Fantasy Basketball Rookie Rankings (2025)

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With the 2025 NBA Draft less than two weeks away, we're quickly approaching long-awaited clarity on where the top prospects will land. Trade rumors and questions about lottery selections are developing and changing each day. How this rookie class projects in fantasy basketball next year is, for now, just that -- a projection. It's important to lay down preliminary fantasy basketball outlooks for the draftees before they're selected by their future squads on June 25th and 26th.

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It would be silly to have Cooper Flagg anywhere else but at the top. Flagg posted 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 4.2 assists and 2.8 stocks (steals plus blocks) per game as a freshman at Duke.

Those Scottie Pippen and Kawhi Leonard comparisons aren't for nothing. Flagg, unlike many players his age, can routinely impact every aspect of the game.

Dylan Harper's fantasy outlook is a strong one thanks to his scoring and passing exploits, but his projected fit in San Antonio is questionable. Does he start alongside the ball-dominant De'Aaron Fox? Is Harper even a starter? Are we sure the Spurs are staying put at pick two?

For now, trust Harper's enticing profile as a future fantasy stud.

Don't write VJ Edgecombe off as a raw talent with production concerns. The Baylor product averaged 3.2 assists per game and shot nearly 36% from three over the final two months of his college career.

Edgecombe is not as comfortable with the ball in his hands as Harper, but he's certainly capable of self-creation. With NBA spacing and wider driving lanes on the horizon, Edgecombe is set to have more room to work with should he further develop his handle.

Plus, his on and off the ball defensive skills give him a solid floor.

So many questions about this draft are about Ace Bailey and where he fits on an NBA roster. It would come as a shock to see him assume a role as a go-to scorer with Philadelphia, New Orleans or even Charlotte.

Instead, Bailey likely begins his career as an off-ball shooter and play finisher. In other words, he has a capped fantasy ceiling.

Khaman Maluach's fantasy basketball profile for the 2025-26 NBA season is as intriguing as any. It's also fit-dependent. Some teams probably view the young big man as an immediate starter because of his size and ability to defend the rim.

Others, like the Raptors and Hornets, may see Maluach as a project who needs time to develop behind bigs like Jakob Poeltl and Mark Williams.

The path to fantasy success for Maluach is pretty clear, regardless. Donovan Clingan, Alex Sarr and Kel'el Ware were solid as rookies last season while averaging anywhere from 19-27 minutes per game.

Jeremiah Fears being a starting guard for one of Utah, Washington, New Orleans or Brooklyn (ordered by draft slot) by the All-Star break next year is a feasible scenario. For Brooklyn and New Orleans (because of the injury to Dejounte Murray), Fears may start on day one.

This opens up so many avenues to a great rookie fantasy season for Fears, who has the playmaking skills to cement a decent floor for himself.

You've probably heard that buckets are the name of the game for Tre Johnson. While he is a willing passer, scoring can get you only so far in fantasy basketball. And Johnson's defense may be so unrefined that it takes him off the floor next season.

The Texas product was hunted at an alarming rate in the SEC last year.

Kon Knueppel is probably going to be asked to do a little bit of everything next season. He proved to be a trustworthy lead initiator at Duke when needed, and his 6-foot-6 frame is sure to open up some rebounding opportunities when he's matched up with smaller guards.

One thing is for certain: Knueppel's shooting prowess will force his future coach to play him often from the jump.

The majority of people view Khaman Maluach and Maryland's Derik Queen as the best two centers in this class. Unlike Maluach, Queen didn't prove to be nearly as effective at defending the rim. Queen is at his best when driving to the basket and around the rim as a scorer.

There's always room for bigs like Maluach to play heavy minutes, but how does Queen's offense-first style suit him as a rookie? That's the primary concern with his fantasy outlook.

It didn't look nearly the same, but Collin Murray-Boyles served as the engine of South Carolina like Flagg did for the Blue Devils. Defensively, Murray-Boyles was trusted to play on and off the ball, help against mismatches and guard the opposition's best offensive options.

On the offensive side, there are some real concerns. For as skilled as Murray-Boyles is around the rim with his footwork and touch, plus his passing acuity, he's not much of a shooter.

General managers and scouts are watching Oklahoma City and Indiana in the NBA Finals and wondering how they can get their own version of Luguentz Dort, Aaron Nesmith and Cason Wallace in this year's draft. That could very well be Bryant.

The 6-foot-8 forward will assume an off-ball role that sees him spot up from three, cut and be an active defender. While there is limited upside, this steady play projection offers considerable fantasy value.

The range of outcomes for Kasparas Jakucionis next year is all over the place. He could be Reed Sheppard and spend most of the season in the NBA G League or he could become a team's sixth man and captain a bench unit.

Let's meet somewhere in the middle and take into account that Jakucionis' game has plenty of highs and lows. There were a lot of turnovers at Illinois, but he could make a cross-court skip pass right into his teammate's shooting pocket. There were smooth step-back threes, but there were also times he couldn't beat his man off the dribble. You get the idea.

The idea that a contending team can select Nique Clifford in the middle of the first is somewhat off-putting. Last year's draft had a similar situation with Dalton Knecht winding up a Laker.

Granted, Clifford has a much more well-rounded game than Knecht, but the competition for minutes on an Oklahoma City, Minnesota or Houston squad is so much greater than that of Brooklyn, Chicago or Washington.

Despite being unable to participate in the combine or properly accept a green room invitation, the pre-draft process has been incredibly kind to Noa Essengue. He has himself to thank as he's shown improvement as a shooter throughout the late stages of his season in Germany.

Essengue certainly has the physical tools to hang with NBA competition, but he does have some work to do to round out his game. He can become a viable fantasy asset in 2025 off of sheer intangibles and development this summer alone.

The only true downside to Cedric Coward's profile is his lack of run during his final collegiate season at Washington State. Coward was limited to just six games.

Coward was the talk of the town at the combine and has reportedly interviewed very well in private sessions with teams. Coward is squarely in Lottery conversations, but do we know enough about his game on the court? His ideal role as a rookie looks similar to that of Nique Clifford's; likely coming off the bench and impacting multiple facets of the game.