The 9-cat top thirty, where the analysts split and the projections disagree

Every analyst on our 9-cat panel has the same four players at the top of their board: Nikola Jokić, Victor Wembanyama, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and Luka Dončić, in one order or another. Jokić leads the top thirty in rebounds and assists, Wembanyama's 3.4 blocks a night are the largest edge any player has in any category, Gilgeous-Alexander scores 30.9 a night on 53% shooting and 88% at the line, and Dončić scores the most of anyone while turning it over four times a game.

From fifth down, the boards start to argue, and in categories leagues the arguments are almost always about one weak category and how much it should cost. This is where the consensus top thirty splits, and where our projections, which measure every category against the pool a twelve-team league actually rosters, sit above or below the panel.

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.