NBA Player News

Sabonis provided 16 points (5-8 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 5-6 FT), 13 rebounds and seven assists in 36 minutes during Monday's 111-98 victory over the Trail Blazers.

Sabonis led the club with a game-high 13 boards in the matchup. The 28-year-old has already logged a double-double and a triple-double through three regular-season outings, and he has done it all while shooting an extremely efficient 65.7 percent from the field. Moreover, the big man is shooting 55.6 percent from beyond the arc on what would be a career-high 3.0 attempts per game. Sabonis is averaging 23.0 points, 11.0 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.7 steals-plus-blocks across 37.0 minutes per game.

Nurkic contributed two points (1-6 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 0-1 FT), four rebounds and two blocks over 15 minutes during Monday's 109-105 victory over the Lakers.

Nurkic had a nightmare outing Monday, and the Suns struggled mightily whenever he was on the floor. Mason Plumlee played 26 minutes as a result, and this could be a worrying trend to monitor for Nurkic's fantasy managers moving forward.

Davis closed Monday's 109-105 loss to the Suns with 29 points (12-24 FG, 0-2 3Pt, 5-6 FT), 15 rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal across 35 minutes.

The fact that this 29-point output was Davis' lowest mark of the season goes to show just how dominant he's been for the Lakers in the early stages of the new campaign. The star big man has settled as the team's go-to threat on offense, even ahead of LeBron James, thanks to averages of 32.8 points, 12.0 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 1.5 steals and 2.5 blocks per game to open the campaign.

Ayton notched 20 points (10-17 FG), 11 rebounds and one assist over 34 minutes during Monday's 111-98 loss to the Kings.

Ayton led the Blazers with an efficient, team-high 20 points in the low-scoring loss. The big man also secured his fourth double-double in as many regular-season games this year. The 26-year-old is averaging 14.3 points, 12.3 rebounds, 1.3 assists and 1.3 steals-plus-blocks across 32.3 minutes per game.

Kessler finished with 12 points (6-11 FG, 0-2 FT), 11 rebounds, one assist, two blocks and two steals over 30 minutes during Monday's 110-102 loss to the Mavericks.

Kessler was limited to just two points in the blowout loss to the Warriors on Oct. 25, but other than that, the big man has been excellent to start the season, posting two double-doubles in three starts. He remains an impactful player on defense as well, racking up eight blocks and three steals in those three contests.

Poeltl provided 16 points (7-13 FG, 2-2 FT), 19 rebounds, two assists and one block in 40 minutes during Monday's 127-125 overtime loss to the Nuggets.

Aside from Poeltl sniffing a 20-20 game, the fact he did that while dealing with the threat of Nikola Jokic throughout the entire contest makes it even more valuable. Poeltl is a standout two-way performer who could flourish with enough touches in Toronto, and he's enjoying a solid start to the season. Through four games, the veteran big man is averaging 12.3 points, 11.8 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.5 blocks per contest.

Jokic ended with 40 points (18-27 FG, 3-5 3Pt, 1-2 FT), 10 rebounds, four assists, two blocks and one steal over 44 minutes during Monday's 127-125 overtime victory over the Raptors.

Jokic seems to have taken over any plan the Nuggets might have and is doing things by himself, controlling the flow of the offense and determining when to attack and feed his teammates. Fantasy managers will certainly appreciate the high usage rage, but Jokic has proven to be a player who can fill the stat sheet even without astronomically high usage. The numbers don't lie, and Jokic is averaging a monster line of 32.3 points, 10.3 rebounds, 7.0 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.3 blocks per game through his first three outings of the 2024-25 campaign.

Capela closed Monday's 121-119 loss to Washington with 16 points (6-6 FG, 4-6 FT), four rebounds, two assists, one block and one steal over 25 minutes.

Capela had been outplayed by Onyeka Okongwu (toe) in recent games, but with the latter sidelined Monday, Capela stated his case to continue in a starting role Monday. The veteran big man displayed an efficient touch near the rim and made his mark defensively. Capela is not expected to record the numbers he used to deliver in his prime years with Houston, but he remains a serviceable fantasy option who can flirt with a double-double every time he steps on the court.

Sarr produced seven points (3-11 FG, 1-5 3Pt), nine rebounds, one assist, two blocks and one steal across 27 minutes during Monday's 121-119 win over the Hawks.

As has been the trend during his first games at the NBA level, Sarr was impressive from a defensive perspective but struggled to get things going on offense. Even though three games aren't enough to draw valid conclusions, Sarr is averaging just 7.0 points per game while shooting 28.6 percent from the field, although he's also putting up 6.7 rebounds, 2.0 blocks and 0.7 steals per contest. The potential is clearly there, and while it's a matter of whether he can put it together, the Wizards will give him every chance in the world to develop and soak up as many minutes as he can during a rebuilding season.

Collins recorded 11 points (3-4 FG, 1-2 3Pt, 4-4 FT), three rebounds, one assist and two steals across 13 minutes during Monday's 106-101 loss to the Rockets.

Collins played limited minutes off the bench but finished the night with a serviceable fantasy line. As long as Victor Wembanyama is healthy, Collins is unlikely to play more than about 15 minutes on any given night. He can chip in on both ends of the floor, but without the playing time, he simply can't be trusted outside of very deep leagues.