After selecting their fantasy All-Rookie teams on Tuesday, the Rotoworld staff picked first and second team fantasy All-NBA squads on Wednesday. While MVP candidates Nikola Jokić and Joel Embiid were expected to make the cut before the season began, there were others who outperformed the expectations of many fantasy managers. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander entered the season with a Yahoo ADP of 49.3, while Jaren Jackson Jr. came in way down at 107.4 due to his undergoing foot surgery during the offseason. Those two names came up among our selections, but who else made the cut for Zak Hanshew, Noah Rubin, and Raphielle Johnson? Wait no longer. Also, as was the case with the All-Rookie selections, writers did not have to stick to rigid positions.
Zak Hanshew’s Picks
These were extremely difficult choices to make, and I tried to put some thought and flavor into my first and second team selections rather than just going down the final rankings list and pulling out the top-10. The majority of these picks are big guys, and I made decisions based on overall performance, availability down the stretch and ADP relative to final ranking.
First Team
PG/SG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
PF/C Anthony Davis
PF/C Jaren Jackson Jr.
PF/C Joel Embiid
Jokic finished as fantasy’s top player for the third straight season and is in the running for a third straight MVP as well. Joker surpassed Wilt Chamberlain’s 55-year-old record for assists per game in a single season by a center by dishing 9.8 per game, and he moved into fifth on the all-time triple-double list, sitting just two behind LeBron James and Jason Kidd. Not too shabby, eh? As for Embiid, it didn’t seem possible that he could take another step forward this season, but that’s exactly what he did. The big man secured a second scoring title behind 33.1 points per game, and he’s the current betting favorite to win MVP. He finished just behind Joker for best per-game fantasy performance.
Gilgeous-Alexander’s ADP fell precipitously, and those who snagged him were rewarded by a top-3 fantasy performance and 68 games played. As long as he can stay healthy, he should be a first-rounder for years to come. Due to injuries, Davis logged just 76 games across the last two seasons. And after back-to-back underwhelming per-game campaigns, his ADP was unsurprisingly low. He blew expectations out of the water with a three-year high in scoring and career-best marks in rebounds and efficiency. Lastly there’s Jackson, who finished as a top-12 fantasy option behind the best statistical season of his career. His absence to start the season drove his ADP way down, and he finished as one of fantasy’s best values and a league-winner. I was tempted to include Damian Lillard here, but the fact that he missed so much time to end the season and JJJ’s immense draft-day value gave the latter the tie-breaker.
Second Team
PG/SG Donovan Mitchell
SF/PF Lauri Markkanen
PF/C Kristaps Porzingis
Much like JJJ, KP’s ADP was depressed due to injury concerns. He appeared in 65 games and may have played more had Washington not thrown in the towel to close out the season. The Unicorn finished 14th in per-game value thanks to his well-rounded and fantasy friendly skillset. As for Mitchell, who could have predicted this season from him? He ranked 15th in per-game fantasy value, enjoying the most prolific scoring and shooting campaign of his career, while guiding the Cavs to their first 50-win season sans LeBron in 30 years. Oh yeah, don’t forget his 71-point eruption.
Markkanen is another guy who can legitimately stake a claim as fantasy’s best value pick, “The Finnisher” came alive for Utah and kept a projected bottom-five team competitive until the final week of the season. He was majestic as a scorer, three-point shooter and rebounder, shooting efficiently while keeping turnovers to a minimum. Claxton broke out with career highs in points (12.6), rebounds (9.2) and blocks (2.5) while shooting better than 70% from the floor. The elite big man was drafted on average outside the top-100, making him another phenomenal value and one who likely appeared on many a championship roster.
Last but not least is Lillard, whose stock was way down heading into this season after playing just 29 games in 2021-22. He showed that “Dame Time” wasn’t over just yet, as he scored a career-high 32.2 points with solid shooting percentages and peripheral contributions. The end-of-season tank job was a sour finish to an otherwise strong campaign.
Just missed the cut: Tyrese Haliburton, Kevin Durant, Brook Lopez, James Harden, Stephen Curry, and Kyrie Irving.
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Noah Rubin’s Picks
First Team
PF/C Joel Embiid
SF/PF Jayson Tatum
PG/SG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
PG/SG Donovan Mitchell
With how ADPs played out, there’s a real chance that a few managers ended up with three of these guys on their team. I’d be very surprised if that didn’t lead to a championship. Jokic was the best player in fantasy basketball for the third straight season, whether you played in 9-cat, 8-cat, H2H or ROTO. Embiid was right behind him, and there’s a good chance that he’s hoisting his first MVP trophy when the awards are announced. Tatum provided first round value for the first time in his career, and he played 74 games. Among the players that finished ahead of him in 9-cat production, none of them reached 70 games.
SGA had an ADP of 44.9 this season, and most expected him to be shut down by March. The Thunder and SGA shocked the world with how good they were this season. In his first season with Cleveland, Mitchell averaged career-highs in points and 3-pointers while shooting his best percentages from the floor and the free throw line.
Second Team
PF/C Anthony Davis
PF/C Jaren Jackson Jr.
PF/C Domantas Sabonis
PG/SG Luka Dončić
The second team includes a group of guys that could’ve been on the first team, if they didn’t have one or two limitations. AD was a top five producer in 9-cat leagues, but he was limited to 56 games. There was a stretch of games early in the season where he was the best player in fantasy, but he wasn’t able to keep it going after returning from a lengthy absence. Jackson Jr. led the league in blocks with 3.0 per game and ended up playing 63 games during the regular season. He was productive in other areas, but the majority of his value came from his block numbers. Sabonis played 79 games and finished in the top-25 for the first time in his career. More impressively, he led the Kings back to the playoffs!
Luka would be among the most productive players in fantasy basketball if nobody cared about turnovers or free throw percentage. Unfortunately, we do, which will limit his value for the rest of his career, even if he does enough in six other categories to make up for it. There was about a two month stretch where Dame was playing like the best player on the planet. That didn’t lead to Portland winning games, and they pulled the plug, which limited him to 58 games.
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Raphielle Johnson’s Picks
First Team
PG/SG Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
SF/PF Jayson Tatum
PF/C Joel Embiid
It didn’t take much thought to include SGA, Embiid, and Jokic on my first team. While they were the top three players in 9-cat, per-game value, availability also came into play. Each played at least 66 games on the season, and as it’s been said on many occasions, your availability is your best ability. Jokic averaged 24.5 points, 11.8 rebounds, 9.8 assists, 1.3 steals, 0.7 blocks, and 0.8 3-pointers per game, shooting 63/2% from the field and 82.2% from the foul line. The turnovers (3.6 per game) were a bit high, but the overall production overrides that issue. Embiid was the lone player to average at least 30 points and 10 rebounds per game, while SGA led the NBA in 30-point games with 45.
Availability was why Tatum made the cut for me over Durant, as he appeared in 74 games while injuries limited KD to 47. Tatum finished the season ranked just outside the top 10 in 9-cat, per-game value, but he was the only 1st-rounder to play more than 70 games. Last but not least, Curry gets in because of my personal desire to stick to positions (which was not a requirement for this exercise). He averaged 29.4 points per game on 49.3% shooting from the field and 91.5% shooting from the line, while also accounted for 6.1 rebounds, 6.3 assists, and 4.9 3-pointers.
Second Team
PG/SG Donovan Mitchell
PG/SG Tyrese Haliburton
SF/PF Kevin Durant
PF/C Jaren Jackson Jr.
The second team selections were more difficult, in that there are multiple players who had availability concerns. Haliburton missed the end of the season but was lights out beforehand, rewarding fantasy managers who looked to select him at the Round 1/2 turn in drafts. Damian Lillard was another player who was elite when on the court, and he appeared in two more games than Haliburton. Dame finished the season as a top 10 player in 8- and 9-cat formats. While the way his season ended may leave a sour taste in the mouths of fantasy managers who had him rostered, how can Haliburton be included on this list but not Lillard?
Mitchell was everything the Cavaliers and fantasy managers hoped he would be when that trade was completed, while Jackson could be the Defensive Player of the Year, leading the league in blocks per game (3.0) to go along with one steal. He appeared in 63 games after missing the start of the season due to injury, and was a better fantasy performer in 8- and 9-cat formats than fellow DPOY contender Brook Lopez. Durant may be the one pick that raises eyebrows due to the availability issue, as he only appeared in 47 games. But it’s difficult to completely ignore a player who’s providing top-5 value when on the court.