3 Rookies to Target in Dynasty Basketball

With the NBA Draft concluding this week, first-year player drafts are about to be in full swing over the following weeks and months. In preparation for that, I released my rankings for all 30 first-round picks, which you can find in the "Rookie Rankings" section of the header. To accompany the release of the rankings, we will go through three rookies to target in your drafts this year.

Target #1: Tari Eason, 21 yo F HOU, R1 P17. My Ranking: 10

To put it plainly, Tari Eason causes havoc on the defensive end. With the highest steal rate of anyone drafted in the first round and a block rate that is almost double the historical average, Eason is a big-play machine who is able to force turnovers and get out on the break and use his best trait: his athleticism. The biggest question mark in his profile is surrounding his jump shot, but if he can find some consistency from deep we could be looking at a 1/1/1 wing with a clear path to playing time. What is even more encouraging is my prospect model is an even bigger fan of Eason than I am. His prospect grade is 'Elite', which gives him a great shot at finding fantasy success. In fact, the only wing selected outside the lottery that my model gave a higher grade to than Eason is Danny Granger, who had 3 top-25 fantasy seasons and was an All-Star for the Pacers.

Target #2: Jake LaRavia, 20 yo F MEM, R1 P19. My Ranking: 13

Similar to Eason, Jake LaRavia is a wing with an 'Elite' prospect grade and a lot of fantasy-friendly tools. The 20-year-old from Wake Forest has a very well-rounded game with a lot of traits that are conducive to fantasy success. Last season he got to the line at a higher rate than anyone else in the class and his 20% assist rate is a promising indicator of his future playmaking ability. There is some concern with his rebounding ability at the four and 6'8 frame if he is going to be matched up with bigs at the four, but because he got picked well above where most draft projections had him going at pick 19, and with the recent successes of the Grizzlies development team, there is plenty of room for optimism.

Target #3: Walker Kessler, 20 yo C MIN, R1 P22. My Ranking: 12

The Walker Kessler hype train is leaving the station, and yours truly is the conductor. Although Twitter did not seem too pleased with the Wolves for selecting the former National Defensive Player of the Year at pick 22, I am ecstatic. The Auburn big man is the most prolific shot blocker that the draft has seen in a long time. His 19.1%. block rate is almost 5% higher than anyone else that has been selected in the last 20 years. His absurd shot-blocking skills are not the only thing to get excited about, however. He rebounds his position, has active hands to generate steals, and has shown a willingness to shoot threes. Improving his three-point shot is his key to fantasy stardom. Kessler only shot 20% from three last year, but with 18.7% of his total shots coming from range, it's clear that he has confidence in his shot, and subsequently, I do too. Will this confidence lead to a better percentage? Who knows, but of all draft prospects in the last 20 years, the only players with both a block rate and 3-point rate of greater than 10% are Jaren Jackson Jr., Mo Bamba, Myles Turner, Chet Holmgren, and Walker Kessler. That is some elite fantasy company. My prospect model recognizes this potential too, giving Kessler the 'Superstar' grade. The Wolves' center being one of only 5 centers ever to receive a 'Superstar' or higher prospect grade is absurd enough, but what is even crazier is that he is the only prospect EVER, regardless of position, to be labeled 'Superstar' while being drafted outside the top 20. 63.6% of similarly graded prospects have gone on to have a top 50 fantasy season and about half have finished in the top 25 at least once. While I am not suggesting you should expect top 25 production from Kessler, he should be a top-of-the-line option at center as long as he's able to get minutes.