The centers worth waiting for after the fifth round
Center is the deepest position in the middle of the draft, and Zach Edey, Rudy Gobert, Neemias Queta and Day'Ron Sharpe all offer starting value after the sixth round.
By Matt · 2 min read
Zach EdeyRudy GobertNeemias QuetaPhotos: NBAMembersCenters are where most fantasy drafts overreact. Managers see the elite big men go in the first two rounds and assume the position is scarce, so they take a mediocre center in the fourth round rather than risk being left without one. Our projections say the opposite: the middle of the board is full of centers who rebound, block shots and shoot efficiently, and they are cheap precisely because every one of them has a weakness the early centers do not.
- Zach Edey MEM76thvs 69th
- Rudy Gobert MIN69thvs 76th
- Neemias Queta BOS110thvs 118th
- Day'Ron Sharpe BKN106thvs 99th
- Isaiah Hartenstein OKC86thvs 93rd
- Nic Claxton CHI94thvs 86th
The table lists centers our projections rank between 55th and 110th in 9-cat, the range most twelve-team drafts reach between the sixth and tenth rounds, with their points rank under ESPN's default scoring beside it.
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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.
