With the NBA being a full year proposition for fans and media alike, there are some players this offseason that are being hyped up by some great PR and media attention. Whether it be big markets like Los Angeles and New York or the extra attention that some players received during the NBA finals, below we have identified three overhyped players that are likely to be drafted too early in upcoming drafts.
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3 Most Overhyped Players
Pascal Siakam – Toronto Raptors
Siakam has received a lot of hype after his Most Improved award last season and two great games in the NBA Finals series against the Warriors. Whilst he did significantly improve his game last year, he still has some deficiencies that he will need to address.
In Siakam’s 24 postseason games in 2019, his field goal percentage was 47%, down from 54.5% in the regular season and his three-point percentage was down to 27.9% from 36.9% in the regular season; all this after his minutes increased from 32 to 37 per game. Be warned, without Kawhi Leonard, Siakam’s minutes will increase and defenses will be focused heavily on slowing him down. The pressure will be on for him to score for the Raptors. I’m not saying Siakam won’t be decent. But make sure you don’t overpay for him by reaching in the second round. I have him ranked around the 35th pick in upcoming drafts.
Kyle Kuzma – Los Angeles Lakers
Cool hair and lots of Instagram followers don’t mean you are a great fantasy basketball player. Kuzma is beloved by a lot of LA fans. However, when you dig into his numbers, he does not do much outside of scoring. On top of that, he’s scoring at very poor percentages for his size (45.6% FG, 30.3% 3PT). Additionally, for a forward, his rebounding is below average (5.5 per game) and his defensive numbers are poor as well (0.6 steals, 0.4 blocks).
Kuzma finished last season well outside the top 120 rankings in nearly all fantasy scoring formats. Playing alongside LeBron James and Anthony Davis may help his efficiency. But I don’t see this improving much in the 2019-20 season. Steer clear of cool kid Kuzma until after the 12th round.
Mitchell Robinson – New York Knicks
Robinson is an insanely good athlete. His shot blocking ability can’t be questioned. What he did toward the end of last season was extremely impressive. However, his current ADP and rankings (28 on Yahoo) have him too high.
His offensive skill set is yet to be proven in a league that is continually evolving toward more skilled big men on the offensive end of the court. David Fizdale is going to have a lot of options in the New York frontcourt this year with the acquisition of Bobby Portis, Julius Randle, and Taj Gibson. Robinson has a propensity to foul and spent a lot of time on the bench with four or five fouls last season.
I still believe Robinson will take another year of development to get near 30 minutes a game and drop inside the top 30 in rankings. I have Robinson ranked at 46 heading into this year and I have been seeing him go as early as late in the second round in some drafts. Don’t reach people! 5th or 6th round is fair value.
Are you buying into these overhyped players?? For more great analysis check out the 2019 Fantrax Fantasy Basketball Guide!
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