Fantasy Basketball Rankings: DraftKings 2024 Best Ball Forward Rankings 16-30

Best ball, best sportsbook, best time of the year. Welcome to NBA Best Ball on DraftKings.

This format gives players a chance to draft a fantasy basketball team for a season-long competition that requires no active in-season management. Each week your highest scoring players are automatically slotted into your starting lineup and their scores will count towards your fantasy point total.

You can find all the details, scoring, and rules for this format in Stan Son’s overview post along with links to the rest of our season preview content.

I have ranked my top 16-30 forwards for the 2024 DraftKings NBA Best Ball season.

We’ll be providing additional Best Ball content as the season progresses. Good luck!

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16. Zion Williamson, New Orleans Pelicans

At age 23, the coveted Duke product just played his healthiest season yet with 70 games averaging 22.9 PPG, 5.6 RPG, and 5 APG. These numbers are not a vast improvement over his career averages, but his ability to stay on the court bodes well for this season. While Williamson is a surefire star player in the league (two All-Star appearances), his NBA career thus far has been…disappointing? The defensive upside he showcased at Duke hasn’t translated; neither the blocks nor the steals are there. His health has been another roadblock holding him back. Frequent discussions about his ability to stay in shape (which other player has stipulations in their contract about staying fit?) muddy the discourse surrounding Williamson. He’s a paint bruiser and nigh unstoppable coming downhill, for sure, but will his body hold up over the long term?

The good news is that he’s only 23. He’s entering his fifth season with the Pelicans with a new face in their backcourt, Dejounte Murray. Williamson’s usage over his career has hovered around 30% and that’s unlikely to increase by a significant margin this season. While there are many mouths to feed on the Pelicans, including Murray, CJ McCollum, and Brandon Ingram, Williamson is just too talented to fail. He won’t have the atmospheric ceiling he could have on another team, but his floor is extremely high if he can stay healthy. At this price point, which accounts for his health concerns, he’s hard to say no to.

18. Julius Randle, Minnesota Timberwolves

The blockbuster trade that sent Julius Randle and Donte DiVincenzo to the Timberwolves in exchange for Karl-Anthony Towns has the NBA world buzzing. And what does Randle’s new role look like on the Wolves? Redundant. I’m struggling to see how it works. Minnesota’s twin-tower lineup worked well because Towns was able to space the floor; he is, after all, statistically the best three-point shooting big man of all time. Randle is a far cry from that. The fit between Randle and Rudy Gobert is awkward. They’ve duct-taped the absence of Towns’ shooting abilities with DiVincenzo, who is an elite shooter in his own right, but they will miss the value of having a big man who can draw opponents’ rim protectors out to the perimeter. I’m struggling to see how Minnesota can efficiently attack the rim. Did they forget they also have Anthony Edwards, who excels at driving and attacking the rim? What’s stopping their opponents from just packing the paint?

I would not be shocked if Randle gets moved before the trade deadline. Fantasy-wise, Randle should be serviceable, but it’s unlikely that his value will increase. He’s coming off a 24 PPG, 9.2 RPG, and 5 APG season in which he only played 46 games due to injury. He also played 35.4 minutes a night under Tim Thibodeau, who is notorious for giving his starters huge minutes. Chris Finch won’t give Randle that type of playing time, especially considering the awkward fit between him and Gobert in the frontcourt.

27. Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets

Miller is a second-year wing out of Alabama who got off to an impressive start during his rookie season. He’s a 6’9 scoring threat who averaged 17.3 PPG and 4.3 RPG, good for third in ROTY voting. My tea leaves suggest a second-year leap is in order for Miller. LaMelo Ball had trouble staying on the court last season which opened up lots of opportunities for Miller to handle the rock and score. He had a 23.9% usage rate last season; it should stay similar this year. Miller is one of the few bright spots on one of the worst franchises in the league, and Charlotte would be wise to develop their second overall pick this season.

The upside here is enticing due to the Hornets being a bad team. Typically, good players on bad teams are fantasy gold. Additionally, if LaMelo misses any time, it should be Miller and Miles Bridges who soak up most of the usage. I’m excited to see what he looks like this season after his first year in the NBA. His game is Paul George-esque, and if he can keep using his length to score inside while maintaining his accuracy from deep, I think we could see something special from Miller this season.

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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.