy-Kids glasses this week to take a look at some current ADP crushers. There are a lot of people who are vastly outperforming their draft position, including those who went undrafted and were scooped by lucky managers, but we’re going to take a look at the very best of them. All ADP’s used were provided by Yahoo! and their ranks provided by BasketballMonster. Here’s the list:
| Current Yahoo! Rank | Outperforming ADP by | |
| Jaren Jackson Jr. | 8 | +98 |
| Brook Lopez | 17 | +103 |
| Lauri Markkanen | 21 | +72 |
| Andrew Wiggins | 24 | +58 |
| Anfernee Simons | 42 | +56 |
| De’Anthony Melton | 46 | +74 |
| Bol Bol | 52 | +76 |
| Kelly Oubre | 60 | +76 |
| Kelly Olynyk | 63 | +76 |
| Aaron Gordon | 73 | +61 |
Jaren Jackson Jr. (JJJ)
Current Yahoo! Rank: 8
Beating ADP BY: +98
No surprises here. We all know what JJJ is capable of; except me, apparently, because I didn’t get him anywhere. Buoyed by a monstrous block rate of 3.6 per game, JJJ is sitting at first round value on the season. He’s coming off a season-tying 8 block game (the other belongs to Evan Mobley) and will look to keep the surging Grizzlies atop the West behind his rim protection. If you know me, you’d know that I’d advise you to sell him for any top 30 stud due to health concerns, but I wouldn’t blame you if you wanted to hold on to your season pass to the block party. Be wary that his current 51% FG won’t stick; he hasn’t shot over 50% since his rookie year and shoots enough threes to make this number unsustainable. His block rate also has plenty of room to go down because his career high in blocks is a measly 2.3 per game. He’s overperforming.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 17
Beating ADP BY: +103
The Splash Mountain honed his three-point shot following numerous injuries sustained from prolonged battles in the paint, and it paid dividends. However, that’s not why he’s on this list. Following a 13 game 2021-22 season, Lopez is back and is currently leading the Association in blocks. He’s swatting 2.9 shots per game and has been an anchor in the second best defense in the NBA. Managers got him with an extreme discount due to injury and age concerns, but Lopez has been an absolute force this season and hey, would you look at that, it’s a contract year too!
Current Yahoo! Rank: 21
Beating ADP BY: +72
Markkanen is enjoying a career year with the Utah Jazz as their numero uno option, averaging 22/8 on excellent percentages and 2.6 threes a game. Many managers anticipated this breakout after watching his excellent performances over this past summer’s FIBA 2022 Eurobasket tourney, and it seems like the Jazz have figured out that good things happen when you give the ball to Lauri. Congratulations if you picked up this stud in the later rounds.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 24
Beating ADP BY: +58
I love it. Andrew Wiggins, a former number one pick in the draft, has been criticized for a big portion of his entire career thus far for failing to live up to expectations (you don’t get called “Maple Jordan” for nothing). That all changed after the Timberwolves traded him to the Warriors, where he would eventually excel as a lockdown defensive presence for the Warriors on their way to a chip. He’s notching 1.4 steals, shooting 51% from the field, 45% from downtown, and 56% for 2-pointers, while making three 3s per game, all career highs. Steph Curry’s shoulder injury will leave Wiggins a whole lot of usage in the next month.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 42
Beating ADP BY: +56
Not much to say here with Damian Lillard missing a large portion of the season. Simons is a young sniper who has a lot to prove. You gotta love it: no blocks, no rebounds, low assists, low FT attempts. Just four triples a game. Straight buckets.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 46
Beating ADP BY: +74
Similar to Simons, not much else to say here as well due to James Harden missing a month with his foot injury. His ranking was also recently propped up due to a ridiculous seven steal game. See if you can try to flip for a top-50 guy before Tyrese Maxey comes back.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 52
Beating ADP BY: +76
I must be bad at fantasy because I’m missing so many of these guys from my rosters. Jonathan Isaac may never touch a basketball again, but here comes Bol Bol, waiver wire hero. Bol is thriving in Orlando with 13/7 on 60% FG, 79% FT, and 1.8 blocks a game. Will this stick? I don’t know, but I wish I had this problem to worry about. His upside has already been exceeded, but is nevertheless capped by the many young talents in Orlando who all take up large chunks of usage. Paolo Banchero is the only rookie who’s top 30 in usage.
Kelly Oubre
Current Yahoo! Rank: 60
Beating ADP BY: +76
The Tsunami Papi is crushing his ADP by about six rounds with an impressive 21/5 with 1.7 steals despite bad percentages. The steals are keeping him up there, but also big minutes at 33 per game. We’ll have to see how LaMelo Ball’s return (if he can stay…returned?) will impact him. Gordon Hayward is also reportedly back soon, and if Oubre has to move back to the bench, I fear bad things to come for his future value.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 63
Beating ADP BY: +76
Wow, there are two Kelly O.’s on this list! I was bearish on Olynyk’s role in Utah, seeing as they have Jarred Vanderbilt and Walker Kessler, but 28 minutes a game tells me otherwise. Olynyk’s percentages are keeping him fantasy relevant, but it’s a situation worth monitoring as the season drags on. Enjoy the ride.
Current Yahoo! Rank: 73
Beating ADP BY: +61
Gordon’s absence from any of my teams cuts a little deeper because I actually dropped him in one of my leagues. I saw the ugly FT% and decided to move on to greener pastures. Little did I know that I’d actually be moving on to muddier places, because Gordon is providing 7th round value with 17/6 with 60% FG and low turnovers. The FG% is by far a career high along with the 38% three point shooting. Will these numbers go down? I’m not sure. I’m fairly confident in Nikola Jokic spoonfeeding Gordon open looks on the perimeter and on cuts to the inside. Jamal Murray’s return should also divert defenses attention away from Gordon, and after all, Denver holds the best three point shooting percentage in the league with 39.1%. Additionally, Gordon doesn’t even really attempt threes unless he’s more than 4-6 feet open, which bodes well for his percentages staying healthy. Maybe not this healthy, but healthy nonetheless.
Do you have any of these guys on your squad? Are you holding or looking to sell? Would you buy any of these guys? Let me know in the comments below, I’ll see y’all next week.
