The big men who shoot threes, and why they are worth a premium in 9-cat
A center who makes threes and blocks shots fills two categories almost no one else fills together, and Naz Reid, Onyeka Okongwu and Kel'el Ware all do it at a discount.
By James · 2 min read
Naz ReidOnyeka OkongwuKel'el WarePhotos: NBAProMost 9-cat rosters face the same trade-off at center. The players who block shots and rebound rarely make threes, and the guards and wings who make threes rarely block shots, so a roster tends to drift toward being strong in one group of categories and weak in the other. A big man who makes threes breaks that trade-off, because he adds to the threes column while filling the frontcourt categories, and that lets the rest of the roster lean wherever it likes.
- Naz Reid CHA53rdvs 69th
- Onyeka Okongwu ATL50thvs 48th
- Kel'el Ware MIL32ndvs 54th
- Jaren Jackson Jr. UTA40thvs 29th
- Chet Holmgren OKC24thvs 20th
- Myles Turner MIL94thvs 96th
We looked for every center-eligible player projected for at least 1.2 threes and 0.9 blocks a night. There are only thirteen, and the list includes some of the best players in fantasy and some of the most undervalued.
Every player in this story is on the fantasy basketball rankings and the 2026-27 projections, and the NBA depth charts show where each one stands in his team’s rotation tonight.
