Ja Morant

The 2019-20 Rookie of the Year, Morant's numbers took a step back last season. He ranked 74th in per-game fantasy production as a rookie, with that number dropping to 114th in 2020-21. The main culprit was his decreasing efficiency. All of Morant's shooting percentages fell, with the point guard hitting just 44.9 percent of his field goals and 72.8 percent of his free throws. He's also not a positive in the three-pointers (1.2) or steals (0.9) categories. Obviously, Morant's 19.1 points and 7.4 assists per game were excellent, but his real-life reputation far outweighed his fantasy value last season. That said, it's clear that Morant has what it takes to be an elite point guard. His performances in the play-in games and five playoff contests were fantastic. In his final seven appearances, Morant averaged 29.4 points, 7.6 assists, 5.1 rebounds, 1.0 steals and 2.4 threes across 41.3 minutes on 48/37/73 shooting. Morant will need to find a way to become a consistent three-point shooter and stat-accumulating defender to make a massive leap as a fantasy player, but he absolutely has the talent to do it. Plus, he's already proven he can be a nightly 30-and-10 threat with a below-average jumpshot. Based on pure upside, Morant will be a popular selection, potentially as high as the third round, but fantasy managers must be cognizant of the holes in his stat profile over his first two NBA seasons.