How to punt threes, and why Giannis and Anthony Davis become top-six picks
Ignoring three-pointers lifts Giannis Antetokounmpo to 4th on our 9-cat board and Anthony Davis to 6th, turns Walker Kessler and Ivica Zubac into second-round players, and drops Anthony Edwards to 30th.
By Matt · 3 min read
Giannis AntetokounmpoAnthony DavisWalker KesslerPhotos: NBAProPunting threes is the build for a manager who takes a dominant big man early and wants every later pick to pull in the same direction. Threes come mostly from guards and wings, and the players who make few of them are usually the ones who win field-goal percentage, rebounds and blocks. Give up the category and the board fills with interior players whose standard rank is held down only by the threes they do not shoot. It is the opposite of the approach in the big men who shoot threes, which pays a premium for centers who add the category; here you stop paying for it at all.
- Giannis Antetokounmpo MIA9thvs 9th
- Anthony Davis WAS19thvs 23rd
- Walker Kessler LAL51stvs 32nd
- Ivica Zubac IND54thvs 66th
- Zion Williamson NOP106thvs 80th
- Anthony Edwards MIN6thvs 6th
We reran our 9-cat board with threes removed and the other eight categories weighted as on the standard board. The table shows the movers that matter most, 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.
