SportsLine model: Flagg a bust, Kessler a sleeper in 2026-27 Fantasy — SkimNews
Get the Sports newsletter
Daily sports — scores, transfers, the storylines from the leagues you actually follow. Free.
- SportsLine's model flagged Lakers center Walker Kessler (ADP 53) as a top Fantasy sleeper after his 4-year, $130 million contract to play alongside Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves; Kessler ranks second among active players with 2.4 blocks per game and averaged 12.2 rebounds in his last full season.
- SportsLine identified Kings rookie point guard Darius Acuff Jr. (ADP 49, No. 7 overall pick) as a breakout — the first freshman to win the Bob Cousy Award, averaging 23.5 points, 6.4 assists, and 3.1 rebounds at Arkansas with 44% shooting from three.
- Cooper Flagg (ADP 11) was labeled a Fantasy bust by the model despite winning Rookie of the Year last season with 21 points, 6.7 rebounds, and 4.5 assists; the model cites adjustment to playing with Kyrie Irving and new college-to-NBA head coach Dusty May.
- The model's prior-year track record includes calling Kevin Porter Jr. a sleeper (ADP 70, finished 16th among guards), tagging Jordan Poole as a bust, and correctly predicting breakout seasons for Paolo Banchero and Victor Wembanyama before they won Rookie of the Year.
- Per CBS Sports ADP data as of 10/13, Nikola Jokic is the No. 1 overall Fantasy pick (ADP 1.00), followed by Luka Doncic and Victor Wembanyama (both ADP 2.76), with Cade Cunningham (6.41) and Giannis Antetokounmpo (4.29) rounding out the top tier.
- Major offseason moves reshaping Fantasy value: LeBron James and Jaylen Brown are in Philadelphia, Kawhi Leonard returned to Toronto, Giannis Antetokounmpo is in Miami, and Julius Randle is in Brooklyn.
- Top 2026-27 rookie Fantasy targets include AJ Dybantsa, Darryn Peterson, and Caleb Wilson at the top of the draft, with later picks Cameron Carr and Christian Anderson Jr. flagged as boom-bust projections.
Why it matters: For Fantasy drafters picking in the next week, the model's most provocative call is Cooper Flagg as a bust — a reigning Rookie of the Year being ranked behind players going later in drafts means first-round capital spent on Flagg is being explicitly challenged. Walker's Kessler's $130M contract and Acuff's rookie role create direct opportunities for late-round value, while the model also teases a top-5 positional forward going under the radar.
Ask SkimNews
