How to punt rebounds, and the all-guard build that punts blocks with it
Ignoring rebounds moves Keyonte George from 66th to 36th on our 9-cat board and Darius Garland from 43rd to 21st, and punting blocks as well lifts Payton Pritchard and Immanuel Quickley into the top 25.
By James · 4 min read
Keyonte GeorgeDarius GarlandNorman PowellPhotos: NBAProRebounds are the category that ties a roster to its big men, and punting them is the cleanest way to build a team of guards and wings. Once rebounds stop counting, the centers whose value rests on them fall sharply and the scoring and passing guards rise, which turns a roster light on size into a coherent build rather than a weakness. It also pairs naturally with punting blocks, since the same big men supply both, and the combined punt produces the most guard-heavy board of any we have run.
- Keyonte George UTA65thvs 63rd
- Darius Garland LAC42ndvs 48th
- Norman Powell CHI74thvs 84th
- Reed Sheppard HOU86thvs 110th
- Rudy Gobert MIN71stvs 73rd
- Domantas Sabonis SAC36thvs 40th
We reran our 9-cat board with rebounds removed, and again with rebounds and blocks both removed, with the other categories weighted as on the standard board. The table shows the movers that matter most, as of mid-October, from our projections. The consensus column is the analysts' standard 9-cat board, shown for reference.
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.
