Luka Dončić earned the Week 4 Fantasy Player of the Week award, leading the league with 68.3 High Score points per game.
Dončić, who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers, earned our Week 4 Fantasy Player of the Week. While Victor Wembanyama recently held a monopoly on this recognition, Dončić secures our Week 4 Fantasy Player of the Week designation amid their nascent battle for Fantasy MVP supremacy. At 11-2, the Lakers currently set the NBA standard in offensive rating, total points, and both overall and effective field-goal percentages.
The battle between Dončić and Victor Wembanyama for the top spot in fantasy remains dead even, with both athletes tracking toward historically unprecedented campaigns. Wembanyama continues to deserve the No. 1 spot in our rankings, having the most total High Score points this season with 772.
In four games this week, Wembanyama averaged 32.8 points, 10.3 rebounds and 4.3 blocks, shooting a strong 69.1% from the field and earning Fantasy Player of the Day five times in his first 12 games.
Darius Acuff Jr. Earns Second Straight Rookie of the Week Honor
Darius Acuff Jr. of the Sacramento Kings secured Rookie of the Week honors for the second straight week. Acuff Jr. finished the week averaging 52.7 High Score points per game, which ranked first among rookies and 10th among all players. Over his last three games, he averaged 27.7 points and 8 assists on 48.4 percent shooting from the floor. He is averaging 22.8 field goal attempts per game, while Zach LaVine has the second-most field-goal attempts for the team at 14.6 attempts per game, over eight fewer attempts per game to start the season.
Fantasy owners backing Acuff Jr. will keep reaping the benefits, as the offense firmly belongs to him. The Kings’ 1-9 start gives them little reason to limit his development, and his scoring and assists make him especially appealing in points leagues.
Among the top 10 overall performers in weekly fantasy production, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, rookie sensation Darius Acuff Jr., Dyson Daniels, Walker Kessler, Tyrese Maxey, Deni Avdija, Giannis Antetokounmpo, and Jaylen Brown rounded out the list for the past week.
Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs was named Defensive Player of the Week. He averaged 4.3 blocks and 0.8 steals over the last seven days, with his presence alone disrupting and alters drives to the rim.
Waiver Wire Additions
Daniss Jenkins of the Detroit Pistons was highlighted. Over three appearances, Jenkins put up a stat line consisting of 24.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 2.3 steals, all while shooting 50 percent from the field. Seeking an offensive spark to complement Cade Cunningham, the Pistons might have found their answer in the third-year guard from St. John’s, who averaged 36.7 minutes a game this week and should be a highly utilized player going forward.
With availability in 45% of Yahoo leagues, fantasy managers should grab him immediately if he remains unrostered. The Pistons recently decided to make a change by going small, moving John Collins to center and replacing Paul Reed with Jenkins.
In four contests where he logged a minimum of 30 minutes, Jenkins put up averages of 23.0 points, 6.3 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.8 steals, and 4.0 three-pointers. Jalen Duren is expected to miss all four games next week, so Jenkins has the potential to remain in a prominent role.
Jalen Smith of the Chicago Bulls is still starting ahead of Claxton and continuing to be productive, averaging 20 points and 6 rebounds in a healthy 30 minutes a contest.
Given that Claxton is compensated like a primary center, it remains uncertain if Smith can fend him off for the lion’s share of minutes at the position; nevertheless, managers should hold onto Smith for as long as his heavy workload persists. Available in 44% of Yahoo formats, Smith’s roster rate sits at 56%, meaning he is still around to add for many.
Jamal Murray is off to a fast start with the Denver Nuggets, notching five separate 30-point performances across his initial 10 games. Delivering an average of 48.4 High Score points, Murray serves as an ideal secondary fantasy roster piece. Tyrese Maxey averaged 22.7 points and five assists on 51.2% shooting over the last seven days. Jayson Tatum filled the stat sheet by averaging 25 points, 6.3 rebounds and 6.8 assists in the Celtics’ four contests, as the team won five in a row behind their five-time All-NBA forward. Giannis Antetokounmpo has been a consistent top-five fantasy option at 56.5 High Score points while the Heat climbed toward .500 at 5-6, making 30-point double-doubles so routine that it’s hard to talk about anything else. With injuries piling up, managers are searching the waiver wire for help. Kon Knueppel injured his hamstring again and is expected to miss at least four weeks, robbing the Hornets of one of their best scorers. Shooting 46.1% overall, Grayson Allen contributes averages of 15.2 points, 3.3 assists, and 3.5 three-pointers.
Aaron Wiggins is another option, while the Hawks recently moved CJ McCollum to the second unit and started Kingston Flemings in his place. De’Anthony Melton is on the Golden State Warriors, and Yaxel Lendeborg has been a draft-day bargain for the Warriors, ranking 54th in 9-cat and 37th in points leagues after carrying an ADP of 104, while shooting 41% from the field through nine games. Keyonte George’s ankle injury for the Jazz could create opportunities for Isaiah Collier and provide a big boost to No. 2 overall pick Darryn Peterson’s fantasy profile.
In Brooklyn, the guard carousel features Nolan Traoré and Mikel Brown Jr., with Traoré stringing together fantasy totals of 29.4, 30.6, and 31.8. Davion Mitchell has been a big surprise for Miami, ranking inside the top 55 in both 9-cat and standard points leagues while outpacing his ADP of 118.7, averaging 35.1 minutes and 6.2 assists per game with six double-doubles through 10 appearances.
Trae Young of the Wizards is pacing to career lows in field-goal (39.3%) and 3-point (28.8%) percentages, though his assists are up to 8 per game.