Dr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men's and women's fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.
Read below for our preseason points-league rankings.
The upcoming NBA season looks spectacular, with storylines everywhere. The draft class this year looks to be as promising as last season, which has resulted in 10 rookies in my preseason top 150. King James switched teams, completely changing the hierarchies of two different squads. Free-agent moves and trades abounded, as the teams at the top geared up to make another run at the Golden State Warriors.
All of this action and movement brings big changes in opportunity, production and, therefore, fantasy value for players across the league.
Which players are on the rise? Who is ready to break out? Whose production is set to fall? Where are those rookies placed?
To help answer these questions and more, check out my preseason top 150 rankings for points-based fantasy leagues. The default scoring system for ESPN points-based leagues is:
Field Goals Made (FGM) = 1
Field Goals Attempted (FGA) = -1
Free Throws Made (FTM) = 1
Free Throws Attempted (FTA) = -1
Rebounds (REB) = 1
Assists (AST) = 1
Steals (STL) = 1
Blocks (BLK) = 1
Turnovers (TO) = -1
Points (PTS) = 1
These rankings are based upon my preseason projections for the top 300-plus players in the league. In addition to daily production, projected availability is factored into these rankings as well.
