Fantasy basketball best values by round: 9-cat and per-minute standouts for 2026-27

What value means without ADP

There is no ADP in this data, so nothing here says where other managers are taking players. Value is defined by the board itself. A round is where a player's points rank falls in a 12-team draft: ranks 1 to 12 are round 1, through rank 156 in round 13. Within each round, value means one of two things:

1. A player whose 9-cat rank sits rounds earlier than his points round.
2. A player whose fantasy points per 36 minutes (FP/36) is far above the round's norm, so minutes are holding down his per-game number.

The 9-cat rank sums nine category z-scores against the top 156 players. A room that drafts differently from the board will move every name here earlier or later.

How fast each round falls off

Source: Parlae fantasy basketball board, Oct 12 2026, points order. "Avg change" is the drop in average FP/G from the round before.

The steepest cost is the first one. Round 2 averages 7.4 FP/G less than round 1. Rounds 3 through 5 each cost 2.6 to 3.0. From round 6 on, each round costs only 1.0 to 1.6, and the seven rounds from 6 to 13 lose 8.8 FP/G combined (32.7 minus 23.9), barely more than the single step from round 1 to round 2.

Round 11 is the flattest on the board: 26.7 to 26.2, a 0.5 spread. Round 13 averages 23.9, just 0.7 above the replacement level of 23.2 FP/G (rank 157, Jonathan Kuminga). In the late rounds, per-game numbers barely separate players, so categories, minutes and games should decide.

Category values, round by round

The 9-cat column is the cleanest value signal on the board. Three players carry first-round 9-cat ranks into later points rounds, a fourth sits two rounds early, and the risk on each is visible in the data.

• Round 2, Lauri Markkanen (9-cat 8th). 89.6% at the line on 26.7 points a game. He played 42 games last season and is listed GTD (neck).
• Round 3, Stephen Curry (10th). 4.4 threes a game at 92.3% from the line. He is 38 and played 43 games.
• Round 4, Trey Murphy (11th). A 9-cat first-rounder three rounds later in points, with 66, 53 and 56 games over three seasons and only 1.8 turnovers.
• Round 5, Nickeil Alexander-Walker (26th). 3.2 threes and 90.2% at the line, and the most games over three seasons of anyone in the points top 60: 78, 82 and 81.

The deeper gaps are bigger. OG Anunoby is a round 7 points player and 31st in 9-cat, four rounds apart, built on 1.6 steals. Mikal Bridges is round 8 in points and 38th in 9-cat, with 1.0 turnovers a game and 82, 82 and 81 games. Neemias Queta (round 9, 9-cat 59th) shot 65.3% from the field. Myles Turner (round 11, 87th) blocked 1.6 shots a game.

Two 9-cat names fall outside the 13-round points board entirely: Cason Wallace (9-cat 90th, points 178th, steals z-score 2.6) and Jay Huff (95th and 165th, blocks z-score 2.4).

The other direction matters too. Paolo Banchero is 25th in points and 111th in 9-cat. Ja Morant (45th and 147th) and Stephon Castle (48th and 149th) are hurt most by turnovers, and Pascal Siakam (28th and 92nd) by 69.3% free-throw shooting. Of the points top 100, 83 are also in the 9-cat top 100; Banchero, Morant and Castle are three of the 17 that are not. The 9-cat rankings list every category z-score.

Per-minute values, round by round

Source: Parlae fantasy basketball board, Oct 12 2026. Round averages are the mean FP/36 of the round's 12 players.

Eleven of the 13 leaders are centers, in a scoring system that pays 1.2 per rebound and 3 per block. Compare FP/36 within a position, not across it. In rounds 5 to 10, four centers clear 45 per 36 and no guard does.

FP/36 is a ceiling, not a forecast: it assumes minutes nobody can promise. The cleanest cases pair a high rate with a full season of games:

• Donovan Clingan, round 5. 46.0 per 36 in 27.2 minutes, 77 games, and 30th in 9-cat with 11.6 rebounds and 1.7 blocks. He shows up on both value lists.
• Kel'el Ware, round 10. 45.1 per 36 in 22.1 minutes, 77 games, 52nd in 9-cat. At 30 minutes his rate works out to 37.6 FP/G, which would rank 42nd on the board. See his player page.
• Derik Queen, round 9. 42.1 per 36 in 25.0 minutes across 81 games, though he is 130th in 9-cat.

The rest carry a games flag. Davis played 20 games, Porziņģis 32, and Nurkić is listed Out.

On draft night

1. Spend the early rounds on the FP/G gap. Rounds 1 to 5 are where per-game production separates; see draft strategy by pick slot for what your slot gets.
2. From round 6 on, draft for a reason. Each round costs 1.6 FP/G or less, so pick for a category, a full season of games or a minutes path.
3. In 9-cat, keep a short list of Murphy, Alexander-Walker, Anunoby, Bridges and Queta, and leave Banchero, Morant and Castle to points managers.
4. Use rounds 9 and later on per-minute centers like Queen and Ware, and check the sleepers page for the full list by FP/36.