André SnellingsNov 10, 2025, 12:17 PM ET
- Dr. André Snellings is a senior writer for men’s and women’s fantasy basketball and sports betting at ESPN. André has a Ph.D. in biomedical engineering from Michigan. He joined ESPN in 2017 after a 16-year career as a neural engineer, during which time he was also a writer and analyst for Rotowire.
The NBA season is moving fast, and we are moving right along with it to keep you up to date on the players that are playing themselves onto the fantasy radar.
Young players, in particular, find that switch and all of a sudden go from rotation guy to impact performer at any given moment.
Let’s delve deeper to identify a group of lightly rostered players that deserve more attention and can help your fantasy squads.
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Point guard
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Ajay Mitchell, PG, Oklahoma City Thunder (49.1% rostered in ESPN leagues): Mitchell continues to quietly produce for the Thunder as they deal with injuries on the perimeter. Jalen Williams is still out, and last week Aaron Wiggins joined him on the sidelines. This has left consistent space for Mitchell to produce. He’s a nightly upper-teens scorer, contributes about seven combined rebounds and assists, and is a plus in both steals and 3-pointers while he holds onto this role.
Davion Mitchell, PG, Miami Heat (33.9%): Mitchell is turning in a variation of the traditional 3-and-D role, instead more of a D-and-D threat … defense and distribution. Mitchell has at least three steals in three of his past four games. In that same stretch, he also has three games with at least eight assists. As a streamer, he has low double-double potential with the upside to grab a handful of steals on a nightly basis, such as the 11 points, 8 assists and 5 steals he notched in his last outing on Saturday.
Shooting guard
Editor’s Picks
2 Related
Ayo Dosunmu, SG, Chicago Bulls (12.8%): Dosunmu missed a couple of games last week with a quad injury, but he had already proven himself worthy of a roster spot in most fantasy leagues with the role he currently holds for the Bulls. With Coby White still sidelined, Dosunmu is a consistent upper-teens scorer with good shooting percentages that knocks down a couple of treys and contributes a few boards and assists per night.
Cason Wallace, SG, Oklahoma City Thunder (24.0%): Wallace tops the league in steals in the early going of this NBA season, trying to follow in the footsteps of last season’s breakout swiper Dyson Daniels. Wallace only has low double-digit scoring upside, but he contributes positively to rebounds, assists and 3-pointers in addition to the three or so steals a night that make him so valuable in category leagues.
Small forward
Ryan Dunn, SF, Phoenix Suns (8.8%): Dunn is a role player for the Suns, and he could play the same role for your fantasy squad. After starting the first eight games of the season, Dunn moved to the bench when Jalen Green returned from injury last Thursday. But coming off the bench didn’t materially change his minutes, role or production, and now Green is out again for at least a month after aggravating a right hamstring injury. Dunn’s a low double-digit scoring 3-and-D wing that contributes positively to rebounds, steals and 3s and could be worth a fantasy hoops roster spot in deeper leagues.
play
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Ryan Dunn rocks the rim with dunk
Ryan Dunn throws down big dunk vs. LA Clippers
Zaccharie Risacher, SF, Atlanta Risacher (15.9%): Risacher, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2024 NBA draft, has a window to establish a bigger role for the Hawks with Trae Young sidelined. He showed what he can do when his shot is going down last Wednesday with 21 points in 26 minutes. Risacher needs to build some consistency, but he has started every game of his sophomore season and can contribute in 3-pointers and steals when he is fully engaged.
Power forward
Jake LaRavia, PF, Los Angeles Lakers (32.6%): LaRavia burst onto the scene with two 25-plus point scoring efforts in a three-game span early last week. He isn’t that type of scorer on a regular basis, in part because the Lakers feature so many high-volume scoring threats, but LaRavia contributes on the glass, from 3-point range and even with steals in addition to scoring. He could be worth a roster spot in deep fantasy leagues and is, at the least, a regular streaming option with elite upside on any given night.
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Jake LaRavia with the and-1 bucket
Jake LaRavia with the and-1 bucket
Center
Ryan Kalkbrenner, C, Charlotte Hornets (38.2%):Kalkbrenner continues to quietly prove himself worthy of not just being rostered, but potentially earning a starting role in fantasy leagues. The rookie was a four-time Defensive Player of the Year in the Big East and the 2025 Naismith Defensive Player of the Year for NCAA basketball. He is showing those defensive skills in the NBA, routinely notching between four and eight combined blocks and steals a night. He is also a low double-double threat, and the combo makes him rosterable in points leagues, and a potential every-night starter in category leagues.
Zach Edey, C, Memphis Grizzlies (19.2%): Edey is nearing a return to the court after having ankle surgery this offseason. He rehabbed in the G League, but still as to play himself up to full NBA shape. Edey was a nightly low double-double threat as a rookie that also combined for almost two steals/blocks per game. He has the potential to build on that as a sophomore, and if he does he is worth a roster spot in most fantasy leagues.
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