Every season, a handful of NBA players surprise us in the fantasy basketball world by outperforming their preseason expectations and emerging as unexpected assets. We’ve all heard names this season like Lauri Markannen and Bol Bol, and it’s old news that Brook Lopez is defying Father Time while De’Anthony Melton has shined for the Sixers. Still, there are several players who have offered unexpected production, tantalized with their potential, or even exploded recently. Let’s take a look.
Fantasy Basketball: Josh Giddey
Josh Giddey is an enigma as a defensively limited, inefficient shooter who is one of the best rebounding guards in the league and a nightly triple-double threat. Last season, he even became the youngest player in history to record a triple-double, with 17 points, 14 assists, and 13 rebounds.
Fantasy managers saw Giddey’s potential value with an ADP of 59, despite Yahoo’s preseason rank of 136. Unfortunately, Yahoo appeared to be correct, as Giddey’s percentages and defensive stats dropped him outside the top 150 players.
Thankfully, over the past month, Giddey has catapulted to the top 40 in nine-category leagues, averaging 15.8 points, 9 boards, 5 dimes, and a hair under a steal a game. He’s also shooting an excellent .491 from the field, .900 from the free throw, and draining a triple-a-game. As the season progresses and the Thunder potentially shut down players, if Giddey stays active, he could be a silly season hero.