Fantasy basketball – Which rookies should you roster in 2025-26?

The NBA draft is where the league’s future takes shape. On Wednesday night — Day 1 of the two-day draft — the next wave of stars began their journey.

Headlining the class is Cooper Flagg, the long-hyped Duke phenom who now officially joins the Dallas Mavericks as the No. 1 overall pick. While Flagg’s rise to the top was not a surprise, he is far from the only rookie poised to make an impact in year one.

Let’s break down the rookies that settled into the best landing spots, and look at which players are best positioned to deliver fantasy value in 2025-26.

Lottery picks worthy of drafting in fantasy hoops

Cooper Flagg, SF, Dallas Mavericks: ESPN draft analyst and Duke alum Jay Bilas touted Flagg on draft night as the best freshman player in Duke’s illustrious history. Flagg led the Blue Devils in points, rebounds, assists, steals and blocks per game last season. At 6-foot-9, he has excellent size for a small forward. Add to that the diverse skill set and a big opportunity to produce on a Mavericks team that will be missing leading playmaker Kyrie Irving (torn ACL) for the first half of the season, and there’s a lot to like. Here’s more analysis from draft night on what history tells us about how Flagg’s rookie numbers could look.

Ace Bailey, SG/SF, Utah Jazz: Bailey was a consensus top-3 talent in the draft, but he slid a bit seemingly by design after he became the only American-born draft prospect to refuse to work out for any teams. The Jazz took him anyway, despite reports that he may have preferred to go to a team drafting later, because Bailey’s talent is undeniable. A 6-foot-8 wing with a 7-foot wingspan, Bailey is a big-time shot-maker that is gifted in isolation but also excellent as a catch-and-shoot player. He needs to work on decision-making, shot selection and playmaking, but his size, athleticism and scoring ability give him long term star-power that could allow him to become an impact player for the Jazz early on. The Jazz are a rebuilding team with some young talent, but no one with a skill set similar to Bailey.

Tre Johnson, SG, Washington Wizards: Johnson is an elite shooter; according to Bilas, the best overall shooter in this draft. He is equally proficient as a catch-and-shoot threat as he is off the dribble. Johnson has long arms (6-foot-10 wingspan), is great moving without the ball but can also work off the pick-and-roll. He’s a natural scorer that led the SEC in scoring as a freshman. He joins a Wizards team that just traded away leading scorer Jordan Poole, and though they have veterans CJ McCollum and Khris Middleton on the wing, the Wizards are a rebuilding team that could feature Johnson early.

Jeremiah Fears, PG, New Orleans Pelicans: Fears is an extremely confident scoring point guard. ESPN draft analyst Jonathan Givony used “gifted” as his one-word description of Fears, while host Malika Andrews used the word “swaggy”. Fears is fast and physical with great speed and a knack for getting into the lane and drawing fouls, which he knocks down at an elite rate. Fears joins a Pelicans team that just traded for Poole for one guard slot, but that will be missing starting guard Dejounte Murray for the first half of the season as he recovers from a torn Achilles tendon. This could give Fears the opportunity to challenge for a starting spot and/or impact minutes early in his rookie campaign.

Egor Demin, PG, Brooklyn Nets: Demin is a huge guard at 6-foot-8 with a 6-foot-10 wingspan, but he is also described as the best passer in the draft. He signed a contract with Real Madrid at age 15, then as a freshman at BYU he led the Big 12 in assists while setting a BYU freshman record. Demin is an excellent ballhandler, his pick-and-roll vision is outstanding, and while he’s not a consistent 3-point shooter he is willing and can get hot from downtown as well. The Nets are setting off a full rebuild, and Demin was the first of their five first round draft picks this season. He could challenge for a starting role early, particularly because his size could allow him to defend small forwards even if he plays point guard on offense.

Lottery players to keep an eye on

Dylan Harper, PG, San Antonio Spurs: Harper was the consensus second-best prospect in the Draft as a young, scoring point guard with excellent size and toughness. The son of NBA champion Ron Harper, Dylan set the freshman scoring record at Rutgers after winning the co-MVP award in the 2024 McDonalds All American game. Harper is a 3-level scorer with tremendous body control, a shot-maker that is also excellent at finishing through contact at the rim. The Spurs already have strong perimeter players with All-Star point guard De’Aaron Fox, Rookie of the Year Stephon Castle and five-year veteran Devin Vassell, so Harper may not get massive minutes from jump, but he has a unique skill set and a bright future once he finds his role.

VJ Edgecombe, SG, Philadelphia 76ers: Edgecombe is an amazingly athletic shooting guard that, on draft night, drew comparisons to names like Russell Westbrook, Victor Oladipo and Dwyane Wade while comparing himself to favorite player Anthony Edwards. Edgecombe is a strong 3-and-D wing that plays above the rim, can knock down spot-up 3-pointers, and set the Baylor record last season for the most steals by a freshman in school history. The 76ers have some talented players under contract on the perimeter, including All Star point guard Tyrese Maxey and Jared McCain, a shooter-scorer that was on pace to challenge for Rookie of the Year before injury ended his season. Edgecombe has a skillset that is unique from his teammates and could complement them enough for him to earn impact minutes early in his career.

Kon Knueppel, SG/SF, Charlotte Hornets: Knueppel was the best catch-and-shoot 3-point shooter in the draft with incredible range. He also has the ability to get into the lane on straight-line drives and can make plays around the rim where he finishes off two feet. Knueppel stays in the state of North Carolina, joining a Hornets squad led by an excellent playmaker in LaMelo Ball and scoring wing in Brandon Miller, and he could earn big minutes early as the shooter on the wing that plays off of them.

Collin Murray-Boyles, SF/PF, Toronto Raptors: Murray-Boyles is a strong defensive prospect at forward. He is an efficient scorer and good rebounder, but his calling card is defensive versatility. Murray-Boyles was one of Bilas’ favorite prospects in the draft, but he could be limited as a fantasy hoops prospect both by his style of play but also because he joins a Raptors team that is full of frontcourt depth that may prevent him from getting impact-level minutes.

Khaman Maluach, C, Phoenix Suns: Maluach is an extremely talented but raw center prospect. Over 7-feet tall, Maluach didn’t start playing basketball until he was a teenager and learned in the NBA Academy in Africa. Maluach was a great shot-blocker and offensive rebounder at Duke, and his athleticism allows him to finish in the paint off put-backs or lobs. He was second in D-1 with 81 dunks last season, 38 of them off lobs. The Suns also traded for center Mark Williams on draft night, so Maluach may be more of a developmental player than an immediate impact guy from a fantasy hoops perspective.

Other picks that caught my attention

Derik Queen, C, New Orleans Pelicans: Queen was nicknamed “Baby Jokic” by his teammates. He’s an excellent ball-handler and passer from the center position, in addition to being a nightly double-double threat. He has a good face-up game, a skill set that could produce fantasy numbers, and could be a good complement to last year’s rookie big man Yves Messi‘s athletic defender-style game.

Walter Clayton Jr., PG/SG, Utah Jazz: Clayton electrified the NCAA tournament this season with three 30-plus point scoring efforts, including leading all players with 35 crunch time points. Clayton’s NCAA performance drew comparisons to Stephen Curry for his big-time and clutch shot-making on his way to being named the Most Outstanding Player in the tournament. Clayton is considered undersized as a shooting guard, but his speed, strength (was an elite football recruit as a defensive back) and scoring skill set could earn him a role early on for a Jazz team that is in rebuild mode.

Kasparas Jakucionis, PG/SG, Miami Heat: Jaskucionis was expected to be a top-10 pick in most mock drafts, so his slide to the Heat was unexpected and makes him a late-round steal candidate. Givony described KJ as a combo between Austin Reaves and Andrew Nembhard, and a player that could be the Heat’s point guard of the future… and perhaps of the present as well.

Rookie of the Year race

Leader: Cooper Flagg (-200)

In the hunt: Ace Bailey (+650), Tre Johnson (+750), Dylan Harper (+1200)

Longshots of interest: VJ Edgecombe (+2500), Derik Queen (+3000), Kasparas Jakucionis (+6000), Walter Clayton Jr. (+10,000)

Flagg is the runaway and odds-on favorite to win Rookie of the Year. He is considered a generational prospect, and he’s joining a Mavericks team where he could be featured and produce big stats on a potentially winning team.

Bailey and Johnson are both gifted scorers joining rebuilding teams where they could produce big stats early.

Harper and Edgecomb, the second and third picks in the draft repsectively, have outstanding talent but are joining teams with playoffs aspirations and established star players that could limit their individual production.

Queen, Jakucionis and Clayton all had strong college careers with games that could produce attention-grabbing stats as rookies if they earn the playing time.