5 Best Fantasy Late-Round Steals For NBA 2021-2022
Fantasy basketball is starting soon, and you’ve had a hard time sorting through the myriad of late-round picks. Who do you pick? Nailing a few of your sleeper picks can turn you into a potential title contender early on. But which of these lower-ranked players will vastly outproduce their draft capital?
Sleepers are a great way to save money and be competitive in the upcoming season. To help you plan your roster, we will share their favorite sleepers. Read on below to see who we recommend.
Alperen Sengun
Mo Bamba
Cam Reddish
Kyle Kuzma
Otto Porter
Alperen Sengun
This powerful big man is as versatile as they come. His recent stint with the Rockets in Las Vegas Summer League showcased his many skills.
Of all rookies, this 16th overall pick is the most experienced. He's played in four games and has averaged 14.5 points, 11 rebounds, three blocked shots, 2.8 assists and 1.3 steals.
Houston enters the season rebuilding, and Sengun will surely benefit. The Rockets wanted to draft better players this year, and they already seem to have done that, with one of the best hauls.
Although it would be hard to imagine that Sengun could win Rookie of the Year from his teammate, Jalen Green, he is still a strong contender for it at the age of only 19.
Mo Bamba
Bamba's time in Orlando feels like a make-or-break campaign. He had 20+ minutes of playing time late last season and put up some impressive stats, including games with 15, 15, and 18 rebounds and nine blocks.
In seven games in May, he averaged 11.0 PPG, 9.7 RPG, and 2.0 BPG while shooting at 40.6% from the field. He made a decent 73.9% of his free throws in only 25 minutes of playtime. When drafting outside the top 120 picks, you should be swinging for home runs, meaning you should try to get players who are projected to play more than 25 minutes per game and shoot over 40%.
Bamba is still sharing the center spot with Wendell Carter Jr. (who is also 23), but it's clear that Bamba is an up and coming player in the NBA. If anything were to happen to WCJ, then Bamba would be a great player to invest in.
Cam Reddish
Reddish played 28 minutes against the Cavaliers yesterday, scoring 20 points, grabbing five steals, and grabbing three rebounds. His performance is exactly what the Hawks need to see as he recovers from a brutal Achilles injury.
The Atlanta Hawks have a bevy of wing players. Will they all get enough playing time? The team has plenty of scoring, so they can afford to take some risks. One of these risks is Reddish, who would be good at wing defense. He may be worth taking at pick 177.
Kyle Kuzma
Last year, Kuzma was unable to really shine as a member of the Lakers. Now that he is on his own and has more opportunity, We expect him to perform well. In 122 games with James, Kuzma averaged 16.8 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists.
We have high expectations for him in this upcoming season. It's tough to see who will start. But we know that Wizard's newly acquired forward will outplay them both and will be awarded the starting job right out of the gate.
Kuzma has the potential to be a breakout player this year, but is a risky investment in rounds 8-10 of your draft. He will need to play alongside Bradley Beal in order for him to be successful.
Otto Porter
Otto Porter is looking at a strong chance to start as of late. He was on pace for about 41 starts as of a few days ago, but Golden State small forward Andrew Wiggins got vaccinated so he could play home games. Porter still has a chance to get solid minutes.
He is a backup at both small forward and power forward to start the season. He will be a backup to Andre Igoudala, who was brought back, but he is still going to have a defensive role on the court.
In the NBA, people tend to underestimate how good a player is when they look only at the points. For example, if a team has an average of 14.9 points per 36 minutes, but a player averages 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.5 steals, and 1.8 threes for their career...they would be a very underrated player. Porter is one of these underrated players.