Fantasy Sports

2025 NBA Draft: Fantasy Basketball Winners and Losers

Alan Goldsher|
After Memphis' off-season tweaks, will Ja Morant's stats rise or fall?
After Memphis' off-season tweaks, will Ja Morant's stats rise or fall? | Petre Thomas-Imagn Images

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Dallas MavericksAtlanta HawksSan Antonio SpursBoston CelticsPortland Trail BlazersMemphis GrizzliesDenver Nuggets

Hey, guess what.

I don’t have to write any NBA mock drafts for, like, ten months!

Don’t get me wrong: Banging out a mock draft in any sport is a hoot. But banging out 42 mock drafts—especially in a two-month period—can get a bit taxing.

Which is why I’m so darn excited to bang out some post-draft analysis.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly

  • We know the Dallas Mavericks, thanks to top pick Cooper Flagg, took a step forward—although according to fantasy sports O.G., Strat-O-Matic, it wasn’t a particularly huge step.
  • We know that the 2025-26 Brooklyn Nets won’t look a damn thing like the 2024-25 Brooklyn Nets.
  • And we know the Portland Trail Blazers set themselves back a season or two. Maybe three.

As for which players will benefit from the draft, we don’t know. Yet.

But we can guess.

Winner: Ja Morant, G, Memphis Grizzlies

If he returns to the court both physically and mentally healthy, the Memphis Grizzlies’ mercurial point guard will be in for a big season.

Former backcourt mate Desmond Bane was shipped off to Orlando, leaving Kentavious Caldwell-Pope—who isn’t what you’d call an offensive force—as the starting two-guard.

Morant’s backup, the emerging Scotty Pippen Jr., could steal some touches and time, but Ja’s career average in minutes is 31.1, so it shouldn’t noticeably ding his stats—all of which is why the Murray State product will be an elite fantasy option who should be grabbed within the first 15 picks of your draft.

Loser: Anthony Davis, F/C, Dallas Mavericks

We're aware that the Mavs offense will run through Anthony Davis. Until it doesn’t.

The Brow is Dallas’ undisputed alpha dog, but few would be surprised if rookie Flagg becomes an offensive focal point sooner than later, which would put a significant dent in Davis’ stats. And when Kyrie Irving gets back to the lineup, it’ll just get worse.

Davis will still be a fantasy beast, but no longer one you’d grab in the first round.

Winner: Shaedon Sharpe, G, Portland Trail Blazers

The Blazers moved on from Anfernee Simons—a move roundly mocked by the Fantasy Sports on SI staff—a deal that left a 20-point vacuum at the shooting guard position.

An electric, hungry shot-taker and -maker, Sharpe—who finished last season with averages of 18.5 points and 4.5 boards—will be ready, eager, and willing to fill the Simons-sized hole.

Loser: Kristaps Porzingis, F/C, Atlanta Hawks

Had the Boston Celtics not decided to dive into a semi-teardown, Porzingis might've been a fantasy menace in Beantown.

Without Jayson Tatum sucking up all the oxygen, the Zinger would’ve been the Celts’ clear number two option, and when given the opportunity (and clearance from the team doctor), the Latvian veteran stuffs the scoreboard, e.g., his second season in Washington (2022-23) when he racked up 23.2 points—a career best—and 8.4 boards.

Down in Hotlanta, the Unicorn will be playing second fiddle to ball hog, er, ball dominant superstar Trae Young, and will also lose minutes to rookie Asa Newell.

The 29-year-old big man could’ve been a top fantasy option. Now, he’s somewhere at the top of the middle.

Winner: Nikola Jokic, C, Denver Nuggets

This summer, the Nuggets did, um, nothing. Which, for the three-time MVP and his fantasy owners, is a beautiful thing.

Playing with a mildly-tweaked iterations of their current roster, the Joker has led the Association in fantasy points four of the last five seasons.

Victor Wembanyama notwithstanding, there’s no reason to think he can’t do it again.

Losers: Devin Vassell, Stephon Castle, and Dylan Harper, G, San Antonio Spurs

Despite the point-centric presence of Monsieur Wemby, the Spurs backcourt combined for 57.45 nightly fantasy points in 2024-25. But now that rookie guard Dylan Harper is in the mix, that number is all but guaranteed to plummet.

And the fact that Harper was the number two pick in the draft will force Spurs head man Mitch Johnson to give the rook all the burn he can handle.

The trio of San Antonio guards will likely end the season in the same statistical sphere, making all three of them less-than-optimal fantasy options.

But they’ll sure be fun to watch.

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Alan Goldsher
ALAN GOLDSHER

Alan Goldsher has written about sports for Sports Illustrated, ESPN, Apple, Playboy, NFL.com, and NBA.com, and he’s the creator of the Chicago Sports Stuff Substack. He’s the bestselling author of 15 books, and the founder/CEO of Gold Note Records. Alan lives in Chicago, where he writes, makes music, and consumes and creates way too much Bears content. You can visit him at http://www.AlanGoldsher.com and http://x.com/AlanGoldsher.

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