Cooper Flagg headlines Dallas at No. 12, while Kyrie Irving and P.J. Washington also make NBA.com's top 150 Fantasy Basketball players.
DALLAS - Week 1 of the NFL season is in the books, which means millions of people spent Sunday refreshing their fantasy football apps and second-guessing every lineup decision they made. It is the most popular fantasy sport in the country by a wide margin, and it is not particularly close.
Fantasy basketball does not get the same attention, but it deserves a look. The season runs longer, the roster management is more active and category leagues create a strategic depth that football cannot really match. With training camps opening soon, draft prep is already underway.
NBA.com released its top 150 players for fantasy basketball this week, and three Mavericks made the list.
The highest, unsurprisingly, is Cooper Flagg at No. 12.
"After an easy-to-forget slow start to his rookie campaign, Flagg ended on what felt like a months-long heater," the ranking reads. "MVP-caliber production doesn't feel far off as he enters his sophomore season."
That is a bold projection for a player entering his second season, but the second half of last season supports it. Flagg opened his career averaging 15.7 points over his first 19 games before jumping to 23.7 across a later 23-game stretch. He finished the year at 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.2 steals, leading Dallas in all four categories.
For fantasy purposes, that across-the-board production is exactly what makes him valuable. Players who contribute in five or six categories without hurting you anywhere are rare, and Flagg does it while handling a heavy usage rate.
Kyrie Irving checks in at No. 48, which is notable for a player who did not appear in a single game last season.
"Following an ACL tear, Irving did not take the floor last season. But he's ready to go this year, pairing up with 2025-26 Rookie of the Year Cooper Flagg," NBA.com wrote. "Irving is a great fantasy player in all formats, but really thrives in category leagues, where his efficiency and lack of turnovers boost his value."
The category-league distinction matters. Irving's appeal has never been purely volume. He shoots efficiently from all three levels, gets to the free-throw line and protects the ball at a rate most high-usage guards cannot match. Those traits hold up even if his counting stats dip while sharing the floor with Flagg.
The risk is obvious. Irving turns 35 in March and is returning from major knee surgery. Dallas also faces a demanding schedule, which could create opportunities for rest throughout the season. Drafting him at No. 48 requires accepting some games missed.
P.J. Washington rounds out the group at No. 134, with a warning attached.
"Washington provides solid frontcourt production year after year and is expected to start at power forward for Dallas once more," the ranking notes. "However, there is more downside risk than last year if rookie Morez Johnson develops quickly."
That caveat reflects a real situation. Johnson arrived as the No. 9 overall pick with an existing relationship with Dusty May and at least one depth chart projection has already slotted the rookie ahead of Washington. If minutes shift in that direction, Washington's fantasy value drops quickly.
Two other Mavericks have a legitimate case to play their way onto this list before the season ends.
Naji Marshall is the more obvious candidate. He averaged career highs of 15.2 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists last season while shooting 51% from the field, then signed a three-year extension this summer. His weakness is the 3-point shot, where he hit only 29.1% of his attempts, and he spent the offseason working specifically on that. If the percentage climbs, he becomes a well-rounded contributor worth rostering in most formats.
Daniel Gafford is the other. He set career highs of 12.3 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.9 blocks in only 21.5 minutes per game while shooting 70.2% from the floor, finishing 10th in the league in total blocks. Elite field-goal percentage combined with shot-blocking is a specific and valuable fantasy profile, and any bump in playing time would make him a strong add.
That uncertainty is the story of this Mavericks team in general. Fantasy managers just have to figure it out faster than everyone else.
