The Fantasy Basketball Encyclopedia

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2026-27 draft boards — ESPN points and nine-category

The two boards that matter for this league, side by side: ESPN default points and repaired nine-category, with the 147 players who move fifteen or more slots between them.

Up: 2026-27 Fantasy Basketball Encyclopedia

Related: 2026-27 volume-corrected nine-category board · Projection engine defects and corrections · Points leagues versus category leagues · 2026-27 points-league rankings · Draft day checklist and decision rules · 10-team versus 12-team fantasy basketball strategy · Punt strategies for nine-category leagues

Which column to read

League Board Why
ESPN default points, head-to-head ESPN Tot (season rank) A weekly matchup accumulates every game played, so an extra game is extra points. Games played is a first-order term, not a tiebreak.
ESPN default points, per-night decisions ESPN (per-game rank) Streaming and start/sit questions are per-game questions.
Nine-category, head-to-head 9-cat Each category is won per week; per-game value drives it. Use 2026-27 volume-corrected nine-category board for the full table and reasoning.
Nine-category, roto corrected_total_rank in the corrected export Roto is a season-totals game.

ESPN's default scoring, verified against ESPN's own explainer:

\[\text{FP} = \text{PTS} + \text{3PM} + 2\,\text{FGM} - \text{FGA} + \text{FTM} - \text{FTA} + \text{REB} + 2\,\text{AST} + 4\,\text{STL} + 4\,\text{BLK} - 2\,\text{TOV}\]

Netted out: a made three is worth 5, a made two 3, a made free throw 0, and every miss costs 1. Free throws are the quiet trap — a made free throw scores \(+1\) for FTM and \(-1\) for FTA, so it is worth exactly zero. Only the point itself counts. Free-throw volume is therefore neutral-to-negative in ESPN points, the exact opposite of its role in nine-category.

This board is only computable because the shot volumes were recovered. ESPN scores four shot-event terms that the original July 18 export did not carry for 78% of players — see Projection engine defects and corrections.

The structural difference

Nine-category rewards specialists; ESPN points rewards volume.

In nine-cat, one elite category carries enormous z-value, so a low-usage defender who posts 1.8 steals wins you a category by himself. In ESPN points a steal is four points and nothing more — it cannot carry a player who does not also accumulate. This single asymmetry explains almost every large move on the board.

The second difference is that ESPN has no ratio categories. Nine-cat punishes a bad free-throw shooter across a whole category weighted by his attempts; ESPN just prices each miss at \(-1\). For a high-volume, foul-drawing, poor-percentage star this is an enormous upgrade. Giannis Antetokounmpo is 46th in repaired nine-cat and 5th in ESPN points.

ESPN pays more than nine-cat does

High-usage creators and scorers whose category value was destroyed by percentages and turnovers.

Player Tm 9-cat ESPN Δ FGA FTA Shot-event net
Darius Acuff Jr SAC 173 90 +83 15.3 3.1 -1.9
Ja Morant POR 129 49 +80 17.0 6.4 -1.5
RJ Barrett TOR 161 93 +68 13.5 5.0 -0.4
Isaiah Collier UTA 236 180 +56 6.4 2.5 -0.1
Stephon Castle SAS 111 56 +55 12.7 5.6 -0.8
Julius Randle BKN 115 63 +52 14.5 5.9 -0.8
LeBron James FA 82 32 +50 15.0 4.3 +0.2
Zion Williamson NOP 95 45 +50 13.7 7.6 +2.5
Jusuf Nurkic UTA 171 121 +50 7.4 2.4 +0.1
Scoot Henderson POR 255 205 +50 8.1 2.1 -1.3
Jalen Green PHX 156 108 +48 16.1 2.9 -2.1
Kyle Kuzma MIL 242 197 +45 9.2 2.2 -0.6
Nolan Traoré BKN 257 212 +45 7.6 1.5 -1.4
AJ Dybantsa WAS 130 86 +44 16.2 3.2 -1.3

ESPN pays less than nine-cat does

Low-usage efficiency and defensive specialists — the classic nine-cat value plays, and the classic points-league trap.

Player Tm 9-cat ESPN Δ FGA FTA Shot-event net
Cason Wallace OKC 86 144 -58 8.0 0.9 -1.0
Keon Ellis BKN 110 161 -51 7.0 1.1 -0.4
Herb Jones NOP 105 154 -49 8.1 1.1 -1.3
OG Anunoby NYK 35 78 -43 12.0 3.3 -0.4
Kel'el Ware MIL 52 89 -37 9.0 1.6 +0.6
Neemias Queta BOS 99 134 -35 5.9 2.1 +1.8
Nickeil Alexander-Walker ATL 39 73 -34 14.3 3.9 -1.3
Kristaps Porziņģis GSW 38 69 -31 12.7 5.2 -1.2
De'Anthony Melton GSW 98 129 -31 10.2 3.0 -1.7
Yaxel Lendeborg GSW 102 133 -31 8.1 2.5 -0.5
Myles Turner MIL 117 145 -28 8.8 2.3 -0.9
Cameron Johnson DEN 118 146 -28 9.4 2.2 -0.5
Dereck Lively II DAL 123 151 -28 5.0 1.8 +1.5
Mark Williams PHX 79 106 -27 8.0 2.7 +2.2

"Shot-event net" is \(2\,\text{FGM} - \text{FGA}\) per game: what a player's field-goal shooting contributes after ESPN's \(-1\) per attempt. Positive means the shooting itself is profitable; negative means he is paying ESPN for the right to shoot. Anyone below about \(-1.5\) is being carried by his other counting stats.

How to use the two boards together

The board

Table refreshed 2026-07-19 (second pass): all 533 dossier projection cards re-parsed as the new base (Data/parse_cards.py), repairing the Orlando rows the original snapshot parser dropped and carrying the Dort/Nembhard/Risacher trade roles; nineteen games-played corrections from the availability audit applied on top.

Ranked by ESPN default points per game, with season totals and the nine-category cross-reference. Arrows mark moves of fifteen or more slots. A positive Δ means ESPN values the player more than nine-cat does.

Volume-source marks: no mark = attempts stated in the dossier; ° = attempts recovered from 2025-26 rates and scaled to projected minutes; * = rookie estimate from the pool-median free-throw rate. Starred players carry the most uncertainty.

ESPN ESPN Tot Player Tm GP FP/g Season FP 9-cat Δ
1 1 Nikola Jokić DEN 66 64.7 4269 2 +1
2 2 Victor Wembanyama° SAS 68 58.8 3997 1 -1
3 4 Luka Dončić LAL 66 58.6 3870 5 +2
4 3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander OKC 70 55.3 3871 3 -1
5 8 Giannis Antetokounmpo° MIA 60 52.7 3165 63 +58 ↑
6 6 Cade Cunningham° DET 66 50.9 3360 11 +5
7 10 Jayson Tatum° BOS 65 48.6 3159 7 +0
8 7 Cooper Flagg DAL 72 46.6 3352 9 +1
9 9 Tyrese Maxey° PHI 68 46.5 3165 6 -3
10 5 Scottie Barnes° TOR 74 46.3 3423 12 +2
11 28 Kawhi Leonard° LAC 60 45.7 2740 4 -7
12 12 Anthony Edwards° MIN 68 45.0 3058 13 +1
13 16 Tyrese Haliburton* IND 66 44.9 2960 14 +1
14 17 Jamal Murray DEN 66 44.7 2952 16 +2
15 11 Donovan Mitchell° CLE 70 44.0 3079 15 +0
16 18 Evan Mobley° CLE 68 43.3 2946 27 +11
17 14 Alperen Şengün° HOU 70 42.8 2993 54 +37 ↑
18 115 Anthony Davis° WAS 44 42.5 1870 22 +4
19 63 Josh Giddey° CHI 54 42.2 2276 184 +165 ↑
20 59 Trae Young° WAS 55 42.1 2316 33 +13
21 137 Joel Embiid° PHI 40 42.1 1682 23 +2
22 23 Austin Reaves LAL 67 41.8 2802 21 -1
23 21 Jalen Brunson° NYK 70 41.7 2917 45 +22 ↑
24 55 Stephen Curry° GSW 58 41.2 2392 17 -7
25 34 LaMelo Ball° MIN 64 41.0 2627 26 +1
26 26 Karl-Anthony Towns° NYK 68 40.8 2778 19 -7
27 33 Walker Kessler LAL 65 40.6 2641 8 -19 ↓
28 29 Paolo Banchero ORL 68 40.3 2738 85 +57 ↑
29 13 Devin Booker PHX 76 40.1 3048 230 +201 ↑
30 48 Trey Murphy III° NOP 62 39.4 2442 20 -10
31 15 Amen Thompson° HOU 76 39.3 2985 37 +6
32 74 Lauri Markkanen° UTA 55 39.2 2156 10 -22 ↓
33 51 Domantas Sabonis° SAC 62 39.2 2428 52 +19 ↑
34 100 Brandon Miller° CHA 50 39.1 1957 32 -2
35 36 Chet Holmgren OKC 67 39.1 2620 18 -17 ↓
36 45 James Harden° CLE 64 38.8 2486 40 +4
37 40 Kevin Durant° HOU 66 38.7 2557 28 -9
38 25 Bam Adebayo° MIA 72 38.7 2784 34 -4
39 35 Jalen Duren° DET 68 38.6 2626 30 -9
40 30 De'Aaron Fox° SAS 70 38.2 2677 61 +21 ↑
41 31 Deni Avdija° POR 70 38.2 2674 59 +18 ↑
42 85 Kyrie Irving DAL 55 37.9 2085 29 -13
43 41 Jaylen Brown° PHI 67 37.9 2540 69 +26 ↑
44 64 Zion Williamson° NOP 60 37.8 2270 80 +36 ↑
45 19 Kon Knueppel° CHA 78 37.7 2939 43 -2
46 20 Payton Pritchard° BOS 78 37.5 2924 39 -7
47 78 Alex Sarr° WAS 57 37.4 2132 48 +1
48 116 Ja Morant° POR 50 37.2 1861 116 +68 ↑
49 75 Jalen Williams OKC 58 37.2 2155 46 -3
50 53 Michael Porter Jr° BKN 65 37.1 2410 36 -14
51 22 Desmond Bane ORL 78 37.0 2887 31 -20 ↓
52 43 Pascal Siakam° IND 68 37.0 2515 76 +24 ↑
53 92 Dejounte Murray° NOP 55 36.9 2027 53 +0
54 80 Franz Wagner ORL 58 36.7 2127 72 +18 ↑
55 37 Stephon Castle° SAS 72 36.3 2616 98 +43 ↑
56 27 Derrick White° BOS 76 36.3 2759 24 -32 ↓
57 38 Donovan Clingan° POR 72 36.2 2607 41 -16 ↓
58 47 Keyonte George° UTA 68 36.1 2457 50 -8
59 66 Darius Garland° LAC 62 36.1 2238 79 +20 ↑
60 79 Dyson Daniels° ATL 59 36.0 2127 260 +200 ↑
61 39 Cameron Boozer MEM 72 35.9 2586 49 -12
62 65 Immanuel Quickley° TOR 63 35.8 2254 57 -5
63 81 Coby White° CHA 60 35.4 2123 73 +10
64 46 Julius Randle° BKN 70 35.3 2470 102 +38 ↑
65 56 Brandon Ingram° TOR 67 35.2 2360 77 +12
66 68 Jaren Jackson Jr° UTA 63 35.2 2219 47 -19 ↓
67 104 Tyler Herro MIL 55 35.1 1932 42 -25 ↓
68 60 Ivica Zubac° IND 66 35.1 2314 65 -3
69 24 Matas Buzelis° CHI 80 35.0 2796 194 +125 ↑
70 42 Naz Reid° CHA 73 34.8 2538 55 -15 ↓
71 140 Kristaps Porziņģis° GSW 48 34.5 1656 38 -33 ↓
72 52 Ryan Rollins MIL 70 34.4 2410 44 -28 ↓
73 125 Damian Lillard* POR 52 33.9 1764 93 +20 ↑
74 67 Jarrett Allen° CLE 67 33.2 2227 66 -8
75 32 Mikal Bridges° NYK 80 33.1 2644 51 -24 ↓
76 97 Jalen Suggs ORL 60 33.0 1983 81 +5
77 57 Ausar Thompson° DET 71 32.9 2335 62 -15 ↓
78 83 OG Anunoby° NYK 64 32.9 2105 35 -43 ↓
79 44 Brandin Podziemski° GSW 76 32.8 2489 78 -1
80 151 Zach Edey MEM 48 32.7 1569 64 -16 ↓
81 124 Paul George° BOS 55 32.2 1770 58 -23 ↓
82 61 VJ Edgecombe° PHI 72 32.0 2301 70 -12
83 169 Ty Jerome MEM 45 31.9 1437 88 +5
84 73 Keegan Murray° SAC 68 31.8 2162 60 -24 ↓
85 58 AJ Dybantsa* WAS 74 31.5 2334 119 +34 ↑
86 49 Reed Sheppard° HOU 78 31.3 2438 71 -15 ↓
87 62 Kel'el Ware MIL 74 31.0 2295 25 -62 ↓
88 69 Darius Acuff Jr* SAC 72 30.6 2201 160 +72 ↑
89 77 Cedric Coward MEM 70 30.5 2134 84 -5
90 89 John Collins° DET 67 30.5 2042 67 -23 ↓
91 90 RJ Barrett° TOR 67 30.4 2040 149 +58 ↑
92 50 Derik Queen° NOP 80 30.4 2431 86 -6
93 82 Jaden McDaniels° MIN 70 30.3 2119 56 -37 ↓
94 88 Andrew Wiggins° MIA 68 30.2 2054 75 -19 ↓
95 236 Jimmy Butler III° GSW 30 30.2 905 83 -12
96 91 Kyshawn George° WAS 68 30.0 2037 91 -5
97 54 Miles Bridges PHX 80 29.9 2395 205 +108 ↑
98 87 Rudy Gobert° MIN 69 29.9 2065 118 +20 ↑
99 84 Caleb Wilson* CHI 70 29.9 2093 114 +15 ↑
100 76 Dylan Harper° SAS 72 29.7 2141 122 +22 ↑
101 93 Josh Hart° NYK 68 29.5 2009 108 +7
102 72 Ace Bailey° UTA 74 29.5 2184 106 +4
103 134 Isaiah Hartenstein OKC 58 29.3 1698 92 -11
104 172 Mark Williams PHX 48 29.3 1404 124 +20 ↑
105 96 Ayo Dosunmu° MIN 68 29.2 1988 89 -16 ↓
106 121 Fred VanVleet* HOU 62 29.1 1805 109 +3
107 105 Jalen Green PHX 67 28.8 1932 179 +72 ↑
108 131 Day'Ron Sharpe° BKN 60 28.8 1728 100 -8
109 147 Aaron Gordon DEN 55 28.7 1580 113 +4
110 86 Darryn Peterson* UTA 72 28.7 2066 120 +10
111 112 Andrew Nembhard° IND 66 28.6 1885 127 +16 ↑
112 108 Daniel Gafford DAL 68 28.1 1912 82 -30 ↓
113 129 Zach LaVine° SAC 62 28.0 1739 105 -8
114 109 Devin Vassell° SAS 68 28.0 1902 95 -19 ↓
115 111 Mikel Brown Jr* BKN 68 27.8 1888 146 +31 ↑
116 95 Collin Murray-Boyles° TOR 72 27.7 1993 68 -48 ↓
117 132 Santi Aldama DAL 62 27.6 1712 130 +13
118 118 PJ Washington DAL 66 27.6 1821 121 +3
119 146 Jusuf Nurkic° UTA 58 27.6 1599 157 +38 ↑
120 99 Davion Mitchell° MIA 72 27.4 1973 142 +22 ↑
121 107 Keaton Wagler* LAC 70 27.3 1914 140 +19 ↑
122 71 Jeremiah Fears° NOP 80 27.3 2186 131 +9
123 135 De'Anthony Melton° GSW 62 27.3 1691 128 +5
124 101 Sandro Mamukelashvili LAL 72 27.1 1953 134 +10
125 120 Egor Dëmin° BKN 67 27.1 1817 133 +8
126 102 Quentin Grimes LAL 72 27.1 1951 103 -23 ↓
127 70 Dillon Brooks PHX 82 26.7 2191 250 +123 ↑
128 161 Jakob Poeltl° TOR 55 26.6 1465 123 -5
129 103 Yaxel Lendeborg* GSW 73 26.5 1937 94 -35 ↓
130 94 Toumani Camara° POR 76 26.4 2003 111 -19 ↓
131 133 Bennedict Mathurin° LAC 65 26.3 1710 129 -2
132 143 Draymond Green° GSW 62 26.3 1631 156 +24 ↑
133 110 Neemias Queta° BOS 72 26.2 1889 125 -8
134 141 Christian Braun DEN 63 26.2 1649 132 -2
135 166 Ajay Mitchell OKC 55 26.2 1439 107 -28 ↓
136 113 Jaime Jaquez Jr MIL 72 26.1 1880 139 +3
137 114 Moussa Diabaté° CHA 72 26.1 1880 110 -27 ↓
138 106 Jabari Smith Jr° HOU 74 26.1 1928 90 -48 ↓
139 98 Cason Wallace OKC 76 26.1 1980 74 -65 ↓
140 119 Anthony Black ORL 70 26.0 1817 138 -2
141 138 Myles Turner MIL 65 25.9 1681 87 -54 ↓
142 156 Cameron Johnson DEN 58 25.8 1495 117 -25 ↓
143 117 Gui Santos° GSW 72 25.7 1851 145 +2
144 128 Malik Monk° SAC 68 25.7 1745 165 +21 ↑
145 122 Naji Marshall DAL 70 25.6 1794 153 +8
146 144 Shaedon Sharpe° POR 64 25.4 1624 126 -20 ↓
147 229 Dereck Lively II DAL 38 25.4 964 112 -35 ↓
148 149 Peyton Watson DEN 62 25.3 1571 135 -13
149 126 Saddiq Bey° NOP 70 25.1 1755 104 -45 ↓
150 136 Herb Jones° NOP 68 24.8 1685 101 -49 ↓
151 145 Tobias Harris° SAS 65 24.6 1601 163 +12
152 130 Jaylon Tyson° CLE 72 24.1 1738 151 -1
153 142 Collin Sexton LAL 68 24.0 1634 161 +8
154 158 Jrue Holiday° POR 62 24.0 1485 115 -39 ↓
155 127 Max Christie DAL 74 23.6 1747 136 -19 ↓
156 177 Tari Eason° HOU 58 23.3 1352 137 -19 ↓
157 148 Wendell Carter Jr ORL 68 23.2 1579 148 -9
158 139 Keon Ellis° BKN 72 23.1 1661 97 -61 ↓
159 123 Julian Champagnie° SAS 78 22.9 1787 99 -60 ↓
160 181 Grayson Allen° CHA 58 22.7 1318 152 -8
161 150 Morez Johnson Jr DAL 70 22.4 1570 144 -17 ↓
162 168 Max Strus° CLE 65 22.1 1438 166 +4
163 155 Bobby Portis° MIA 68 22.0 1498 158 -5
164 175 Kelly Oubre Jr° IND 62 21.9 1355 159 -5
165 159 Deandre Ayton° WAS 68 21.8 1480 224 +59 ↑
166 206 Robert Williams III° POR 52 21.6 1122 96 -70 ↓
167 178 Derrick Jones Jr° LAC 62 21.5 1332 199 +32 ↑
168 163 De'Andre Hunter° SAC 68 21.4 1454 147 -21 ↓
169 165 Cam Spencer MEM 68 21.3 1447 219 +50 ↑
170 170 Jaylen Wells MEM 68 21.1 1433 200 +30 ↑
171 152 Isaiah Joe° DET 72 21.1 1517 141 -30 ↓
172 182 Aaron Nesmith° IND 62 21.0 1303 155 -17 ↓
173 154 Kris Dunn° LAC 72 20.8 1499 162 -11
174 157 Pelle Larsson° MIA 72 20.7 1493 189 +15 ↑
175 180 Miles McBride° NYK 64 20.6 1321 170 -5

Full export with every column: Data/espn-points-board.csv, regenerated by Data/espn_points_board.py.

Open questions