It’s the offseason, so let’s look back at the single worst pick from each of the first 10 rounds, based on Yahoo Fantasy Basketball ADP. If your fantasy basketball season went off the rails, drafting one (or some) of these names is probably why. Here are the players who failed to live up to their draft position.
If you miss it, here are the best picks by round for fantasy basketball this season.
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Round 1
Worst Pick: Giannis Antetokounmpo (ADP: 4.6)
Between the front office drama, never-ending trade rumors and injuries, Giannis was a bust this season. When he was available, he put up All-Star-level numbers, but it only lasted for 36 games. Still, it wasn’t the level that fantasy managers expected, seeing his production decline to a level we haven’t seen in seven years. Despite averaging 53 fantasy points per game in High Score, Giannis had a substantial dropoff in 9-cat formats, falling to 69th on a per-game basis. The Greek Freak is surely done in Milwaukee, so it’ll be interesting to see where he lands next season and if he’ll be able to return to his elite form.
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Round 2
Worst Pick: Domantas Sabonis (ADP: 14.4)
Doma played in just 19 games this season, an early L for fantasy managers. He averaged under 30 minutes a game, came off the bench four times and saw a dropoff across several critical categories. The Kings’ poor roster construction only added to the frustration, as Sabonis wasn’t used as effectively as he was under Mike Brown in recent years. Sabonis is rehabbing from a torn meniscus, plus the Kings want to move off of his contract, so there’s considerable risk heading into next season.
Round 3
Worst Pick: Jalen Williams (ADP: 25.2)
Anyone who drafted J-Dub started at a deficit because he missed the first 20 games of the season due to a wrist injury. He returned in late November, playing in his next 24 games before suffering a hamstring injury that cost him 24 of his next 26 games. He made it back in Week 22 for the fantasy playoffs, but at that point, it was probably too late to salvage his value. Playing in just 33 games, averaging 17.1 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.5 assists with 1.2 steals is a bit of a letdown from his last two seasons.
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Round 4
Worst Pick: Franz Wagner (ADP: 35.7)
Wagner was available for a mere 38% of games for the Magic this year. That’s not going to cut it for fantasy managers, even though he averaged 20-5-3 with 1.0 steal per game. He missed significant portions of the season because of lingering ankle injuries, never really finding his footing between the injuries and making it work with fellow franchise player, Paolo Banchero. By the time he came back with a minutes restriction in Week 23, his value dipped to where he was barely rosterable. It’d be great to see Franz play better in the postseason, remain healthy and come into next year looking to rebuild off a down year.
Round 5
Worst Pick: Ja Morant (ADP: 41.6)
The Grizzlies sold off nearly all of their best assets except for Morant. Like Giannis, it would be best for Morant to get traded in the offseason because Memphis’s offensive scheme didn’t cater to Ja’s style of play. It’s why his play suffered for the games he was active, not showing the explosiveness we’ve been accustomed to and his shot looked broken. Morant lasted just 20 games, finishing 149th in 9-cat formats and 33rd in High Score. Unfortunately, he was buried in fantasy managers’ IL spots for far too long, basically burning a fifth-round pick.
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Round 6
Worst Pick: Myles Turner (ADP: 53.6)
I typically fade Turner in fantasy because his value is always propped up by a high block rate. However, his numbers this season were objectively terrible in nearly every relevant category. His numbers dropped to an abysmal 11.9 points, 5.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.6 blocks per game. In High Score, Turner ranked outside the top 150 and 99th in 9-cat formats. Turner is usually a mid-round asset, and knowing he chose Milwaukee, it seemed like the veteran big man would be fine. It was the exact opposite, as he posted the worst numbers in a half-decade.
Round 7
Worst Pick: Walker Kessler (ADP: 60.2)
I was a big fan of Kessler coming into the season, so fantasy managers who lost him five games in were just extremely unlucky. Kessler suffered a torn labrum, which ended up needing season-ending surgery in early November. Kessler should be good by the start of next year, but it was a tough blow for anyone who left draft day with one of the best blockers in the game who was emerging into a legit double-double threat.
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Round 8
Worst Pick: Jordan Poole (ADP: 72.5)
Poole was flat-out awful. He had the keys to the Pelicans’ offense to start the year, but was disappointing early on with his poor decision-making while reverting back to his chucker, inefficient ways. It got so bad that he was eventually benched and removed from the rotation. I think I remember dropping him after the first few weeks in the season because he was clearly a negative asset. No matter the format, he didn’t do enough outside of scoring to warrant a roster spot and with the emergence of Jeremiah Fears, he’ll likely be expendable in the offseason.
Round 9
Worst Pick: Cam Thomas (ADP: 81.1)
It was a rough year for Thomas. Cut by the Nets. Waived by the Bucks. He very well might be out of the league by next season. No one ever doubted his ability to get a bucket, but he doesn’t appear to be willing to do what’s required to earn minutes or the new contract that he’s seeking. Like Poole, fantasy managers dropped Thomas pretty quickly once the Nets prioritized playing their rookies. Thomas finished the season playing 42 games but falling outside the top 250 in 9-cat formats and 230 in High Score.
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Round 10
Worst Pick: Bradley Beal (ADP: 96.2)
Fantasy managers had to pivot off of Beal pretty quickly once it was announced he’d be missing the regular season with a hip injury. After coming to the Clippers in the offseason, his playstyle looked like it’d be a good fit with James Harden and Kawhi Leonard. However, the injury risk is far too high to invest anything other than a late-round flier on Beal in the future.