5 Early Season Fantasy Basketball Standouts
The NBA and Fantasy Basketball season are in full swing! Aside from the superstars that we know will produce big stat lines, there are plenty of standout performers so far in this young NBA season, and they aren’t just performing on the court but in fantasy basketball as well. This article will highlight five stand out performers in fantasy basketball so far this season. If you were able to secure one of them in your draft or via free agency, bravo.
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Cam Thomas (SG, Brooklyn Nets) - Stop me if you’ve heard this before, Cam Thomas is a bucket getter. That part is not new, so far this season with the Nets Thomas has really provided a spark to anyone’s fantasy lineup if you have him. So far this season, Thomas is averaging 28.7 points per game while still shooting at a 48% clip from the field. In the fantasy basketball world, this breaks down to a player that has averaged 19.0 fantasy points per game so far, looking like a great flier for anyone that took the chance to roster him, it’s hard to see his role in the offense diminishing any time soon, but at the same time we have seen this before from Thomas and the Nets organization, where he played well for a stretch last season and then would see DNP’s. His role this entire season is something to monitor, if Thomas is on the floor consistently expect him to put the ball in the hoop plenty.
Tyrese Maxey (SG/PG, Philadelphia 76ers) - Tyrese Maxey the new undisputed face of the 76ers back court has played very well to start the 23-24 campaign and the post James Harden era in Philadelphia. Maxey so far has averaged 25.5 points, 7.3 assists and 4.5 rebounds this season, equating to 26.2 fantasy points per game. With Harden gone and traded to the Clippers, Maxey will be stepping up it appears to take on an even larger role in the offense this season along side the reigning MVP Joel Embiid. Given his bigger role in the offense on a deep team that should find themselves in the thick of things in the eastern conference playoff picture, he is a fantastic guard to have this season in fantasy as the NBA may be looking at a potential break out star in Tyrese Maxey. His season individually will be a very fun one to follow.
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Dennis Schroder (PG, Toronto Raptors) - A bit of a good comeback story with this one, as Dennis Schroeder cracks the list. Maybe a surprise appearance here, but for those that follow closely you saw Schroeder sign a two year contract worth just over 25 million dollars with the Toronto Raptors following the departure of Fred VanVleet to the Houston Rockets in the off season. Schroeder has stepped right in and performed nicely for Toronto, averaging 16.9 points, 8.9 assists and 2.9 rebounds along with a steal a night so far this season, adding up to 18.6 fantasy points per game so far in this young season. I’m not sure if this level of production is sustainable for the duration of the season, but I do believe that Schroeder will be fantasy relevant this season and a great late round flier for anyone that took a chance and grabbed him for their roster.
Mark Williams (C, Charlotte Hornets)- Second year big man out of Duke University Mark Williams is looking like a fantasy stud and a really good find in the draft for the Hornets. Williams appears to be the clear starter in year two in Charlotte, with Nick Richards relegated to the back up role. Thus far this season, Williams has been solid, producing 14.7 points, 8 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal a night. This adds up to 22.8 fantasy points per game, and makes Williams a very solid, and perhaps under the radar center option coming into the season. Anyone that grabbed Williams, love what they’ve seen so far and there’s no sign that his role will be shrinking any time soon. Williams looks to continue on his current path, and he’ll find himself on the verge of being a breakout fantasy star.
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Alperen Sengun (C, Houston Rockets) - So far year three has been a dominant one for Alperen Sengun. The Houston Rockets big man has been a fantasy star through six games this season and has managers that drafted him feeling great about their outlook with Sengun this season. So far, he has averaged 18.2 points, 8.5 rebounds and 7 assists per game to go along with one steal. These are fantastic numbers, and when you consider it from a fantasy basketball perspective Sengun is a star putting up this type of production. Currently averaging 25.7 fantasy points per night, Sengun looks like he is in store for a huge fantasy basketball season in 23-24.
