While some fantasy managers compete in leagues that run through the end of the NBA’s regular season, most were completed by the end of Sunday’s games. Congratulations to those who won their leagues and the money (and bragging rights) that comes with it. Those who did not will reflect on what went wrong and how they can avoid a similar fate next season.
With the fantasy season effectively over, now is a good time for the Rotoworld fantasy basketball staff to have a few roundtable discussions.
Thursday’s question: Who was this season’s Rookie of the Year in fantasy basketball? This is one of those questions where the pick here will differ drastically from who wins the official award. Nick Shlain, Noah Rubin, Raphielle Johnson and Zak Hanshew made their picks, and the choices were varied.
Who was the Rookie of the Year in fantasy basketball?
Nick Shlain: I think Alexandre Sarr is the easy answer for fantasy rookie of the year. Stephon Castle will likely win the Rookie of the Year award, though the race is pretty wide open. Castle, however, ranks just 195th in season-long total game value, while Sarr is 139th. Even in the past three months, Castle has benefitted from De’Aaron Fox’s absence due to injury, and he still ranks well behind Sarr. If I can give out an honorable mention, though, Zach Edey has shown his potential in glimpses this year. He’s a different kind of player. Edey can be a defensive force and grab rebounds in bunches. He’s not a great scorer, but there’s something to work with there in fantasy.
Noah Rubin: This is tough since there are multiple strong candidates, though none have truly separated themselves from the pack. That applies to fantasy basketball and the actual Rookie of the Year race. Kel’el Ware wouldn’t be my pick for the actual award, but I’ll give him the nod in fantasy basketball. He has been the best rookie in nine-cat scoring for the season, as well as since January, when most rookies start adjusting to life in the NBA. This doesn’t mean Ware should be seen as the most valuable player from this class in dynasty formats, but he was the most impactful this season.
Raphielle Johnson: This isn’t exactly a rare occurrence, but the Rookie of the Year from a fantasy standpoint may not align with the winner of the official award. While Stephon Castle appears to be the favorite to win the latter, Zach Edey would be my pick for Fantasy Rookie of the Year. The Grizzlies rookie has been a 12th-round player in eight- and nine-cat per-game value, and he’s been close to a top 100 option in total value, according to Basketball Monster. Predicting what Edey will be in fantasy next season is a bit difficult due to the firing of Taylor Jenkins. Still, he can approach top-100 value with improved scoring (9.3 ppg this season).
Zak Hanshew: I’ll cheat here and name two players: Zach Edey and Stephon Castle. Edey was my preseason pick (2024-25 Fantasy Basketball: Top 10 Rookies - NBC Sports) to finish as fantasy’s top rookie, and it looks like that’s where he’ll finish. Edey’s value comes from his strong, traditional big man stats, as he excelled as a rebounder and shot blocker while shooting efficiently and keeping the basketball secure. Castle is outside the top 200 in per-game fantasy value, thanks to his dreadful shooting and high turnovers, but this guy has been tremendous since joining the starting five for an end-of-season run. He’s averaged 19.1 points, 5.9 rebounds and 5.9 assists across his last 14 games, and he’s been even better over the last week with 18.8 points, 9.8 boards and 7.8 dimes across his last four. He’s got the usual rookie warts, but he’s shown flashes of brilliance and deserves to be mentioned here.
