{"id":487910,"date":"2026-02-18T12:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/487910\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T12:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:36:13","slug":"nba-fantasy-power-rankings-entering-week-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/487910\/","title":{"rendered":"NBA Fantasy: Power Rankings entering Week 18"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-2061590\" class=\"wp-image-2061590 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/GettyImages-2260978209_cropped_processed_by_imagy-784x441.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"784\" height=\"441\"  \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-2061590\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">In Week 17, the Lakers\u2019 LeBron James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.<\/p>\n<p>Although Week 17 was the first of back-to-back abbreviated scoring periods due to the All-Star break, there were still plenty of players making good use of their few opportunities on the floor. Ultimately, the upper fantasy echelon reads like a who\u2019s who of some of the best in either conference, although one surefire Hall of Famer broke through this week thanks to the absence of a fellow superstar who\u2019s typically a top-five mainstay.<\/p>\n<p>The following players averaged the most fantasy points per game last week (one-game minimum):<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2061597\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-85-784x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"73\"  \/>Tied #1. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/203999\/nikola-jokic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nikola <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/203999\/nikola-jokic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Joki\u0107<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/203999\/nikola-jokic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nuggets<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last Week: 65.0 FP\/G Season Rank: 1 (69.0 FP\/G)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Joki\u0107 was also in the top spot last week, and he carried his significant momentum right into Denver\u2019s two-game Week 17. The big man delivered his third and fourth straight triple-double against the Cavaliers and Grizzlies, respectively, averaging 24.0 points, 14.5 rebounds, 11.0 assists and 1.0 steals across 33.5 minutes per contest. Joki\u0107 also supplemented his offensive numbers significantly with his trips to the free-throw line, getting there on 26 occasions over the two games and converting 20 of those opportunities into points.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2061595\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-86-784x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"73\"  \/>Tied #1. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1630552\/jalen-johnson\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jalen Johnson, Hawks<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last Week: 65.0 FP\/G Season Rank: 8 (55.7 FP\/G)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Johnson drew even with Joki\u0107 in Week 17 despite taking the floor for just one game. After sitting out Monday\u2019s contest against the Timberwolves due to a knee injury, Johnson made good use of his one time on the court in Week 17, recording 19 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, four steals and one block across 34 minutes in a loss to the Hornets. The versatile forward went 6-for-11 from in front of the arc while also knocking down four of his five free-throw attempts, making it a signature all-around effort to close out the first half of a breakout season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2061594\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-87-784x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"73\"  \/>#3. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1630595\/cade-cunningham\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Cade Cunningham, Pistons<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last Week: 62.0 FP\/G Season Rank: 4 (57.0 FP\/G)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Cunningham was highly efficient during an impressive two-game stint in Week 17, shooting 51.2%, including 47.1% from 3-point range, in wins over the Hornets and Raptors. The star point guard averaged 30.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 2.0 steals per contest as well, and he converted 84.5% of his 13 free-throw attempts over that span. Monday\u2019s victory against Charlotte notably featured some of Cunningham\u2019s highest offensive usage of the season, as his 27 field-goal attempts were his fourth most in a game during the current campaign.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2061593\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-89-784x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"73\"  \/>#4. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1641705\/victor-wembanyama\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Victor Wembanyama, Spurs<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last Week: 58.5 FP\/G\u00a0 Season Rank: 3 (52.2 FP\/G)\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Wembanyama was firing on all cylinders in Week 17, posting a 40-point, 12-rebound double-double against the Lakers in an impressive 30-point win to kick off the scoring period Tuesday before just narrowly missing another double-double with 26 points and nine rebounds during a victory against the Warriors 24 hours later. Wemby\u2019s efficiency in the first game propelled his week to top-five caliber, as he sank 13 of his 20 shots from the field \u2013 including a 4-for-6 tally from 3-point range \u2013 while also knocking down 10 of his 12 free-throw opportunities. Highly efficient work at the line was also a key part of his performance versus Golden State, as he was 8-for-10 in that capacity in that 13-point victory.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-2061592\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/image-90-784x573.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"100\" height=\"73\"  \/>#5. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/2544\/lebron-james\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">LeBron James, Lakers<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Last Week: 58.0 FP\/G\u00a0 Season Rank: 39 (47.1 FP\/G)<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>With <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1629029\/luka-doncic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Luka <\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1629029\/luka-doncic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Don\u010di\u0107<\/a> missing all three of the Lakers\u2019 Week 17 games due to his hamstring injury, LeBron unsurprisingly shouldered a heavier workload and capitalized on the opportunity to author a throwback week of sorts. James actually only played in two of Los Angeles\u2019 contests himself, but he delivered 25.0 points, 11.0 assists and 8.0 rebounds while shooting 51.4% overall. He also made some nifty history along the way \u2013 the King\u2019s 28-point, 12-assist, 10-rebound effort against the Mavericks on Thursday made him the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.<\/p>\n<p>This week\u2019s preview:\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The following players are top fantasy point producers and play at least two games next week with fewer than two matchups against top-10 defenses:<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/203999\/nikola-jokic\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nikola Joki\u0107, DEN <\/a>(69.0 FP\/G) \u2013 @LAC, @POR, @GSW<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1630552\/jalen-johnson\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jalen Johnson, ATL<\/a> (55.7 FP\/G) \u2013 @PHI, MIA, BKN<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/201935\/james-harden\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">James Harden, CLE<\/a> (51.1 FP\/G) \u2013 BKN, @CHA, @OKC<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/202695\/kawhi-leonard\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Kawhi Leonard, LAC<\/a> (49.5 FP\/G) \u2013 DEN, @LAL, ORL<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nba.com\/player\/1627783\/pascal-siakam\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Pascal Siakam, IND<\/a> (43.0 FP\/G) \u2013 @WAS, @WAS, DAL<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In Week 17, the Lakers\u2019 LeBron James became the oldest player in NBA history to record a triple-double.&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":487911,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[557],"tags":[64,63,590,246720,85],"class_list":["post-487910","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nba","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-nba","tag-nba-fantasy-power-rankings-entering-week-18","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487910","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=487910"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/487910\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/487911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=487910"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=487910"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=487910"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}