Fantasy Basketball Risers 5. Keldon Johnson assumes top billing in San Antonio.
When the San Antonio Spurs decided to trade away homegrown All-Star Dejounte Murray, most viewed it as a sign that it was time to tank. It made sense as a turning point in which they could stockpile assets, develop young players and look for their next star, but that’s not actually how the team viewed it. Instead, San Antonio is using the same approach that’s been instituted for the entire Popovich era: Call on the next man up.
No one has heeded the call quite like Keldon Johnson, the 23-year-old forward who has yet to finish a game with less than 18 points (one more than his 2021-22 average). With increased shooting volume and improved handles to match, Johnson is the team’s No. 1 scoring option without a shadow of a doubt. Slashing was always the baseline of Johnson’s offensive skill set, but the 3-point shot has improved every year since college to the point where he’s nailing 8.7 3-point attempts on 42.3% through five games.
Johnson is also making huge strides as a playmaker — a skill he flashed a bit in college but never got a chance to capitalize on in his first few seasons. Now that so much of the offense is running through him, Johnson is passing the ball very well, averaging 3.5 assists with five games of four or more dimes through the early going.
His teammates Devin Vassell and Tre Jones were also under consideration for top fantasy basketball risers through two weeks of the year, but as far as young stars go, only Keldon is knocking on that territory in San Antonio right now.