Experts identify one player they feel differently about compared to common narrative

Sometimes if you bash capable fantasy basketball mock drafts, devour a batch of preseason contented and perceive to what everyone seems to beryllium saying, everything starts to look and dependable the same.

Certain players are regarded 1 way, others are viewed another, and opinions extracurricular of that are hard to find. But conscionable due to the fact that there's a communal thought oregon content astir a subordinate doesn't mean it's right.

That's wherefore we asked our phantasy hoops experts André Snellings, Eric Moody, Eric Karabell, Jim McCormick and Steve Alexander to place 1 subordinate they consciousness otherwise astir for this play compared with the remainder of the crowd.

Joel Embiid provides a large worth aft Round 3

Embiid volition enactment successful 62 games and mean 28 PPG, 10 RPG and 1.5 BPG, making him a fourth- oregon fifth-round bargain. It is truthful casual to beryllium pessimistic astir Embiid and not lone the changeless concerns astir him staying healthy, but the numbers erstwhile helium does play. Many hide helium averaged 67 games for the 2021 and 2022 seasons and the numbers were fantastic. It truly wasn't that agelong ago. OK, truthful possibly Embiid sits all/most situations with back-to-back games, but I volition beryllium optimistic and foretell large things for Embiid and the 76ers, adjacent if I stay frightened to put top-30 draught superior successful fantasy. -- Karabell

Anthony Davis shouldn't beryllium drafted successful the archetypal round

Davis is being drafted successful the archetypal circular of phantasy drafts, but I don't spot it. It looks to maine similar he's somewhat retired of signifier and hasn't done overmuch to get excited astir successful the preseason, and his wounded past is staggering. Add successful that Kyrie Irving is not apt to play this season, and it's hard to spot the Mavericks having a batch to play for down the stretch. I'm letting idiosyncratic other draught Davis successful each of my leagues, arsenic the hazard is excessively great. -- Alexander

Zion Williamson should beryllium taken earlier the 3rd round

Everyone's treating Williamson similar a risky phantasy pick, but the ceiling is massive. He enactment up 24.6 PPG, 7.2 RPG and 5.3 APG successful 30 games past play and besides posted career-best marks successful steals and blocks. Yes, durability is simply a concern, arsenic helium has played 30 oregon less games successful 4 of six seasons, but helium enters 2025-26 successful the champion signifier of his career. If helium stays healthy, Williamson tin smash his ADP (33.0) and decorativeness wrong the apical 20. -- Moody

Jamal Murray's phantasy worth is inflated

Last play marked a vocation effort statistically, yet it inactive wasn't elite accumulation compared with the precocious barroom acceptable astatine constituent defender successful the NBA. I americium a instrumentality of Murray's crippled from a existent hoops lens, but not arsenic enthused successful phantasy fixed the deficiency of immoderate azygous peculiar category. Denver capably replaced the usage and shooting measurement of Michael Porter Jr. (with Cameron Johnson) and arguably has much changeable instauration rostered than past season. -- McCormick

Reed Sheppard has what it takes to beryllium a top-60 guy

I americium higher connected Sheppard than most. I deliberation helium is simply a wide top-60 subordinate successful class leagues and has akin upside successful points leagues. Coming retired of the 2024 NBA draft, I had Sheppard arsenic the subordinate successful his people astir acceptable to produce, with a accordant 3-point changeable and beardown combo defender skills. But Sheppard was drafted to a Rockets squad with excessively galore prime perimeter options to get an accidental arsenic a rookie. After the squad traded 2 perimeter starters for Kevin Durant and mislaid Fred VanVleet to injury, Sheppard is present poised to gain starter's minutes and an honorary "S...