Sometimes, winning your fantasy basketball league comes down to the players you don't draft. Avoiding high-risk, injury-prone, or overvalued players can make or break your season. Using NBA projections, NBA injury reports, and NBA ADP data, we've identified five players who could be among the biggest 2025 fantasy basketball busts for DraftKings Best Ball contests.
Fantasy Basketball Busts: DraftKings Best Ball
Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers
(ADP 36)
Last season was a complete disaster for Embiid. He only played in 19 games because of injuries, and even when he was on the floor, his production was subpar for his standards. He shot a career-low 44.4% from the field on his way to averaging 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 0.9 blocks per game. It was his lowest scoring average since the 2019-20 season and his worst rebounding mark since his rookie campaign.
Embiid has never appeared in more than 68 games in a season during his career. The last two seasons, he has played a combined 58 games. He is still working his way back from a knee injury, putting his status in doubt to begin the season. Even when he does return, the 76ers could limit his minutes. The team does have two viable backups at center in Andre Drummond and Adem Bona, so it's not crazy to think that Embiid could log fewer than the 30 minutes per game that he did last season. There are too many question marks that come with drafting Embiid this early.
Chet Holmgren, Oklahoma City Thunder
(ADP 44)
After appearing in all 82 games in the 2023-24 campaign, Holmgren played just 32 games for the Thunder last season. As a part of their deep roster that eventually won the championship, he only logged 27 minutes per game when he was on the floor. That left him with averages of 15.0 points, 8.0 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.
Depth remains a strength for the Thunder. Even when Holmgren appeared in all 82 games two seasons ago, he averaged a modest 29 minutes. As the Thunder look to defend their title, it would be a surprise if they push Holmgren to play a ton of minutes on a nightly basis. He could also be looking at multiple rest days as the playoffs approach.
Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks
(ADP 60)
Okongwu found himself stuck behind Clint Capela to begin his career. Last season, Okongwu was finally given a starting job towards the end of January. He would go on to average 15.0 points, 10.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 1.2 steals and 0.9 blocks as a starter. He also shot 58.1% as a starter, compared to 54.8% when he came off the bench.
Even with Okongwu thriving in a starting role, the Hawks added Kristaps Porzingis in a trade with the Celtics this summer. Jalen Johnson is also back in the fold after he suffered a season-ending injury at the end of January. Overall, the Hawks significantly improved their depth by adding Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard. Porzingis has a checkered injury history, but if Okongwu spends a significant number of games coming off the bench, it might be difficult for him to live up to his ADP.
Cam Thomas, Brooklyn Nets
(ADP 72)
Thomas is a flat-out scorer. He averaged 24.0 points per game and had a 32.6% usage rate for the Nets last season, although he only played in 25 games. Two seasons ago, he averaged 22.5 points and had a 30.5% usage rate. Michael Porter Jr. was acquired in a trade with the Nuggets, but with the Nets sending out Cameron Johnson in that deal, the Nets are still severely lacking when it comes to scoring threats on their roster. That should leave Thomas with all the shot attempts that he can handle.
The issue that Thomas is facing is that the Nets are in the early stages of a rebuild. Their hopes of making a run at a playoff spot are slim, even if Thomas is at the top of his game. We saw at the end of last season that they rested most of their key players down the stretch. Thomas played a total of just seven games once the calendar flipped to 2025. With most of his fantasy value coming from his scoring contributions, the potential for him to play limited games makes him a risky fantasy option.
Josh Hart, New York Knicks
(ADP 75)
Everything fell Hart's way last season. His head coach was Tom Thibodeau, who loves to give his starters a ton of playing time. The Knicks really didn't give him much choice, either, with the limited options that he had on their bench. Hart was able to stay healthy despite the heavy workload, appearing in 77 games and averaging 38 minutes. That left him with a career campaign in which he averaged 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.1 three-pointers.
Heading into this season, Hart's fantasy prospects look very different. Thibodeau is gone, with the Knicks replacing him with Mike Brown. The Knicks also vastly improved their bench by adding Jordan Clarkson, Guerschon Yabusele and Malcolm Brogdon. Mitchell Robinson, who was limited to 17 games because of injury last season, is back and could even take Hart's starting job. To complicate matters for Hart, he is dealing with a finger injury that he has already said could require surgery next offseason. The stars all aligned for Hart last season, but everything looks to be working against him heading into this campaign.
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Essential Fantasy Basketball Resources
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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