Fantasy Basketball Rankings: Small forward draft tiers for 2024-25 NBA season

LeBron James and Lauri Markkanen find themselves in Tier 1 of Dan Titus’ small forward rankings for fantasy basketball leagues in 2024-25 leagues. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

The 2024-25 NBA season is fast approaching, so in conjunction with my latest points and category fantasy basketball rankings dropping, it’s time to dig into my position-by-position tiers. I’ve covered the point guards and the shooting guards, so next up are the small forwards.

NOTE: Only some players will have analysis when listed in the tiers below. Players with multi-position eligibility will only appear in the positional tier where they played the most minutes last season or are projected to play this season.

[Create or join a Yahoo Fantasy hoops league for the 2024-25 NBA season]

The small forward landscape in fantasy basketball features elite stars like LeBron James, Paul George and Lauri Markkanen. Emerging talents, including Jalen Williams and Franz Wagner, are in for an impactful season, while young prospects such as Brandon Miller and Trey Murphy III offer high upside. There’s value in the mid-rounds if you’re willing to buy the dip on players like Josh Giddey and Mikal Bridges. Try to lock in a couple of SFs before the 10th round because the dropoff in positional value is steep.

Tier 1: The elite SFs

1. Paul George, Philadelphia 76ers

2. Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz

3. LeBron James, Los Angeles Lakers

Paul George’s assists fell to 3.5 per game, his lowest in three seasons. Playing alongside Joel Embiid and Tyrese Maxey will help PG-13 regain some of that playmaking acumen after already being one of the best 3&D wings in the game.

The Jazz are building around Lauri Markkanen, and fantasy managers can confidently do the same. Markkanen’s only areas of deficiency are assists and blocks.

The Lakers didn’t do much to upgrade their roster in the offseason, which means that once again, they’ll be heavily dependent on Anthony Davis and the oldest player in the league, LeBron James. King James is still performing at a high level, but be cautious that Father Time can strike at any time.

Tier 2: All-Star caliber SFs

1. Jalen Williams,…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy-basketball-rankings-small-forward-draft-tiers-for-2024-25-nba-season-155718980.html

Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-18 15:57:18

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.