Fantasy Basketball awards predictions for 2025-26: Jokic dominates but young talent could challenge the throne

One thing that all NBA fans love to do at the beginning of each season is to predict the award winners for the upcoming campaign. We love doing that as well, but let's do it from a fantasy perspective! We'll look at all the major awards from a fantasy perspective, with some overlap from the actual awards. With that in mind, let's get started.

Fantasy MVP
Nikola Jokic, Nuggets

In a sport where everyone wants to debate who the GOAT is, there's no question that Jokic is the best player in the NBA right now. He has been for a few years now, flirting with triple-double averages in each of the last three years. That culminated in a career year last season, with Joker averaging 29.6 points, 12.7 rebounds, 10.2 assists, 1.8 steals, 0.6 blocks, and two 3s per game. Those counting stats already have Jokic as the best player in fantasy, but he's doing that while shooting 58 percent from the field, 41 percent from 3-point range, and 80 percent from the free-throw line. He's truly the only player in the NBA who's a net positive in all nine categories in fantasy, and we didn't even mention that he's played at least 69 games in all 10 seasons. It's almost a cheat code to land a player like Jokic, and it would be silly to pick anyone else as the fantasy MVP. 

In Consideration: Victor Wembanyama (SAS)

Wemby and Jokic are the top two picks in every fantasy draft, and we'll discuss that in the next section!

Fantasy Defensive Player of the Year
Victor Wembanyama, Spurs

It was sad to see Wemby miss the final months of 2024-25 due to a blood clot, but he still had a sensational season. The French big man averaged 24.3 points, 11 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 1.1 steals, 3.8 blocks, and 3.1 3s per game. Since we're looking at the most valuable defensive member, the 11 rebounds, 1.1 steals, and 3.8 blocks stand out. Those averages are amazing, and he had 176 total blocks across 46 games. The next highest total was Brook Lopez with 148 blocks, and he played 80 games. That's why Wemby nearly doubled up the player in second in terms of averages, and he's adding double-digit rebounds and over a steal a night to that league-winning block average. All of that has Wemby as a heavy favorite to win Defensive Player of the Year on most sportsbooks, and the only reason it's not higher is because of injury risk. 

In Consideration: Dyson Daniels (ATL)

Daniels led the league with three steals per game last season and had 229 in total. The second-closest averaged fewer than two steals per game, and no other player had more than 131 steals. If you want to land Wemby and Daniels in your draft, you might lock up the defensive statistics every week. 

Fantasy Rookie of the Year
Cooper Flagg, Mavericks

I wanted to avoid the obvious pick with Flagg, but there's sadly not much competition. If you look at the Rookie of the Year odds, Flagg is a heavy favorite on most sites. That's not a massive favorite, but Dylan Harper, Ace Bailey, VJ Edgecombe, and Tre Johnson are all sitting near 10-to-1. All of those guys have serious question marks in terms of their roles, but Flagg should be one of the primary contributors for the Mavs. He was the consensus top pick in this year's draft, taking down College Player of the Year in his one season at Duke. It's the versatile skillset that makes him such a problem for opponents, with Flagg projected to average 16.9 points, 6.2 rebounds, four assists, 1.1 steals, 0.8 blocks, and 1.6 3s on elite shooting percentages. He could very well finish top 5 in all of those statistics among rookies, and it's why he's being selected around 40th in most drafts right now. Most of his fellow rookies are falling to the final rounds, with many going undrafted.

In Consideration: Ace Bailey (UTA)

Bailey has the best opportunity of any rookie because he should play 30 minutes and take 15 shots a night for a rebuilding Jazz team. 

Most Improved Fantasy Player
Reed Sheppard, Rockets

My first inclination was to have Amen Thompson in this spot, but let's go with his teammate. Sheppard was the No. 3 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft and finally looks poised for a big opportunity. Sheppard was mainly a reserve last season, but he may be this team's starting point guard with Fred VanVleet getting injured. He's earned that role when looking at his G League statistics, averaging 30.3 points, 4.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 2.7 steals, and five 3s per game. While that was only three games, Sheppard showed a similar profile when he played big minutes for the Rockets. In the four games that he played at least 20 minutes, Sheppard averaged 18.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, 3.5 assists, two steals, and four 3s per game. There's an elite fantasy profile if he gets the full allotment of minutes, and it'll be nearly impossible to keep him below 20-25 minutes with VanVleet going down. 

In Consideration: Andrew Nembhard (IND)

Nembhard should take over as the starting point guard in Indy with Tyrese Haliburton injured. There aren't many better opportunities than the ringleader for one of the fastest-paced and most efficient offenses in the NBA. 

Bounceback Fantasy Player of the Year
Kevin Porter Jr., Bucks

Jalen Johnson is an obvious pick for this slot, but Porter is a sneaky selection near the end of drafts. Many people forget how highly touted Porter was before some off-court issues, averaging 17.1 points, 4.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 2.3 3s in his three seasons with the Rockets. We saw glimpses of that guy when Damian Lillard got injured last season, with KPJ averaging 15 points, 5.2 rebounds, 5.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and 1.1 3s in the 29 games he played at least 22 minutes. We're using that 22-minute threshold because most of that came at the end of the year, and Porter should be looking at a minimum of 25 minutes as Milwaukee's starting point guard this season. It's simply one of the weakest backcourts in the NBA, and Porter's fantasy value should skyrocket because of that. 

In Consideration: Zion Williamson (NOP)

Zion lost more weight than Jonah Hill this summer and could be poised for a career year with New Orleans, parting ways with CJ McCollum and Brandon Ingram while missing Dejounte Murray to begin the season following an Achilles tear.

Most Valuable Undrafted Player
Isaiah Jackson, Pacers

This is a risky pick with Jackson coming off an Achilles tear, but all signs point to the big man being fully healthy. That's a huge factor, but the most important variable is the loss of Myles Turner. That leaves 30 minutes and the starting center gig up for grabs, with I-Jax looking like the best bet to fill that void. He's been the starting center in the preseason and has always been one of the best per-minute producers in the NBA. He's been held to just 15.4 minutes a night behind Turner through his first four years but still averaged 7.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 0.6 steals, and 1.4 blocks on 60 percent shooting. That means his per-36 averages equate to 17.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 3.2 blocks per game. There's no chance that Jackson comes anywhere near 36 minutes, but 25-30 could be in play if he fully breaks out. It costs almost nothing to take I-Jax at the end of your draft, and you could stumble into a Top 75 player if he starts and plays 25 minutes a night with that fantastic fantasy profile. 

In Consideration: Khris Middleton (WAS)

This is a gross recommendation, but Middleton could be the focal point of Washington's offense at times. He's apparently fully healthy, averaging 17.5 points, 4.9 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.9 3s over the last decade. Even if he gives you that for two months, Middleton could be a sneaky find off the waiver wire or at the end of your draft. Many people think the youngsters are going to take over in Washington, but don't be surprised to see C.J. McCollum and Middleton leaned on heavier than most might expect.