Winning fantasy basketball leagues isn't all about hitting on your early-round draft picks; it’s about finding league-winning value in the middle and late rounds. Whether it's young talents stepping into massive workload increases following offseason roster overhauls, reserves inheriting starting roles after trades, or explosive scorers poised to shatter their current ADP, targeting the right sleepers is what builds a fantasy basketball championship roster.

Below, we break down five high-upside sleeper candidates who are currently undervalued and primed to smash their draft-day price tags this season. Let’s get after it, FANation!

Payton Pritchard, Boston Celtics - ADP: 80.4

Losing Jaylen Brown is no small thing, and the Celtics are operating in that world moving forward as they traded him for Paul George. With how unavailable George has been over the past few seasons, the Celtics are going to have to have monster seasons out of Jayson Tatum, Derrick White, and especially Payton Pritchard. Pritchard finally got his first crack as a starter last season, starting 50 of the 79 games he played. In those starts, Pritchard averaged 16.9 PPG, 5.3 APG, and 4.3 RPG.

The biggest thing with Pritchard sans Jaylen Brown last year was his usage increase. His 21.4% USG was a career-high, but in the 841 minutes he played without Brown, he had a 28.2% USG. It’s important to distinguish that without Brown and with Jayson Tatum for 160 minutes, he settled in right in the middle at 24.3%, which is still really good, and for comparison, it’s similar to the likes of De’Aaron Fox and Josh Giddey.

He’s likely going to leapfrog George as the team’s second-leading scorer and is really good at stuffing stat sheets in every category. He knocks down a lot of threes, is a good rebounder for his size, and his playmaking is underrated to boot. Pritchard’s being really undervalued at this point in the draft season. 

 

 

 

Coby White, Charlotte Hornets - ADP: 88.9

After trading away LaMelo Ball during the offseason, Coby White is slated to start at point guard this season and is poised for similar numbers to the 2024-’25 season in which he averaged 20.4 PPG, 4.5 assists, and 3.7 RPG. It’s a good roster around him, but no one player stands out as a superstar... yet. Brandon Miller and Kon Knueppel are the closest to that status, while Naz Reid can fill it up offensively at times.

White was an elite scorer for the Hornets last year, pouring in 15.6 PPG in just 19.3 MPG while posting a 32.1% USG, and now Ball’s gone. White’s a multi-category contributor and probably slots in behind only Brandon Miller in usage this season. If White can shake all the calf concerns from a year ago and get back to the 70-plus game season, he has top-50 fantasy upside on this young, fun, Charlotte Hornets team.

Day'Ron Sharpe, Brooklyn Nets - ADP: 94.5

We’re heading into the sixth year of Day’Ron Sharpe’s career, and this will be the first time that the center room is mostly his as he’s played behind Nic Claxton for a while. Every projection has him opening the season as the starting center, and as we've seen as a reserve player, he’s incredibly productive.

Sharpe made seven starts last year, and in those contests, he averaged 28.2 MPG, 11.1 PPG, 7.9 RPG, and 3.6 APG. Sharpe told Brian Lewis of the New York Post that he needs to pace himself throughout the season, but it’s really exciting to hear the possibility of Sharpe’s minutes potentially doubling;

We’ve seen how deep of a rotation head coach Jordi Fernandez is willing to run, and the Nets do have Julius Randle potentially running a small-ball center lineup, Danny Wolf, and Noah Clowney on the team too, and they could take a few minutes away from Sharpe as well. All that said, Sharpe is slated to be the starter and is a great fantasy player in limited run, and that should only expand with more run.

 

 

 

Ty Jerome, Memphis Grizzlies - ADP: 114.1

In an incredibly small sample with the Memphis Grizzlies last year, Ty Jerome was amazing on the offensive side of the ball. In just 22.6 MPG, Jerome averaged 19.7 PPG and 5.7 APG on 47% FG and 42% 3PT. That’s almost impossible efficiency to repeat, but it’s not as if the Grizzlies have a long list of elite bucket-getters, especially since they’ve shipped out Desmond Bane, Ja Morant, and Jaren Jackson in the span of two seasons.

Jerome is expected to be in the starting lineup alongside Cedric Coward, Jaylen Wells, Cameron Boozer, and Zach Edey, and while three of them can be really good, especially Boozer, Jerome has a legitimate chance to be their leading scorer while also consistently contributing in other categories as well. 

Jerome’s primary issue throughout his career is availability. Only once since 2019-’20 has he topped 48 games, and did only make through 15 games last season. If he’s available, he’s a legitimate top-50 fantasy scorer on this Grizzlies team.

Khaman Maluach, Phoenix Suns - ADP: 118.9

When the Suns drafted Khaman Maluach last year, it felt a little Brunco Cabacolo-esque, and for all those who are wondering what that means, ESPN’s Fran Fraschilla had a great quote saying, “he’s two years away from being two years away,” and you can hear that here:
 

Now, that’s all seemingly changed after what Maluach did in the Summer League in 2026. After averaging 10 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.3 BPG last year, he put up 19.5 PPG, 12.8 RPG, and 2.0 BPG. He followed that up with a text to Devin Booker about getting workouts together, and there were some strong words from Booker to follow;

Why is Maluach a sleeper? Well, it’s largely expected as we sit here today that Oso Ighodaro will open the season as the starter while Mark Williams is out for five months. That’s the expectation today, but that doesn’t mean last year’s 10th overall pick can’t steal the job due to his play in training camp and in the preseason. He has a really high ceiling because of his ability to rebound and block shots. He’s always around the rim too and is one of those big men who is poised to catch a lot of lobs and have multiple putbacks per game.