ESPN has published its 2026-27 fantasy basketball player rankings for head-to-head category and rotisserie leagues, and Denver center Nikola Jokic sits at the top. The list covers 150 players and will be updated regularly through the NBA season as performances, injuries, trades, signings and other trends change the picture. ESPN also maintains a separate set of rankings for head-to-head points leagues.
Behind Jokic, San Antonio's Victor Wembanyama is second, also listed as a center. Oklahoma City guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander ranks third, followed by Luka Doncic of the Lakers in fourth. Minnesota's Anthony Edwards completes the top five and carries eligibility at both shooting guard and small forward.
The next five are Philadelphia's Tyrese Maxey at sixth, Boston's Jayson Tatum at seventh, Atlanta's Jalen Johnson at eighth, Cleveland's Donovan Mitchell at ninth and Dallas forward Cooper Flagg at tenth. Flagg is eligible at small forward and power forward.
The back half of the top 20 features Detroit's Cade Cunningham at 11 and Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton at 12, followed by Memphis guard Ty Jerome, Houston's Amen Thompson, Minnesota's LaMelo Ball, Toronto's Scottie Barnes and Boston's Derrick White. Anthony Davis of Washington is 18th, Karl-Anthony Towns of New York is 19th and Miami's Giannis Antetokounmpo is 20th.
The ranking's headline points to Dyson Daniels and Walker Kessler as players on the rise. Daniels, an Atlanta guard eligible at shooting guard and point guard, comes in at 27. Kessler, a center for the Lakers, is placed at 35. Atlanta has three players in the top 30, with Johnson at eighth, Nickeil Alexander-Walker at 24th and Daniels at 27th.
Several well-known veterans fall in the 28 to 34 range. Houston's Kevin Durant is 28th and teammate Alperen Sengun is 29th. Cleveland's James Harden ranks 30th, Phoenix's Devin Booker 31st, Sacramento's Domantas Sabonis 32nd, Golden State's Stephen Curry 33rd and New York's Jalen Brunson 34th.
Further down, the list includes Kawhi Leonard of Toronto at 40, Jaylen Brown of Philadelphia at 62 and Portland's Damian Lillard at 64. LeBron James, listed with Philadelphia, ranks 74th, while Joel Embiid, also with Philadelphia, is 86th. Younger names such as Kon Knueppel of Charlotte at 39, VJ Edgecombe of Philadelphia at 53, Cameron Boozer of Memphis at 75 and AJ Dybantsa of Washington at 80 also appear.
The rankings end at 150 with Denver forward Aaron Gordon. Each entry lists a team and positional eligibility, which fantasy managers can use to plan lineups in both category and rotisserie formats.
