![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/GettyImages-2277764097-scaled-e1790601527889-784x405.jpg\")
<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off back-to-back MVP seasons with an opportunity to continue a strong fantasy output.<\/p>\n
Fantasy basketball draft season is here, and there\u2019s no better way to prep than a mock draft. I joined 11 other managers for a 12-team, 13-round Yahoo points league mock draft, picking from the No. 11 spot. Below, you\u2019ll find my full team and the draft strategy behind it, from navigating Yahoo\u2019s position requirements to targeting box-score stuffers who thrive in points formats. I also break down the biggest ADP risers and fallers, including Lauri Markkanen, Stephon Castle, Joel Embiid and Ja Morant. Full pick-by-pick results follow to help you prepare for your 2026-27 fantasy basketball drafts.<\/p>\n
My Team<\/p>\n
Round 1 (Pick 11) \u2013 Jalen Johnson, Atlanta Hawks<\/p>\n
Round 2 \u2013 Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets<\/p>\n
Round 3 \u2013 James Harden, Cleveland Cavaliers<\/p>\n
Round 4 \u2013 Jalen Duren, Detroit Pistons<\/p>\n
Round 5 \u2013 Pascal Siakam, Indiana Pacers<\/p>\n
Round 6 \u2013 Ivica Zubac, Indiana Pacers<\/p>\n
Round 7 \u2013 Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics<\/p>\n
Round 8 \u2013 Norman Powell, Chicago Bulls<\/p>\n
Round 9 \u2013 Jaime Jaquez Jr., Milwaukee Bucks<\/p>\n
Round 10 \u2013 Anthony Black, Orlando Magic<\/p>\n
Round 11 \u2013 Kyshawn George, Washington Wizards<\/p>\n
Round 12 \u2013 DeMar DeRozan, Denver Nuggets<\/p>\n
Round 13 \u2013 Quentin Grimes, Los Angeles Lakers<\/p>\n
An important aspect of drafting on Yahoo is the position requirements \u2013 PG, SG, G, SF, PF, F, C, C, 2 UTIL, 3 BN. Making sure you aren\u2019t short on one position is critical and should be a major part of your draft plan. That also means players who are multi-position eligible (especially SG\/SF and PF\/C) are extra valuable. From experience, I know that forwards and centers typically dry up fast. So I sought to fill those positions early.<\/p>\n
In addition to position requirements, knowing what makes a player better or worse in points leagues is crucial. Average draft position (ADP) can only get you so far, as it\u2019s a blend of category and points formats. For points leagues, identify which of the players you\u2019re choosing from has the most box-score upside. Efficiency doesn\u2019t matter. The combination of points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks is what matters.<\/p>\n
You can see that play out with my squad, as my first nine picks could easily all be considered top-three offensive options for their respective teams. Many of them are also well-rounded, with double-double or triple-double upside on a game-to-game basis. Getting forwards and centers early who fit that mold brings my whole draft philosophy together, as those players are challenging to find later. Guards are easier to find late.<\/p>\n
Biggest Risers (weighted by percentage difference between ADP and pick)
\nLauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz (Pick 27, ADP 39.2)<\/p>\n
Markkanen is an interesting case this year. He\u2019s burned fantasy managers in three straight seasons by playing 55 games in 2023-24, 47 in 2024-25 and 42 in 2025-26 \u2013 a result of injuries and tanking. Typically when that happens, managers cast a player aside, saying \u201cnever again.\u201d His ADP does reflect that, but I can tell you from doing a dozen mock drafts already this season, he\u2019s often picked in the late 20s. There usually seems to be one manager who wants to buy back in.<\/p>\n
I caution against that in points leagues. First, Markkanen was not a pillar of health even before he arrived in Utah. His games-played career high is 68, achieved in his rookie season, and he\u2019s reached 60 games played just three times in his nine years. Even if you\u2019re willing to cast that aside, Utah\u2019s revamped roster probably means less usage for Markkanen. That could mean better efficiency, but you do not get that benefit in points formats. You just get the downside of fewer buckets. I think he\u2019s fine at his ADP in points formats, but I would not be reaching as high as 27.<\/p>\n
Stephon Castle, San Antonio Spurs (pick 39, ADP 55.3)<\/p>\n
Despite the guard logjam in San Antonio, Castle built off his Rookie of the Year campaign to deliver a big Year 2. While category league managers were left to deal with some high-turnover games and sketchy shooting percentages, points league managers laughed all the way to the bank. Castle provided 18 double-doubles and five triple-doubles, finishing tied for 51st in fantasy points per game.<\/p>\n
San Antonio didn\u2019t make major offseason acquisitions to take the ball out of Castle\u2019s hands, but the looming question revolves around his backcourt mates. Dylan Harper\u2019s development across last season into the playoffs was stellar, and a bigger role is inevitable. Where are those touches and minutes coming from? From De\u2019Aaron Fox? From Castle? From Devin Vassell? From some combination of everyone? Pessimistic fantasy managers might want to let Castle fall to them, but I don\u2019t mind the optimistic reach up to pick 39. He fits points formats perfectly and appears to have a relatively high floor as a true building block of a team that reached the NBA Finals.<\/p>\n
Biggest Fallers (weighted by percentage difference between ADP and pick)
\nJoel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers (Pick 65, ADP 51)<\/p>\n
Analyzing where to draft Embiid has been difficult for a decade. This year is no different, further complicated by entering his early 30s, playing just 96 games over the past three seasons and now being a part of a loaded Sixers roster that needs him less than ever. How I read 2026-27 for Embiid is: more dedicated rest, fewer minutes, less usage. In years past, that concept has been easier said than done, as Philly has truly needed him to be great on the court. But the development of Tyrese Maxey, the additions of Jaylen Brown and LeBron James, plus the strong rookie season of VJ Edgecombe mean this team can survive the regular season without pushing Embiid. His health for the playoffs in pursuit of a title is the goal.<\/p>\n
I don\u2019t view the risk\/reward equation as meaningfully different for points leagues and category leagues (though if you play in Yahoo\u2019s High Score format, he\u2019s an easier click there). Importantly, Yahoo standard settings require users to start two centers. That creates a premium on the position and makes most bigs inherently more valuable than their ADP suggests, since the position is scarce. So it\u2019s hard for managers to ignore Embiid for risk reasons when the alternatives run out quickly and clearly don\u2019t have his game-to-game upside. Like what happened in this draft, I\u2019d rather be too late on Embiid than too early, but I also don\u2019t mind him at his ADP, provided you have other centers you\u2019re fairly confident in. It\u2019s easier to reach for Embiid if you drafted Nikola Joki\u0107 and Bam Adebayo already, for example. Then, everything you get with Embiid is essentially a bonus.<\/p>\n
Ja Morant, Portland Trail Blazers (Pick 115, ADP 92.3)<\/p>\n
Last year was mostly lost for Morant, who appeared in just 20 games due to injury. Tension with the Grizzlies also started to boil over, and the franchise moved him to the Trail Blazers. Portland is effectively a fresh start for Morant, who has played only 79 games over the past three seasons and hasn\u2019t made an All-Star team since 2022-23. The 27-year-old doesn\u2019t enter a clear-cut situation, though. Morant is expected to share the backcourt with Damian Lillard, while Jrue Holiday and Scoot Henderson remain in the mix.<\/p>\n
Morant\u2019s whirlwind career and murky role this season make him one of the biggest risk\/reward swings in fantasy basketball. But it\u2019s one I fully endorse at ADP, and I love the value this manager got by taking him at pick 115, especially in a points format. Morant is still useful in category leagues, but his negatives feel as weighty as his positives. With these settings, you\u2019re getting the benefits of the points-and-assists combination without worrying about his lack of threes, defense or percentages. And taking him after pick 100 eliminates most of the risk, given the other available options, who are also risky without the same level of upside.<\/p>\n
Full Draft Results
\nRound 1<\/p>\n
\u2013 1 \u2013 Victor Wembanyama<\/p>\n
\u2013 2 \u2013 Nikola Joki\u0107<\/p>\n
\u2013 3 \u2013 Luka Don\u010di\u0107<\/p>\n
\u2013 4 \u2013 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander<\/p>\n
\u2013 5 \u2013 Jayson Tatum<\/p>\n
\u2013 6 \u2013 Giannis Antetokounmpo<\/p>\n
\u2013 7 \u2013 Cade Cunningham<\/p>\n
\u2013 8 \u2013 Anthony Edwards<\/p>\n
\u2013 9 \u2013 Tyrese Maxey<\/p>\n
\u2013 10 \u2013 Cooper Flagg<\/p>\n
\u2013 11 \u2013 Jalen Johnson<\/p>\n
\u2013 12 \u2013 Donovan Mitchell<\/p>\n
Round 2<\/p>\n
\u2013 13 \u2013 Tyrese Haliburton<\/p>\n
\u2013 14 \u2013 Alperen Sengun<\/p>\n
\u2013 15 \u2013 Scottie Barnes<\/p>\n
\u2013 16 \u2013 Kevin Durant<\/p>\n
\u2013 17 \u2013 Josh Giddey<\/p>\n
\u2013 18 \u2013 Karl-Anthony Towns<\/p>\n
\u2013 19 \u2013 Domantas Sabonis<\/p>\n
\u2013 20 \u2013 Jamal Murray<\/p>\n
\u2013 21 \u2013 Trae Young<\/p>\n
\u2013 22 \u2013 LaMelo Ball<\/p>\n
\u2013 23 \u2013 Amen Thompson<\/p>\n
\u2013 24 \u2013 Austin Reaves<\/p>\n
Round 3<\/p>\n
\u2013 25 \u2013 Jalen Brunson<\/p>\n
\u2013 26 \u2013 Paolo Banchero<\/p>\n
\u2013 27 \u2013 Lauri Markkanen<\/p>\n
\u2013 28 \u2013 Stephen Curry<\/p>\n
\u2013 29 \u2013 Kawhi Leonard<\/p>\n
\u2013 30 \u2013 Bam Adebayo<\/p>\n
\u2013 31 \u2013 Evan Mobley<\/p>\n
\u2013 32 \u2013 Anthony Davis<\/p>\n
\u2013 33 \u2013 Devin Booker<\/p>\n
\u2013 34 \u2013 Keaton Wagler (autodrafted from queue)<\/p>\n
\u2013 35 \u2013 James Harden<\/p>\n
\u2013 36 \u2013 Chet Holmgren<\/p>\n
Round 4<\/p>\n
\u2013 37 \u2013 Jaylen Brown<\/p>\n
\u2013 38 \u2013 Jalen Duren<\/p>\n
\u2013 39 \u2013 Stephon Castle<\/p>\n
\u2013 40 \u2013 Trey Murphy III<\/p>\n
\u2013 41 \u2013 Derrick White<\/p>\n
\u2013 42 \u2013 Deni Avdija<\/p>\n
\u2013 43 \u2013 Brandon Miller<\/p>\n
\u2013 44 \u2013 Walker Kessler<\/p>\n
\u2013 45 \u2013 Jalen Williams<\/p>\n
\u2013 46 \u2013 Jaren Jackson Jr.<\/p>\n
\u2013 47 \u2013 Kon Knueppel<\/p>\n
\u2013 48 \u2013 Donovan Clingan<\/p>\n
Round 5<\/p>\n
\u2013 49 \u2013 LeBron James<\/p>\n
\u2013 50 \u2013 Brandon Ingram<\/p>\n
\u2013 51 \u2013 Kyrie Irving<\/p>\n
\u2013 52 \u2013 Desmond Bane<\/p>\n
\u2013 53 \u2013 Michael Porter Jr.<\/p>\n
\u2013 54 \u2013 Darius Garland<\/p>\n
\u2013 55 \u2013 Matas Buzelis<\/p>\n
\u2013 56 \u2013 Julius Randle<\/p>\n
\u2013 57 \u2013 Franz Wagner<\/p>\n
\u2013 58 \u2013 Cameron Boozer<\/p>\n
\u2013 59 \u2013 Pascal Siakam<\/p>\n
\u2013 60 \u2013 Onyeka Okongwu<\/p>\n
Round 6<\/p>\n
\u2013 61 \u2013 Keyonte George<\/p>\n
\u2013 62 \u2013 Ivica Zubac<\/p>\n
\u2013 63 \u2013 Alex Sarr<\/p>\n
\u2013 64 \u2013 Nickeil Alexander-Walker<\/p>\n
\u2013 65 \u2013 Joel Embiid<\/p>\n
\u2013 66 \u2013 Zion Williamson<\/p>\n
\u2013 67 \u2013 Dejounte Murray<\/p>\n
\u2013 68 \u2013 Damian Lillard<\/p>\n
\u2013 69 \u2013 Naz Reid<\/p>\n
\u2013 70 \u2013 OG Anunoby<\/p>\n
\u2013 71 \u2013 Tyler Herro<\/p>\n
\u2013 72 \u2013 VJ Edgecombe<\/p>\n
Round 7<\/p>\n
\u2013 73 \u2013 Caleb Wilson<\/p>\n
\u2013 74 \u2013 Dyson Daniels<\/p>\n
\u2013 75 \u2013 Nic Claxton<\/p>\n
\u2013 76 \u2013 Jarrett Allen<\/p>\n
\u2013 77 \u2013 Paul George<\/p>\n
\u2013 78 \u2013 Ryan Rollins<\/p>\n
\u2013 79 \u2013 De\u2019Aaron Fox<\/p>\n
\u2013 80 \u2013 Zach Edey<\/p>\n
\u2013 81 \u2013 Kel\u2019el Ware<\/p>\n
\u2013 82 \u2013 Jaden McDaniels<\/p>\n
\u2013 83 \u2013 Payton Pritchard<\/p>\n
\u2013 84 \u2013 Rudy Gobert<\/p>\n
Round 8<\/p>\n
\u2013 85 \u2013 Mikal Bridges<\/p>\n
\u2013 86 \u2013 Norman Powell<\/p>\n
\u2013 87 \u2013 Cedric Coward<\/p>\n
\u2013 88 \u2013 Coby White<\/p>\n
\u2013 89 \u2013 Ty Jerome<\/p>\n
\u2013 90 \u2013 Immanuel Quickley<\/p>\n
\u2013 91 \u2013 Zach LaVine<\/p>\n
\u2013 92 \u2013 Derik Queen<\/p>\n
\u2013 93 \u2013 Day\u2019Ron Sharpe<\/p>\n
\u2013 94 \u2013 Ausar Thompson<\/p>\n
\u2013 95 \u2013 Dylan Harper<\/p>\n
\u2013 96 \u2013 AJ Dybantsa<\/p>\n
Round 9<\/p>\n
\u2013 97 \u2013 Miles Bridges<\/p>\n
\u2013 98 \u2013 Josh Hart<\/p>\n
\u2013 99 \u2013 Jabari Smith Jr.<\/p>\n
\u2013 100 \u2013 Andrew Wiggins<\/p>\n
\u2013 101 \u2013 Jalen Green<\/p>\n
\u2013 102 \u2013 Ayo Dosunmu<\/p>\n
\u2013 103 \u2013 Myles Turner<\/p>\n
\u2013 104 \u2013 RJ Barrett<\/p>\n
\u2013 105 \u2013 Kristaps Porzi\u0146\u0123is<\/p>\n
\u2013 106 \u2013 Khaman Maluach<\/p>\n
\u2013 107 \u2013 Jaime Jaquez Jr.<\/p>\n
\u2013 108 \u2013 Toumani Camara<\/p>\n
Round 10<\/p>\n
\u2013 109 \u2013 Isaiah Hartenstein<\/p>\n
\u2013 110 \u2013 Anthony Black<\/p>\n
\u2013 111 \u2013 Darryn Peterson<\/p>\n
\u2013 112 \u2013 Peyton Watson<\/p>\n
\u2013 113 \u2013 Jusuf Nurki\u0107<\/p>\n
\u2013 114 \u2013 Jalen Suggs<\/p>\n
\u2013 115 \u2013 Ja Morant<\/p>\n
\u2013 116 \u2013 Reed Sheppard<\/p>\n
\u2013 117 \u2013 Collin Murray-Boyles<\/p>\n
\u2013 118 \u2013 CJ McCollum<\/p>\n
\u2013 119 \u2013 Brandin Podziemski<\/p>\n
\u2013 120 \u2013 Darius Acuff Jr.<\/p>\n
Round 11<\/p>\n
\u2013 121 \u2013 Jeremiah Fears<\/p>\n
\u2013 122 \u2013 Yaxel Lendeborg<\/p>\n
\u2013 123 \u2013 John Collins<\/p>\n
\u2013 124 \u2013 Andrew Nembhard<\/p>\n
\u2013 125 \u2013 Neemias Queta<\/p>\n
\u2013 126 \u2013 Jakob Poeltl<\/p>\n
\u2013 127 \u2013 Keegan Murray<\/p>\n
\u2013 128 \u2013 Aaron Gordon<\/p>\n
\u2013 129 \u2013 Davion Mitchell<\/p>\n
\u2013 130 \u2013 Ajay Mitchell<\/p>\n
\u2013 131 \u2013 Kyshawn George<\/p>\n
\u2013 132 \u2013 Kevin Porter Jr.<\/p>\n
Round 12<\/p>\n
\u2013 133 \u2013 Devin Vassell<\/p>\n
\u2013 134 \u2013 DeMar DeRozan<\/p>\n
\u2013 135 \u2013 Egor D\u00ebmin<\/p>\n
\u2013 136 \u2013 Sandro Mamukelashvili<\/p>\n
\u2013 137 \u2013 Jonathan Kuminga<\/p>\n
\u2013 138 \u2013 Mark Williams<\/p>\n
\u2013 139 \u2013 Jerami Grant<\/p>\n
\u2013 140 \u2013 Cason Wallace<\/p>\n
\u2013 141 \u2013 Tre Jones<\/p>\n
\u2013 142 \u2013 Fred VanVleet<\/p>\n
\u2013 143 \u2013 Maxime Raynaud<\/p>\n
\u2013 144 \u2013 Paul Reed<\/p>\n
Round 13<\/p>\n
\u2013 145 \u2013 Kyle Filipowski<\/p>\n
\u2013 146 \u2013 Saddiq Bey<\/p>\n
\u2013 147 \u2013 P.J. Washington<\/p>\n
\u2013 148 \u2013 Jrue Holiday<\/p>\n
\u2013 149 \u2013 Tari Eason<\/p>\n
\u2013 150 \u2013 Gui Santos<\/p>\n
\u2013 151 \u2013 Scotty Pippen Jr.<\/p>\n
\u2013 152 \u2013 Jimmy Butler III<\/p>\n
\u2013 153 \u2013 Collin Gillespie<\/p>\n
\u2013 154 \u2013 Christian Braun<\/p>\n
\u2013 155 \u2013 Quentin Grimes<\/p>\n
\u2013 156 \u2013 Bobby Portis<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is coming off back-to-back MVP seasons with an opportunity to continue a strong fantasy output. Fantasy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":630145,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[85,46,284967,105],"class_list":["post-630144","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-il","tag-israel","tag-nba-fantasy-mock-draft-yahoo-points-league","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630144","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=630144"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/630144\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/630145"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=630144"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=630144"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=630144"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}