Same player, different format: who to draft in points and who in 9-cat
Alperen Sengun is 15th on our points board and 45th in 9-cat, while Cason Wallace is 129th and 78th, and knowing which players split this way is half the job in either format.
By Matt · 2 min read
Alperen SengunStephon CastleZion WilliamsonPhotos: NBAProPoints leagues and categories leagues reward different things, and the difference is bigger than most rankings let on. A points league under ESPN's default scoring adds everything a player does into one number, so volume wins: a player who scores, rebounds and passes a lot is valuable even if he shoots poorly or turns the ball over, because those costs are small next to everything else he contributes. A 9-cat league treats each category separately, so a player's weakest category counts as much as his strongest, and efficiency and ball security matter far more than raw volume.
- Alperen Sengun HOU45thvs 37th
- Stephon Castle SAS130thvs 110th
- Zion Williamson NOP106thvs 80th
- Cason Wallace OKC78thvs 93rd
- Nickeil Alexander-Walker ATL34thvs 52nd
- Trey Murphy III NOP18thvs 24th
We compared every player's rank on our two projection boards, points under ESPN's scoring and 9-cat, and kept those inside the top 90 in at least one. The players below have the biggest gaps in each direction, and every one of them should be drafted at a different price depending on your league's format.
