After already drafting David Robinson and Tim Duncan with the first overall pick within the last 40 years, the San Antonio Spurs have once again come away with the top draft pick, where they are all but certain to draft their next big man of the future. Meanwhile, the Houston Rockets and Detroit Pistons had some not so great luck, as they went from having the best odds at the number one pick to missing out on the top three entirely. With a seemingly somewhat clear top three players in this draft, the fall to picks four and five might be a bigger loss than the surface would show. Regardless, a number of players have had their fantasy basketball value change drastically with the results of the lottery, so let’s take a look to see whose stock has seen the most movement over the past few days!
Fantasy Basketball Stock Report
Stock on the Rise
Victor Wembanyama, C, San Antonio Spurs (probably)
“With the first pick in the 2023 NBA draft, the San Antonio Spurs select… Victor Wembanyama.” Hearing these words in a month is all but a certainty at this point, as the Spurs have no reason not to select arguably the best draft prospect in NBA history. Standing somewhere between 7’3″ and 7’5″ depending on where you look, Wembanyama has a rare blend of size and skill that makes him a projected dominant force across both the NBA and the fantasy basketball landscape. Playing under hall-of-fame coach Gregg Popovich, there is little doubt that Wemby will see similar success to that of former big men David Robinson and Tim Duncan, whose skills were maximized under Pop. Wembanyama can fill up the stat sheet across the board, and his impact will be immediate. He should be confidently drafted in the top 50 in redraft leagues, and taking the young big man in the top 20 of dynasty leagues wouldn’t be an unreasonable thing to do. This kid is going to be a superstar.
Brandon Miller, SF, Unknown
With the Charlotte Hornets coming into the second overall pick in the draft, it seems very likely that they will select either Brandon Miller or Scoot Henderson. If it is Miller, he would be a fantastic fit for the Hornets who already have LaMelo Ball running the show from the point guard position. Miller would be constantly put in a position to score with Ball facilitating, and his ability to flourish as a rookie would be made much easier. The alternative is that Miller falls to the third pick and goes to the Portland Trailblazers, who may or may not be looking to trade Damian Lillard and start a complete rebuild, which would then center around Miller. Either way, this is a versatile scorer who led Alabama to the number one overall seed in the NCAA tournament, and he would be a strong pick in the middle rounds of upcoming fantasy basketball drafts.
Scoot Henderson, PG, Unknown
Similarly to Miller, Scoot Henderson is looking at being selected by the Hornets or Trailblazers with the second or third pick. Henderson has already been very vocal about his ability to play with anybody, including LaMelo Ball, which answers the initial question of whether or not the two point guards would be able to work in tandem. Thanks to Ball’s size at 6’7″, this would definitely be something that could work without an issue if the Hornets did choose to go in this direction. Similarly, Henderson would also find himself in a great spot to fuel the likely rebuild in Portland. Being compared to Dwyane Wade in playstyle, Henderson will have no trouble making an impact for his new team and across fantasy basketball leagues regardless of where he ends up. He can be safely drafted in the early middle rounds of drafts as someone who could potentially stuff the stat sheet in a similar fashion to Russell Westbrook.
Stock on the Decline
Zach Collins, PF/C, San Antonio Spurs
With Wembanyama coming in, it will be Zach Collins, the current Spurs center, whose fantasy value will likely take the biggest hit. As someone who needs substantial minutes to make an impact in fantasy basketball leagues, those minutes will likely shrink significantly, as the Spurs have no reason not to give Webanyama as much time on the floor as he can handle. Collins will still be a nice player for the Spurs to have as a backup big and a veteran presence from whom Victor can learn, but that value unfortunately does not translate to fantasy. He is no longer someone who needs to be drafted at this point in time.