Yahoo Fantasy Basketball mock drafts are officially open!
Immediately, I jumped into a 14-team H2H Categories mock Tuesday morning. There is no shortage of NBA Fantasy sickos drafting right now despite it being late August.
Below are the results of the draft, followed by my team, followed by some quick takeaways and analysis. The proverbial Draft Diary.
Thanks for reading, and don't forget to follow me on Twitter/X for daily updates on rankings, mock drafts, sleepers, busts, projections and advice on how to dominate your fantasy basketball drafts.
Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft Results
| Round | Pick | Player |
| 1 | 1 | Nikola Jokić (DEN - C) |
| 1 | 2 | Giannis Antetokounmpo (MIL - PF,C) |
| 1 | 3 | Victor Wembanyama (SAS - C) |
| 1 | 4 | Luka Dončić (LAL - PG,SG) |
| 1 | 5 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (OKC - PG) |
| 1 | 6 | Anthony Davis (DAL - PF,C) |
| 1 | 7 | Cade Cunningham (DET - PG,SG) |
| 1 | 8 | Anthony Edwards (MIN - PG,SG) |
| 1 | 9 | Domantas Sabonis (SAC - C) |
| 1 | 10 | Paolo Banchero (ORL - PF,C) |
| 1 | 11 | Devin Booker (PHX - PG,SG) |
| 1 | 12 | Trae Young (ATL - PG) |
| 1 | 13 | Karl-Anthony Towns (NYK - PF,C) |
| 1 | 14 | Tyrese Maxey (PHI - PG) |
| 2 | 15 | James Harden (LAC - PG,SG) |
| 2 | 16 | Jalen Williams (OKC - SF,PF) |
| 2 | 17 | Alperen Sengun (HOU - C) |
| 2 | 18 | LaMelo Ball (CHA - PG,SG) |
| 2 | 19 | Chet Holmgren (OKC - PF,C) |
| 2 | 20 | Jalen Brunson (NYK - PG) |
| 2 | 21 | Jalen Johnson (ATL - SF,PF) |
| 2 | 22 | Evan Mobley (CLE - PF,C) |
| 2 | 23 | Kevin Durant (HOU - SF,PF) |
| 2 | 24 | LeBron James (LAL - SF,PF) |
| 2 | 25 | Pascal Siakam (IND - PF,C) |
| 2 | 26 | Scottie Barnes (TOR - SG,SF,PF) |
| 2 | 27 | Jaylen Brown (BOS - SG,SF) |
| 2 | 28 | Stephen Curry (GSW - PG) |
| 3 | 29 | Donovan Mitchell (CLE - PG,SG) |
| 3 | 30 | De'Aaron Fox (SAS - PG,SG) |
| 3 | 31 | Amen Thompson (HOU - PG,SG,SF) |
| 3 | 32 | Josh Giddey (CHI - PG,SG) |
| 3 | 33 | Franz Wagner (ORL - SF,PF) |
| 3 | 34 | Jaren Jackson Jr. (MEM - PF,C) |
| 3 | 35 | Bam Adebayo (MIA - PF,C) |
| 3 | 36 | Ivica Zubac (LAC - C) |
| 3 | 37 | Tyler Herro (MIA - PG,SG) |
| 3 | 38 | Dyson Daniels (ATL - PG,SG,SF) |
| 3 | 39 | Trey Murphy III (NOP - SF,PF) |
| 3 | 40 | Jamal Murray (DEN - PG,SG) |
| 3 | 41 | Joel Embiid (PHI - C) |
| 3 | 42 | Kawhi Leonard (LAC - SF,PF) |
| 4 | 43 | Zion Williamson (NOP - SF,PF) |
| 4 | 44 | Cooper Flagg (DAL - SF) |
| 4 | 45 | Zach LaVine (SAC - PG,SG) |
| 4 | 46 | Ja Morant (MEM - PG) |
| 4 | 47 | Deni Avdija (POR - SF,PF) |
| 4 | 48 | Desmond Bane (ORL - SG,SF) |
| 4 | 49 | Lauri Markkanen (UTA - SF,PF) |
| 4 | 50 | Derrick White (BOS - PG,SG) |
| 4 | 51 | Josh Hart (NYK - SG,SF,PF) |
| 4 | 52 | Walker Kessler (UTA - C) |
| 4 | 53 | Nikola Vučević (CHI - C) |
| 4 | 54 | Jarrett Allen (CLE - C) |
| 4 | 55 | Kristaps Porziņģis (ATL - PF,C) |
| 4 | 56 | Brandon Miller (CHA - SF,PF) |
| 5 | 57 | Jalen Duren (DET - C) |
| 5 | 58 | Jimmy Butler III (GSW - SF,PF) |
| 5 | 59 | Alex Sarr (WAS - C) |
| 5 | 60 | Myles Turner (MIL - C) |
| 5 | 61 | Coby White (CHI - PG,SG) |
| 5 | 62 | OG Anunoby (NYK - SF,PF) |
| 5 | 63 | Jordan Poole (NOP - PG,SG) |
| 5 | 64 | Michael Porter Jr. (BKN - SF,PF) |
| 5 | 65 | Miles Bridges (CHA - SF,PF) |
| 5 | 66 | Austin Reaves (LAL - PG,SG) |
| 5 | 67 | Darius Garland (CLE - PG) |
| 5 | 68 | DeMar DeRozan (SAC - SF) |
| 5 | 69 | Jalen Green (PHX - PG,SG) |
| 5 | 70 | Paul George (PHI - SG,SF,PF) |
| 6 | 71 | Cam Thomas (BKN - SG,SF) |
| 6 | 72 | Julius Randle (MIN - PF,C) |
| 6 | 73 | Deandre Ayton (LAL - C) |
| 6 | 74 | RJ Barrett (TOR - SF,PF) |
| 6 | 75 | Cameron Johnson (DEN - SF,PF) |
| 6 | 76 | Anfernee Simons (BOS - PG,SG) |
| 6 | 77 | Andrew Nembhard (IND - PG,SG) |
| 6 | 78 | Kel'el Ware (MIA - PF,C) |
| 6 | 79 | Brandon Ingram (TOR - SG,SF,PF) |
| 6 | 80 | Mikal Bridges (NYK - SF,PF) |
| 6 | 81 | Isaiah Hartenstein (OKC - C) |
| 6 | 82 | Rudy Gobert (MIN - C) |
| 6 | 83 | Immanuel Quickley (TOR - PG,SG) |
| 6 | 84 | Bennedict Mathurin (IND - SG,SF) |
| 7 | 85 | John Collins (LAC - PF,C) |
| 7 | 86 | Devin Vassell (SAS - SG,SF) |
| 7 | 87 | Fred VanVleet (HOU - PG) |
| 7 | 88 | Jakob Poeltl (TOR - C) |
| 7 | 89 | Ausar Thompson (DET - SF,PF) |
| 7 | 90 | Andrew Wiggins (MIA - SG,SF) |
| 7 | 91 | Donovan Clingan (POR - C) |
| 7 | 92 | Malik Monk (SAC - SG) |
| 7 | 93 | Norman Powell (MIA - SG,SF) |
| 7 | 94 | Dereck Lively II (DAL - C) |
| 7 | 95 | Mark Williams (PHX - C) |
| 7 | 96 | Shaedon Sharpe (POR - SG,SF) |
| 7 | 97 | Christian Braun (DEN - SG,SF) |
| 7 | 98 | Jalen Suggs (ORL - PG) |
| 8 | 99 | Bradley Beal (LAC - SG,SF) |
| 8 | 100 | Scoot Henderson (POR - PG) |
| 8 | 101 | Matas Buzelis (CHI - SF,PF) |
| 8 | 102 | Payton Pritchard (BOS - PG) |
| 8 | 103 | Aaron Gordon (DEN - PF,C) |
| 8 | 104 | Onyeka Okongwu (ATL - C) |
| 8 | 105 | CJ McCollum (WAS - PG,SG) |
| 8 | 106 | Naz Reid (MIN - PF,C) |
| 8 | 107 | Keyonte George (UTA - PG,SG) |
| 8 | 108 | Jaden McDaniels (MIN - SF,PF) |
| 8 | 109 | Toumani Camara (POR - SF,PF) |
| 8 | 110 | Draymond Green (GSW - PF,C) |
| 8 | 111 | Tobias Harris (DET - PF) |
| 8 | 112 | Keegan Murray (SAC - SF,PF) |
| 9 | 113 | Nic Claxton (BKN - C) |
| 9 | 114 | D'Angelo Russell (DAL - PG) |
| 9 | 115 | Brandin Podziemski (GSW - PG,SG) |
| 9 | 116 | Tari Eason (HOU - SF,PF) |
| 9 | 117 | Jaden Ivey (DET - PG,SG) |
| 9 | 118 | Zach Edey (MEM - C) |
| 9 | 119 | Bilal Coulibaly (WAS - SG,SF) |
| 9 | 120 | Stephon Castle (SAS - PG,SG) |
| 9 | 121 | Herbert Jones (NOP - SF,PF) |
| 9 | 122 | P.J. Washington (DAL - SF,PF) |
| 9 | 123 | Santi Aldama (MEM - PF,C) |
| 9 | 124 | Klay Thompson (DAL - SG,SF) |
| 9 | 125 | Kyle Kuzma (MIL - SF,PF) |
| 9 | 126 | Jabari Smith Jr. (HOU - PF,C) |
| 10 | 127 | Bobby Portis (MIL - PF,C) |
| 10 | 128 | Zaccharie Risacher (ATL - SF,PF) |
| 10 | 129 | Chris Paul (LAC - PG) |
| 10 | 130 | Jeremy Sochan (SAS - PF,C) |
| 10 | 131 | Quentin Grimes (PHI - SG,SF) |
| 10 | 132 | Jonathan Kuminga (GSW - SF,PF) |
| 10 | 133 | Daniel Gafford (DAL - C) |
| 10 | 134 | Aaron Nesmith (IND - SF) |
| 10 | 135 | Jrue Holiday (POR - PG,SG) |
| 10 | 136 | Dejounte Murray (NOP - PG,SG) |
| 10 | 137 | Ayo Dosunmu (CHI - SG,SF) |
| 10 | 138 | Ace Bailey (UTA - SF) |
| 10 | 139 | Brook Lopez (LAC - C) |
| 10 | 140 | Donte DiVincenzo (MIN - PG,SG) |
| 11 | 141 | Rui Hachimura (LAL - SF,PF) |
| 11 | 142 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker (ATL - SG,SF) |
| 11 | 143 | Max Christie (DAL - SG,SF) |
| 11 | 144 | Jerami Grant (POR - SF,PF) |
| 11 | 145 | Isaiah Collier (UTA - PG,SG) |
| 11 | 146 | Dylan Harper (SAS - SG) |
| 11 | 147 | Kevin Porter Jr. (MIL - PG,SG) |
| 11 | 148 | Collin Sexton (CHA - PG,SG) |
| 11 | 149 | Kyrie Irving (DAL - PG) |
| 11 | 150 | Jay Huff (IND - C) |
| 11 | 151 | VJ Edgecombe (PHI - SG) |
| 11 | 152 | Malik Beasley (DET - SG,SF) |
| 11 | 153 | Moses Moody (GSW - SG,SF) |
| 11 | 154 | Caris LeVert (DET - SG,SF) |
| 12 | 155 | Russell Westbrook (DEN - PG) |
| 12 | 156 | Cam Whitmore (WAS - SF,PF) |
| 12 | 157 | Buddy Hield (GSW - SG,SF) |
| 12 | 158 | Clint Capela (HOU - C) |
| 12 | 159 | Kyle Filipowski (UTA - PF,C) |
| 12 | 160 | Kelly Oubre Jr. (PHI - SF,PF) |
| 12 | 161 | Tre Johnson (WAS - SG) |
| 12 | 162 | Sam Hauser (BOS - SF,PF) |
| 12 | 163 | Grayson Allen (PHX - SG,SF) |
| 12 | 164 | Yves Missi (NOP - C) |
| 12 | 165 | Reed Sheppard (HOU - PG,SG) |
| 12 | 166 | De'Andre Hunter (CLE - SF,PF) |
| 12 | 167 | Tyrese Haliburton (IND - PG,SG) |
| 12 | 168 | Obi Toppin (IND - PF) |
| 13 | 169 | Luke Kornet (SAS - C) |
| 13 | 170 | Jayson Tatum (BOS - SF,PF) |
| 13 | 171 | Damian Lillard (POR - PG) |
| 13 | 172 | Keon Ellis (SAC - PG,SG) |
| 13 | 173 | Tyus Jones (ORL - PG) |
| 13 | 174 | Jonas Valančiūnas (DEN - C) |
| 13 | 175 | Bub Carrington (WAS - PG,SG) |
| 13 | 176 | Cason Wallace (OKC - PG,SG) |
| 13 | 177 | Gary Trent Jr. (MIL - SG,SF) |
| 13 | 178 | Luguentz Dort (OKC - SG,SF) |
| 13 | 179 | Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (MEM - SG,SF) |
| 13 | 180 | Kevin Huerter (CHI - SG,SF) |
| 13 | 181 | Al Horford (BOS - PF,C) |
| 13 | 182 | Mike Conley (MIN - PG) |
My Team
- 7: Cade Cunningham (DET- PG, SG)
- 22: Evan Mobley (CLE - PF, C)
- 35: Bam Adebayo (MIA, PF, C)
- 50: Derrick White (BOS - PG, SG)
- 63: Jordan Poole (NOP - PG, SG)
- 78: Kel'el Ware (MIA - PF, C)
- 91: Donovan Clingan (POR - C)
- 106: Naz Reid (MIN - PF, C)
- 119: Bilal Coulibaly (WAS - SG, SF)
- 134: Aaron Nesmith (IND - SF)
- 147: Kevin Porter Jr. (MIL- PG, SG)
- 162: Sam Hauser (BOS - SF, PF)
- 175: Bub Carrington (WAS - PG, SG)
Takeaways
This was my first redraft mock with more than 12 people, and oh, you feel it around your fifth selection when Jordan Poole, Austin Reaves, Paul George, Julius Randle and Andrew Nembhard are in your queue. From there, it gets exponentially worse. Now, I'm not saying there aren't a few nice options at each spot, but there's a difference between "Kel'el Ware or Brandon Ingram are nice options here" and "I'm relying on Kel'el Ware or Brandon Ingram to be my sixth-best fantasy player."
Overall, I'm happy with my first three selections. I got double-sniped in the third round, with both Josh Giddey and Amen Thompson going a few picks before me. Still, Yahoo default is two centers, so I'm not going to complain about getting a high-floor big like Bam Adebayo.
Derrick White and Jordan Poole at picks 50 and 63 feel a little more wobbly than they should. White should crush this on a per-game basis, but I believe Boston is a legitimate tanking threat. Aside from his first disastrous year in Washington, Poole has actually been a reliable high-floor player for his career. His role isn't as defined as it was in Washington, but he's the No. 3 option at worst, and that's not counting the games Zion Williamson is obviously going to miss. It's easy to forget Poole was putting up great numbers in Golden State of all places, playing alongside Steph Curry, Klay Thompson and Draymond Green.
I'm going to clump the next three picks together -- Kel'el Ware (78), Donovan Clingan (91) and Naz Reid (106). I cannot stress how much more valuable center-eligible players become in a two-center league. After my Naz Reid pick, here are the next five centers that went off the board: Draymond Green, Nic Claxton, Zach Edey, Santi Aldama, Jabari Smith. Those are acceptable second-center options, but I'd rather stock up on reliable bigs and take shots on higher-upside guards later.
Speaking of stocking up: I stocked up on every position except small forward -- of which I have zero to this point. And would you look at that, all the options are terrible. Three of my next five picks -- Bilal Coulibaly, Aaron Nesmith and Sam Hauser -- were made to ensure I actually drafted enough small forwards to be realistic. Ideally, I could trade one of my bigs or guards for a small forward and fix that early in the year. Ultimately, I would give that trio like a C- grade. Do not put yourself in this position.
Aside from that, I drafted Kevin Porter and Bub Carrington late. These are high-usage guards that have 30-minute upside. If you're after pick 100 and see a guy on the board and think, "this guy handles the ball a lot and could play 30 minutes a night," just draft him. Don't overthink it. This is also fine to do with "one injury away" players -- think Reed Sheppard, Cam Whitmore, Kyle Filipowski, Dylan Harper. A starter at their position gets hurt and suddenly we're looking at a massive role spike. A couple people left the draft room late, so I don't exactly know what was auto-picked at the end and what wasn't, but do not draft Mike Conley, Al Horford, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope with your final pick.
Final Thoughts
This was a pretty intelligent draft. There's been a lot made about Yahoo's rankings being out of whack and being misleading, which falls somewhere between really useful discussion and content-maxxing. I like my team, but I don't feel so good about it that I believe I was in a room with 13 people who were bored and never played fantasy basketball before. I'm sure there's another team drafted that I like just as much as mine. If you aren't a mock-drafter, I recommend it.
Essential Resources for Fantasy Basketball Success
Check out RotoWire's How to Play Fantasy Basketball guide for a complete walkthrough, but here is some basic advice:
- Check out custom NBA Fantasy Projections
- Look into Fantasy Basketball Mock Drafts
- Listen to a Fantasy Basketball Podcast
- Check in on Fantasy Basketball Player News
- Read Fantasy Basketball Articles
- Dive into RotoWire's Fantasy Basketball Draft Kit
- Study NBA Depth Charts
- See RotoWire's Fantasy Basketball Dynasty Rankings
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