2026-27 projection
| GP | MPG | FG% | FT% | 3PM | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | 6.0 | .430 | .750 | 0.4 | 2.3 | 1.0 | 0.4 | 0.3 | 0.1 | 0.4 |
- 9-cat: 350+; points: development only; dynasty: 320-500.
- Role: rookie two-way wing outside Utah's healthy rotation.
- Status: Utah signed Bates to a two-way contract July 3 after he missed most of 2025-26 following surgery for a fractured left foot. NBA movement data, accessed 2026-07-18 · Rock M Nation, 2026-07-17
Fantasy thesis
Bates' best NBA path is as a low-usage three-and-D wing, a role that usually creates only steals and threes in fantasy. Utah's present wing queue is too deep for a dependable call-up.
Ceiling: earns late-season rotation minutes if Utah pivots to development. Floor: a full Salt Lake City season while rebuilding health and reps.
Career record
Pre-NBA: Indiana 2021-23 (3.9 PPG, then 6.1 PPG on .374 3P as a sophomore), transferred to Missouri 2023-25: 13.5 PTS / .495 FG / .385 3P as a junior, 13.3 PTS on .508 FG as a senior captain. Draft: undrafted (2025).
No NBA regular-season record. His only pro season, 2025-26, was spent on a two-way with Denver: for the G League's Grand Rapids Gold he averaged 19.5 PTS, 4.4 REB, 2.3 AST, and 1.5 STL on .550 FG / .440 3P before a fractured left foot ended his season — surgery announced December 22, 2025, with a 12-plus-week timeline — and Denver waived him March 4, 2026. (Sources disagree on the sample: HoopsHype/Scotto reports those averages over his G League stint; Wikipedia's article claims only one G League game before the surgery.)
Durability: One data point, but a serious one — a surgically repaired left-foot fracture that wiped out his rookie two-way year. Recovery timeline formally cleared by spring 2026; Utah's July signing implies medical comfort.
Trajectory: The record shows an efficient, older (23) 3-and-D wing whose G League scoring burst earned a second two-way chance despite the lost season. In 2026-27 he competes for the Salt Lake City Stars workload and situational Jazz call-ups behind a deep wing queue. He becomes fantasy-relevant only in the narrow case that he proves the foot is sound, repeats the G League efficiency, and Utah's rebuild opens late-season rotation minutes — a 2027-28 story more than a 2026-27 one.
Career sources: HoopsHype/Michael Scotto · Wikipedia · Deseret News on Jazz two-ways
Open questions
- Is Bates fully recovered from the left-foot fracture?
- Can his summer-league defense and shooting translate against NBA rotations?