Fantasy Basketball Busts: 4 players going way too high in 2022-23 drafts

Fantasy Basketball Busts: Mikal Bridges is capped as the ultimate role player.

If not for the abilities of Mikal Bridges, the Phoenix Suns wouldn’t be anywhere close to the No. 1 seed in the West. Having an answer for every opponent’s best perimeter player is an immense differentiator that empowers Paul and Devin Booker to maximize their output. The Suns were 9.5 points per 100 possessions better with him on the floor, and his career differential is an extremely impressive +6.4.

Unfortunately, the weight of his impact doesn’t quite translate to fantasy basketball. He’s neither a high-volume scorer nor a big-time rebounder or passer, and for someone known for defense, his steals average is relatively modest. His scoring average has increased with every season thus far, but not enough to suggest that he’ll be more than the fourth or fifth scoring option on his team.

If you could get fantasy points for stops, Bridges would be a star, but that’s not quite how it works. People understand the value he brings to a team, but oftentimes fail to consider the lack of statistical output that follows. Another part of his appeal is his status as an iron man, appearing in more than 94% of the regular season games he’s been eligible for.

Nonetheless, fantasy league winners come from those who take risks and Bridges is far too safe a pick when in reality, there are other players with much greater upside.

Average draft position is 59 on Yahoo, 92.2 on ESPN.