Fantasy NBA Mock Draft: 12-Team Round-by-Round Analysis
Dan Titus of Yahoo Sports breaks down a 12-team fantasy basketball mock draft by round as the NBA season approaches.
Dan Titus, Yahoo Sports
October 6, 2026, 9:20 PM
Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham was selected in the first round of Dan Titus' 12-team fantasy basketball mock draft.
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The 2026-27 NBA season tips off in two weeks, and I just wrapped a 12-team Yahoo points mock draft with some of the sharpest fantasy basketball minds in the industry. The league uses Yahoo's default points scoring and roster spots.
Twelve fantasy basketball analysts, 13 rounds and one big lesson: in Yahoo points leagues, the run on centers comes later than you think β and it comes fast.
Round 1
| Pick | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola JokiΔ, DEN β C | Papi Roi β Fantasy Basketball PH |
| 2 | Victor Wembanyama, SAS β C | Austin Swaim β Rotoballer |
| 3 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, OKC β PG | Steve St. Pierre β Menace Podmen Podcast |
| 4 | Luka DonΔiΔ, LAL β PG/SG | Raphielle Johnson β Rotoworld |
| 5 | Cade Cunningham, DET β PG/SG | Benjamin Zweiman β Yahoo Fantasy |
| 6 | Giannis Antetokounmpo, MIA β PF/C | Aaron Bruski β SportsEthos |
| 7 | Anthony Edwards, MIN β PG/SG | Jacob Dunne β Fantrax |
| 8 | Jayson Tatum, BOS β SF/PF | Adam Stock β Elite Fantasy Basketball |
| 9 | Jalen Johnson, ATL β SF/PF | Alex Barutha β Rotowire |
| 10 | Cooper Flagg, DAL β SG/SF/PF | Karan Talwar β Spreadsheet Fantasy Basketball |
| 11 | Tyrese Haliburton, IND β PG/SG | Dan Titus β Yahoo Fantasy |
| 12 | Tyrese Maxey, PHI β PG | Justin Henry β JHEN Fantasy Team |
Papi went Nikola JokiΔ over Victor Wembanyama at the 1.01, and in points leagues that's the right call. Wembanyama has the edge in Yahoo ADP (1.6 to 1.9), but JokiΔ projects for 63.1 fantasy points per game in my numbers, nearly 4.0 points clear of Wembanyama. Assists count 1.5 points each in this format, and nobody piles them up like JokiΔ.
The rest of the round went mostly by the book, with a clear lean toward guards. Six of the 12 picks were PG-eligible, while JokiΔ, Wembanyama and Giannis Antetokounmpo were the only bigs. Jalen Johnson and Cooper Flagg going back-to-back at 9 and 10 makes sense, too. Both fill up every column of the box score, which is exactly what you want in points.
My pick: I took Tyrese Haliburton at No. 11, which lines up with my rankings. I wanted to start with a high-assist guard who gets steals. Haliburton projects for 9.3 assists against just 1.9 turnovers per game, and that ratio is great in a format that rewards dimes and penalizes giveaways. He's coming off a missed season, so I'm projecting him for about 65 games, but I'd rather take that swing at the 1-2 turn than settle for a safer player with a lower ceiling.
Round 2
| Pick | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Alperen Sengun, HOU β PF/C | Justin Henry β JHEN Fantasy |
| 14 | Donovan Mitchell, CLE β PG/SG | Dan Titus β Yahoo Fantasy |
| 15 | Josh Giddey, CHI β PG/SG | Karan Talwar β Spreadsheet Fantasy Basketball |
| 16 | Scottie Barnes, TOR β SF/PF/C | Alex Barutha β Rotowire |
| 17 | Austin Reaves, LAL β PG/SG/SF | Adam Stock β Elite Fantasy Basketball |
| 18 | Paolo Banchero, ORL β PF | Jacob Dunne β Fantrax |
| 19 | Amen Thompson, HOU β PG/SG | Aaron Bruski β SportsEthos |
| 20 | Karl-Anthony Towns, NYK β PF/C | Benjamin Zweiman β Yahoo Fantasy |
| 21 | Kevin Durant, HOU β SG/SF/PF | Raphielle Johnson β Rotoworld |
| 22 | Jalen Brunson, NYK β PG | SteveSaintP β Menace Podmen Podcast |
| 23 | Devin Booker, PHX β PG/SG | Austin Swaim β Rotoballer |
| 24 | Jamal Murray, DEN β PG | Papi Roi β Fantasy Basketball PH |
The guard run kept going. Seven of the 12 picks in Round 2 were PG-eligible, capped by four straight from picks 22 through 25: Jalen Brunson, Devin Booker, Jamal Murray and Trae Young to open Round 3.
Team Papi pairing JokiΔ with Murray is a cool stack, and adding Trae at the 3.01 gives that roster a ton of assist volume.
Team Karan grabbing Josh Giddey at 15 caught my eye. Giddey's ADP is around 24, but his 16.9/8.0/9.1 projected line plays way up in points (41.4 FPPG). He's a better points player than a 9-cat one, and that pick told us Team Karan came in with a plan. More on that in a bit.
My pick: Donovan Mitchell at 14 lined up perfectly with both my rankings (13th) and his ADP (13.6). He's averaged at least 24 points in each of the last four seasons, and last year was one of his best: 27.9 points, 5.7 assists and 1.5 steals on 48% shooting over 70 games, good for 44.3 fantasy points per game in Yahoo's default scoring. I'm projecting a small step back this season to 26 points, 5.1 assists and 1.4 steals (42.4 FPPG) over 69 games, which still makes him a top-15 player in points leagues. I considered Giddey here, but I already had my primary playmaker in Haliburton and wanted a high-volume scorer next to him.
Round 3
| Pick | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Trae Young, WAS β PG | Papi's Pleasant Team |
| 26 | Evan Mobley, CLE β PF/C | Austin's Agreeable Team |
| 27 | Anthony Davis, WAS β PF/C | SteveSaintP |
| 28 | Bam Adebayo, MIA β PF/C | Raphielle's Official Team |
| 29 | LaMelo Ball, MIN β PG | Benjamin Zweiman β Yahoo Fantasy |
| 30 | James Harden, CLE β PG/SG | Aaron Bruski β SportsEthos |
| 31 | Domantas Sabonis, SAC β PF/C | @AintDunneYet |
| 32 | Jaylen Brown, PHI β SG/SF/PF | Adam Elite Fantasy Basketball |
| 33 | Jalen Duren, DET β C | Alex Barutha |
| 34 | Kawhi Leonard, TOR β SG/SF/PF | Karan_Talwar27 |
| 35 | LeBron James, PHI β SF/PF | Dan Titus |
| 36 | Stephen Curry, GSW β PG | Justin's Phenomenal Team |