Fantasy Basketball 2019: Breakout Stars Ready to Be Among the NBA's Best
Nothing boosts a fantasy basketball roster more than a breakout star.
You're counting on an established star to do your team's heaviest lifting. You're pleasantly surprised when a late-round sleeper emerges as a reliable contributor. You're probably competing for a league championship, though, if you're ahead of the curve with a rising star.
The following three players are familiar to the fantasy community, but they're poised to climb a tier (or more) during the 2019-20 campaign.
Breakout Fantasy Basketball 2019 Stars
Bam Adebayo, PF/C, Miami Heat
Goodbye, Hassan Whiteside; hello, monster numbers for Bam Adebayo.
Miami's bouncy big man started spreading his wings last season. He made 22 consecutive starts down the stretch, averaging 11.6 points on 59.8 percent shooting, 9.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.0 blocks. He also shot 74.6 percent from the stripe in that stretch.
That production came in fewer than 27.5 minutes per game. Given his firm grip on the starting job now, that number could shoot past 30.
His traditional categories all play well. He'll be a double-double machine who shoots close to 60 percent from the field, and he could nudge his blocks and steals to 1.5. What's really interesting, though, is his playmaking and free-throw shooting. You might find other bigs with higher point and rebound ceilings, but the Association isn't exactly swimming with walking double-doubles who drop three dimes a night and hit three-quarters of their foul shots.
Lonzo Ball, PG, New Orleans Pelicans
While injuries and inconsistency effectively stalled Lonzo Ball's two seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, his summer move to New Orleans should mean the checkered flag is about to drop.
With Alvin Gentry at the helm, there's no such thing as playing too fast. The Pelicans were second in pace last season, and in their 2019-20 preseason opener, they scored 133 points and took 100 shots. The volume opportunities for the lead guard in this offense are almost endless.
If not for spotty shooting, Ball might already be regarded as an across-the-board contributor. His career nightly contributions include 10.0 points, 6.4 assists, 6.2 rebounds and 1.6 steals. Unleashed in a faster offense and freed from the pressures of both the Big Baller Brand and the L.A. spotlight, Ball should instantly become a bigger triple-double threat.
Even more exciting, he's feverishly working to put his shooting woes behind him. His jump shot received a face-lift this summer, and the early returns are more promising than his 3-of-10 shooting suggest. He hit 3-of-8 from long range (37.5 percent), and it sounds like he expects that to continue.
"It's looking better and better every day," Ball said earlier this month. "If you keep doing something over and over, you should get good at it."
Jaren Jackson Jr., PF/C, Memphis Grizzlies
All three players listed here have obvious upward mobility, but Jaren Jackson Jr. is the biggest threat to join the league's elites.
The grit-and-grind Grizzlies are banished to the history books, replaced by this quick-strike squad steered by Jackson and Ja Morant. No team played slower than Memphis last season. That will not be close to the case this time around.
"We're young and just eager," Jackson told reporters. "And we all like to play fast."
More volume will mean bigger and better numbers for Jackson, who's already off to an unprecedented start. Last season, he became the first rookie to ever tally at least 50 blocks, 50 steals and 50 threes while shooting 50 percent from the field.
He did a little of everything as a freshman. For his follow-up, expect a lot of everything thanks to an increased role, more freedom from new head coach Taylor Jenkins and a younger, more explosive supporting cast around him.
