Rotoworld’s way-too-early Top 25 8-cat rankings

It may still be hot in many parts of the world, but Thursday’s release of the 2024-25 regular season schedule means we’re getting closer to “fantasy basketball time.” While some aren’t in too much of a rush to get going, especially those participating in fantasy baseball and football leagues, others are raring to go. A few of us have already begun to participate in fantasy mock drafts with an eye toward the upcoming season.

With that in mind, the Rotoworld fantasy basketball staff decided to have fun and produce way too early Top 25 rankings for 8-cat formats. With turnovers no longer on the table as a scoring category, some high-volume players who take a hit in 9-cat become elite options in 8-cat. Conversely, players who don’t struggle with turnovers can slide in the rankings. Below are some thoughts on the early rankings, followed by the Top 25 submitted by each writer.

1. Nikola Jokic
2. Victor Wembanyama
3. Luka Doncic
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
5. Joel Embiid

There’s no shortage of people who believe Wembanyama should be 1.1 in fantasy rankings. As well as he played as a rookie, the 2023-24 season set a high floor for the Spurs phenom. And with San Antonio solidifying the point guard position by adding Chris Paul, Wemby could take off in Year 2. However, he wasn’t ranked high enough across the board to overtake Jokic here, especially when being able to remove the Joker’s turnover number (3.0 per game last season). You can’t go wrong with either big if holding a top-2 pick in fantasy drafts.

Embiid is the biggest surprise of the Top-5 due to availability issues. While there weren’t any significant concerns during the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons, the Process only played in 31 games in 2023-24. Add in the Paris Olympics and the addition of Paul George, using a Top-5 pick on Embiid would come with significant risk, despite his production when healthy.

6. Anthony Davis
7. Giannis Antetokounmpo
8. Jayson Tatum
9. Trae Young
10. Tyrese Haliburton

Opinions about Antetokounmpo varied, with three writers ranking him within their Top 10s and the fourth placing him outside of the Top 20. Turnovers haven’t been his only issue in recent seasons, either. Giannis has experienced a significant dip at the foul line, with his percentage decreasing from 72.2% in 2021-22 to 64.5% in 2022-23 and 65.7% last season. With Antetokounmpo being a career 70.2% shooter from the charity stripe, getting back to that number (or higher) would give his fantasy value a welcome boost, especially considering how often he’s at the line (10.7 attempts/game last season).

Haliburton’s placement was also interesting: three writers projected him in the Top 10, and the fourth had him 25th. According to Basketball Monster, he ranked 12th in 8-cat, per-game value, and 15th in totals. We’ll see what having an entire training camp to establish chemistry with Pascal Siakam can do for Haliburton, and having a healthy Bennedict Mathurin could boost the Pacers point guard’s assist tally.

11. Kevin Durant
12. Donovan Mitchell
13. Stephen Curry
14. Scottie Barnes
15. Domantas Sabonis

There weren’t any major surprises here, given what four of the five players have proven throughout their careers. As for Barnes, he was excellent when healthy last season. And with the Raptors trading Siakam and OG Anunoby, it’s clear who the franchise is building around. It will be Barnes’ show to run, with Immanuel Quickley, RJ Barrett, and Jakob Poeltl among the “supporting cast.”

16. Damian Lillard
17. Devin Booker
18. Chet Holmgren
19. Anthony Edwards
20. Kyrie Irving

Based on the rankings, it’s safe to say there aren’t many concerns regarding how the addition of Isaiah Hartenstein will impact Holmgren. Ranked just outside the top 30 in 8-cat as a rookie, he averaged 7.9 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game. Holmgren may not take a significant hit in the former category, as he averaged 1.6 offensive rebounds per game last season. Hartenstein was one of the league’s best offensive rebounders, but his defensive rebounding percentage with the Knicks (22.7) was slightly lower than Holmgren’s with OKC (23.1).

21. LaMelo Ball
22. Kawhi Leonard
23. Lauri Markkanen
24. Paul George
25. De’Aaron Fox

Also receiving votes: Tyrese Maxey, James Harden, Dejounte Murray, Cade Cunningham, Paolo Banchero, LeBron James, and Alperen Sengun.

Regarding Ball, how concerned should fantasy managers be regarding the ankle injuries that have short-circuited his last two seasons? He has the potential to be an elite fantasy point guard when healthy, especially with Brandon Miller, Miles Bridges, and Mark Williams on the floor. But will fantasy managers use a Top 20 pick on Ball, or will they hold out in hopes of landing a steal in the third round?

Among the others receiving votes, Banchero was a bit surprising. He finished last season ranked just inside the top 100 in 8-cat formats. The talent can’t be questioned, but seeing if he can boost the defensive numbers (0.9 spg, 0.6 bpg in 2023-24) and percentages to levels that would make a Top 25 fantasy finish possible will be interesting. As for Sengun, he finished last season as a Top 50 player despite the Rockets adding Fred VanVleet to the mix. The question heading into the 2024-25 campaign is how much, if at all, the addition of Steven Adams will impact Sengun’s production.

Raphielle Johnson’s rankings

1. Nikola Jokic

2. Victor Wembanyama

3. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

4. Luka Doncic

5. Tyrese Haliburton

6. Giannis Antetokounmpo

7. Anthony Davis

8. Joel Embiid

9. Trae Young

10. Jayson Tatum

11. Donovan Mitchell

12. Kevin Durant

13. Damian Lillard

14. Kawhi Leonard

15. Devin Booker

16. Stephen Curry

17. Scottie Barnes

18. Paul George

19. James Harden

20. Domantas Sabonis

21. Lauri Markkanen

22. Kyrie Irving

23. LaMelo Ball

24. Chet Holmgren

25. Anthony Edwards

Noah Rubin’s Rankings

1. Victor Wembanyama

2. Nikola Jokic

3. Luka Doncic

4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

5. Tyrese Haliburton

6. Giannis Antetokounmpo

7. Anthony Davis

8. Jayson Tatum

9. Donovan Mitchell

10. Joel Embiid

11. Chet Holmgren

12. Trae Young

13. Kevin Durant

14. Scottie Barnes

15. Devin Booker

16. Domantas Sabonis

17. Stephen Curry

18. Tyrese Maxey

19. Anthony Edwards

20. Dejounte Murray

21. De’Aaron Fox

22. LaMelo Ball

23. Kyrie Irving

24. Kawhi Leonard

25. Paul George

Ameer Tyree’s Rankings

1. Luka Doncic

2. Nikola Jokic

3. Victor Wembanyama

4. Giannis Antetokounmpo

5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

6. Joel Embiid

7. Anthony Davis

8. Trae Young

9. Jayson Tatum

10. Ja Morant

11. LeBron James

12. Domantas Sabonis

13. Scottie Barnes

14. Anthony Edwards

15. Stephen Curry

16. Devin Booker

17. Kevin Durant

18. Donovan Mitchell

19) LaMelo Ball

20. Kyrie Irving

21. Damian Lillard

22. De’Aaron Fox

23. Paolo Banchero

24. Alperen Sengun

25. Tyrese Haliburton

Zak Hanshew’s Rankings

1. Nikola Jokic

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander

3. Joel Embiid

4. Luka Doncic

5. Victor Wembanyama

6. Stephen Curry

7. Anthony Davis

8. Tyrese Haliburton

9. Kevin Durant

10. Damian Lillard

11. Chet Holmgren

12. Jayson Tatum

13. Trae Young

14. Kyrie Irving

15. Donovan Mitchell

16. Lauri Markkanen

17. Anthony Edwards

18. LaMelo Ball

19. Kawhi Leonard

20. Giannis Antetokounmpo

21. Domantas Sabonis

22. Cade Cunningham

23. LeBron James

24. Paul George

25. Scottie Barnes