Fantasy Basketball 2025 Early-Round Rankings and NBA Mock Draft Analysis

Cliches stick around because of the truth they hold, and this is no different: While you can't win a fantasy basketball league in the first few rounds of your draft, you can absolutely lose it there.

This is where established elites are snatched up left and right. If you're not able to snag a few for yourself, you may as well start dreaming about next year's draft—or finding some distractions for the upcoming NBA season.

That's all a long-winded way of saying you need to nail these picks. And we're here to help you do exactly that. After laying out our top-30 rankings, we'll run through the first five rounds of a simulated mock draft (using FantasyPros' mock simulator) and finish by analyzing its results.

Fantasy Rankings

Matthew Stockman/Getty Images

Top 30

1. Nikola Jokić, C, DEN
2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG, OKC
3. Victor Wembanyama, C, SA
4. Luka Dončić, PG, LAL
5. Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C, MIL
6. Anthony Edwards, SG/SF, MIN
7. Cade Cunningham, PG/SG, DET
8. Trae Young, PG, ATL
9. Anthony Davis, PF/C, DAL
10. Domantas Sabonis, PF/C, SAC
11. Devin Booker, PG/SG, PHO
12. Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, NYK
13. LeBron James, SF/PF, LAL
14. Tyrese Maxey, PG/SG, PHI
15. James Harden, PG/SG, LAC
16. Jaylen Brown, SG/SF, BOS
17. Ivica Zubac, C, LAC
18. Stephen Curry, PG, GSW
19. Josh Giddey, PG/SF, CHI
20. Pascal Siakam, PF, IND
21. Jalen Brunson, PG, NYK
22. Jalen Williams, SF/PF, OKC
23. Bam Adebayo, PF/C, MIA
24. Alperen Şengün, C, HOU
25. Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG, CLE
26. Ja Morant, PG, MEM
27. Kevin Durant, PF, HOU
28. Franz Wagner, SF/PF, ORL
29. Zion Williamson, PF, NOP
30. Paolo Banchero, SF/PF, ORL

5-Round Mock Draft

Adam Pantozzi/NBAE via Getty Images

Round 1

1. Nikola Jokić, C, DEN
2. Victor Wembanyama, C, SA
3. Giannis Antetokounmpo, PF/C, MIL
4. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, PG, OKC
5. Luka Dončić, PG, LAL
6. Anthony Edwards, SG/SF, MIN
7. Anthony Davis, PF/C, DAL
8. Cade Cunningham, PG/SG, DET
9. LeBron James, SF/PF, LAL
10. Joel Embiid, C, PHI
11. Domantas Sabonis, PF/C, SAC
12. Trae Young, PG, ATL

Round 2

1. Devin Booker, PG/SG, PHO
2. Karl-Anthony Towns, PF/C, NYK
3. Stephen Curry, PG, GSW
4. Jalen Williams, SF/PF, OKC
5. Paolo Banchero, SF/PF, ORL
6. James Harden, PG/SG, LAC
7. Jaren Jackson Jr., PF/C, MEM
8. LaMelo Ball, PG, CHO
9. Kevin Durant, PF, HOU
10. Franz Wagner, SF/PF, ORL
11. Alperen Şengün, C, HOU
12. Jalen Brunson, PG, NYK

Round 3

1. Tyrese Maxey, PG/SG, PHI
2. Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG, CLE
3. Jaylen Brown, SG/SF, BOS
4. Evan Mobley, PF/C, CLE
5. Josh Giddey, PG/SF, CHI
6. Tyler Herro, PG/SG, MIA
7. Pascal Siakam, PF, IND
8. Scottie Barnes, SG/SF/PF, TOR
9. Ivica Zubac, C, LAC
10. Chet Holmgren, PF/C, OKC
11. De'Aaron Fox, PG, SA
12. Kawhi Leonard, SF/PF, LAC

Round 4

1. Jalen Johnson, SF/PF, ATL
2. Amen Thompson, PG/SG/SF, HOU
3. Paul George, SF/PF, PHI
4. Bam Adebayo, PF/C, MIA
5. Dyson Daniels, PG/SG/SF, ATL
6. Ja Morant, PG, MEM
7. Derrick White, PG/SG, BOS
8. Brandon Miller, SF/PF, CHO
9. Jamal Murray, PG/SG, DEN
10. Zion Williamson, PF, NOP
11. Cooper Flagg, SF, DAL
12. Desmond Bane, SG/SF, ORL

Round 5

1. Nikola Vučević, C, CHI
2. Josh Hart, SG/SF/PF, NYK
3. Jarrett Allen, C, CLE
4. Jimmy Butler, SF/PF, GSW
5. Trey Murphy III, SF/PF, NOP
6. Kristaps Porziņģis, PF/C, ATL
7. DeMar DeRozan, SF, SAC
8. Lauri Markkanen, SF/PF, UTA
9. Jalen Green, PG/SG, HOU
10. Immanuel Quickley, PG/SG, TOR
11. Austin Reaves, PG/SG, LAL
12. Myles Turner, C, MIL

Mock Draft Analysis

Jesse D. Garrabrant/NBAE via Getty Images

Because the Sixers are both coming off of an injury-riddled season and already dealing with related problems, their stars—namely, Joel Embiid and Paul George—will always turn heads when selected in drafts. Here, though, they dropped more than a few jaws with Embiid improbably landing in the first round, and George going in the early fourth.

While there's a point at which their upside makes a gamble worth the risk, this is far too early to make those wagers. When they weren't sidelined last season, they just weren't very good (by their standards). Embiid's 23.8 points were nearly 11 fewer than his 2023-24 allotment of 34.7, and his 44.4 field-goal percentage was the worst of his career. George's 16.2 points were his fewest in a full season since 2011-12, and his 2.4 free-throw attempts were the third-fewest of his career.

There's just way too much bottom-out potential to make either a part of your early-draft strategy.

Tyrese Maxey, on the other hand, feels like a great get to start off the third round. His efficiency suffered this past season, but managers were willing to take the hit for this kind of volume: 26.3 points, 6.1 assists, 3.1 three-pointers and 1.8 steals. The more time his co-stars miss, the longer he'll spend in a similarly featured role.

Speaking of values, the other pick that feels worth spotlighting is Ivica Zubac landing 33rd overall. Even as a non-shooter and fairly forgettable shot-blocker, he's an efficient double-double machine who also contributes in assists (2.7 last season) and is a better free-throw shooter than he showed in 2024-25 (66.1 percent, 72.6 for his career).