We spend so much time discussing the fantasy basketball players you should consider adding to teams -- and for good reason of course -- that often we gloss over the top players, or the ones universally rostered. For example, Denver Nuggets center Nikola Jokic boasts a commanding lead in ESPN points formats and on the Player Rater, clearly the most valuable fantasy option in the game, and he deserves the MVP award in real life, too. How much do we discuss him? We should do it more!
Fantasy basketball managers enjoyed Jokic a season ago, when he averaged 19.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG and 7.0 APG, but this new version is so much better, at 26.9 PPG, 11.1 RPG and 8.5 APG. Who saw this coming? Nobody did. Jokic, in his sixth season, is doing everything not just a little bit better, but a ton better. The 6-11 Serbian was already the centerpiece of the Denver offense and established a strong baseline of his statistical work. Then he got a whole lot better.
Anyway, when we name current players we expect to take statistical strides next season we really should not say they are the next Nikola Jokic. Nobody is the next Nikola Jokic. This is an historic rise to an astounding level of production. Still, you want it and here we go, one analyst's list of players that seem like they have another statistical level or two in them. Again, this is hard to do, and give Jokic complete credit and the MVP award.
