As we reach the halfway point in the season, let’s take a snapshot of a handful of players who have risen up the fantasy rankings the most since the season began, as well as another group that has moved in the opposite direction.
Many of the biggest value drops this season have come either from rookies who haven’t gotten as much playing time as expected or players that suffered a major injury that will keep them out for the majority of the season.
For the purposes of this column, we will mostly focus more on veteran players whose on-court production has either been much more or much less than expected.
Moving up
Dyson Daniels, PG/SG, Atlanta Hawks (preseason rank 227, current 106; +121 slots)
Daniels was a role player, primarily off the bench, in his first two seasons in the NBA with the New Orleans Pelicans. He came to the Hawks as part of the Dejounte Murray trade and has turned himself into the NBA’s steals leader. Daniels grabs 3.0 steals per game and also leads the league in deflections by a wide margin, even blocking 0.8 shots from the backcourt.
In addition to the defense, he’s also a double-digit scorer who grabs more than five boards, dishes 3.5 assists and makes 1.2 3PG as well.
Norman Powell, SG/SF, LA Clippers (preseason rank 154, current 90; +64 slots)
Powell has been a super sixth man for years, but now a part of the starting lineup with Paul George gone, he has established himself as the primary scorer on the Clippers with Kawhi Leonard out. And even when Leonard plays, Powell is still a lieutenant in the George mold that can put big numbers on the board. He is on pace to shatter his career high in scoring and is also on personal record pace in assists, steals and 3-pointers.
Malik Monk, SG/SF, Sacramento Kings (preseason rank 130, current 78; +52 slots)
Monk has surprisingly taken over as the primary creator on a Kings team already featuring three other strong playmakers in De’Aaron Fox, Domantas Sabonis and DeMar DeRozan. The result has been Monk turning into a nightly threat to produce a 20-10 double-double. He has averaged 20.0 PPG and 6.7 APG over his last 23 games, and in his first eight games of 2025, he’s at 23.6 PPG and 7.5 APG.
Tyler Herro, PG/SG, Miami Heat (preseason rank 83, current 39; +44 slots)
Herro has really stepped up this season, taking over as the focal point of the Heat offense with Jimmy Butler taking a large step backward. With the news that Butler is suspended again, ahead of what many presume will eventually be a trade to another team, the path is clear for Herro to continue to put up big numbers. Herro is averaging career-highs in points (24.0 PPG), rebounds (5.7 RPG), assists (5.0 APG) and 3-pointers (3.9 3PG).
Josh Hart, SG/SF, New York Knicks (preseason rank 80, current 36; +44 slots)
Hart was arguably the least-heralded among the Knicks’ star-studded starting lineup entering the season, but he has played himself up the rankings to an ADP of 41.2. That still underrates his value, particularly in category leagues (he is up to 11th on the ESPN Player Rater). Hart is averaging a rounded double-double on the season, scoring 14.0 PPG with 9.6 RPG. But he is a nightly triple-double threat as well, averaging 5.6 APG with six double-digit assist efforts on the season and nine or more assists in five of his 13 games since Dec. 30. Hart is also a strong 3-and-D player, adding 1.5 SPG and 1.2 3PG.
Moving down
Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers (preseason rank 18, current 109; -81 slots)
Embiid is in this space not because he has missed so many games, but because even when he does play, he’s just not able to produce anywhere near his typical values. Embiid has established himself as the leading scorer in the NBA, a double-double machine and a candidate for the leading fantasy hoops scorer in the league… when he’s healthy. We haven’t seen that version of Embiid this season, and it’s unfortunately looking like we won’t be seeing him anytime soon.
Jimmy Butler, SG/SF/PF, Miami Heat (preseason rank 64, current 200; -136 slots)
This is just a nightmare. Butler has been so checked out of this season that the Heat have suspended him, not once, but twice. He is currently on a two-game suspension for missing a team flight after serving a seven-game suspension last month. Even when he plays, Butler’s disinterest shows up in his production… or lack thereof.
3:00
Is it time to move on from Donovan Mitchell?
Andre Snellings believes it’s time for fantasy players to panic and move on from Cleveland’s Donovan Mitchell.
After averaging more than 13 FGA in each of the last 10 seasons, Butler has taken 13 or more shots in only two games since Dec. 1. It would appear that his tenure as an impact player on the Heat is at an end. But even if he gets traded, it isn’t guaranteed he’d go to a team that would allow him to produce the type of volume he has in the past… or that he’ll be healthy enough to play on a nightly basis.
Bradley Beal, SG/SF, Phoenix Suns (preseason rank 82, current 131; -49 slots)
Beal has fallen out of the starting lineup for the Suns midway through a campaign in which he has already missed double-digit games for the sixth straight season. He is a score-first player who is averaging his lowest scoring average (17.1 PPG) since the 2014-15 season. There are rumors that he could soon be dealt, but it isn’t clear that any of the teams he has been mentioned with would allow him to score enough to allow him to be an impact fantasy hoops producer again this season.
Kyle Kuzma, SF/PF, Washington Wizards (preseason rank 58, current 102; -44 slots)
Kuzma dealt with a rib injury earlier this season, but he has continued to struggle since leaving the injury behind. After averaging 21.7 PPG, 6.9 RPG and 2.4 3PG in his last two seasons in Washington, Kuzma’s numbers have dropped by about eight points, more than a board and more than a 3-pointer per game.
He is only playing 27.4 MPG on a team on pace for the worst record in the league, and with his 30th birthday approaching this summer, Kuzma isn’t exactly in the age demographic to be part of the Wizards’ rebuild. He could be moved by the trade deadline, but either way, Kuzma doesn’t seem to have the upside to approach his production from recent years.
Jusuf Nurkic, C, Phoenix Suns (preseason rank 92, current 123; -31 slots)
Nurkic was the primary big man option for the Suns after they traded much of their size and defense away to bring in Kevin Durant and Beal. But between injury and poor play, Nurkic has fallen out of the rotation. The Suns’ trade for Nick Richards cemented Nurkic’s fall, pushing him down to third on the center depth chart behind Richards and Mason Plumlee.
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