Aaron Nesmith vs Julian Champagnie: who to start in Week 1
Aaron Nesmith plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Julian Champagnie 3. For that week alone, start Aaron Nesmith: 70.6 projected fantasy points to 70.4 for Julian Champagnie. Over the season, Aaron Nesmith leads in points leagues (23.5 fantasy points a game to 23.5) and Julian Champagnie in 9-cat leagues (95th against 190th). The two go close together on our board, which is our own ranking order from 2025-26 and 2026-27 box scores, not ADP.
Updated Oct 22, 9:54 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #152
- 23.5 FP/G, slot 13.08, $2
- 9-cat leagues
- #190
- -3.5 z, slot 16.10
Day to day (Hamstring)
The pick in points leagues.
- Points leagues
- #153
- 23.5 FP/G, slot 13.09, $2
- 9-cat leagues
- #95
- -1.2 z, slot 8.11, $9
The pick in 9-cat leagues.
The call
Points leagues: Aaron Nesmith. 23.5 fantasy points per game against 23.5, 152nd on our board to 153rd.
9-cat leagues: Julian Champagnie instead, -1.2 in summed z-scores against -3.5 (95th to 190th), because the categories pay for a different mix.
Category by category, Aaron Nesmith is ahead in 2 (PTS and AST) and Julian Champagnie in 5 (REB, STL, BLK, FG% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, Julian Champagnie produces more: 30.4 fantasy points to 28.5, on 27.8 minutes a night against 29.7. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Aaron Nesmith plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Julian Champagnie 3. For that week alone, start Aaron Nesmith: 70.6 projected fantasy points to 70.4 for Julian Champagnie.
Slots are where our board's order lands in a 12-team snake draft (round.pick), and dollars are auction value over replacement for 12 teams with $200 each. Neither is ADP: no free draft-position feed lets us republish it.
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Per game, side by side
| Per game | Aaron Nesmith | Julian Champagnie |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 23.5 | 23.5 |
| Minutes | 29.7 | 27.8 |
| PointsPTS | 13.8 | 10.9 |
| ReboundsREB | 4.2 | 5.6 |
| AssistsAST | 1.9 | 1.5 |
| StealsSTL | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.5 | 0.6 |
| Threes3PM | 2.3 | 2.4 |
| Field goal %FG% | 41.4% | 43.3% |
| Free throw %FT% | 82.9% | 84.4% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.4 | 0.8 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 45 | 82 |
Bold is the better number. The line blends 2025-26 with 2026-27 games as they are played, the same numbers the rankings use.
Per 36 minutes
| Per 36 | Aaron Nesmith | Julian Champagnie |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 28.5 | 30.4 |
| Points | 16.7 | 14.1 |
| Rebounds | 5.0 | 7.3 |
| Assists | 2.3 | 2.0 |
| Steals | 0.7 | 1.1 |
| Blocks | 0.6 | 0.8 |
| Threes | 2.8 | 3.1 |
| Turnovers | 1.7 | 1.0 |
Each per-game number divided by minutes and scaled to 36: the rate a bigger role would carry.
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9-category z-scores
| Category | Aaron Nesmith | Julian Champagnie |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -0.5 | -1.0 |
| ReboundsREB | -0.7 | -0.1 |
| AssistsAST | -0.9 | -1.1 |
| StealsSTL | -1.2 | -0.5 |
| BlocksBLK | -0.3 | -0.1 |
| Threes3PM | +0.7 | +0.7 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -1.4 | -0.7 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | +0.2 | +0.2 |
| TurnoversTO | +0.6 | +1.4 |
| Total | -3.5 | -1.2 |
Each number is standard deviations above or below the top 156 players (a 12-team league's rosters). Field goal and free throw percentage are weighted by attempts, and turnovers count against.
If you punt a category
No punt changes the answer: Julian Champagnie stays ahead whichever category you give up.
| Punt | Aaron Nesmith | Julian Champagnie |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -3.1 (#221) | -0.3 (#71) |
| REB | -2.8 (#183) | -1.2 (#95) |
| AST | -2.7 (#185) | -0.2 (#62) |
| STL | -2.4 (#159) | -0.8 (#84) |
| BLK | -3.3 (#185) | -1.2 (#96) |
| 3PM | -4.2 (#238) | -2.0 (#136) |
| FG% | -2.2 (#126) | -0.4 (#71) |
| FT% | -3.8 (#215) | -1.4 (#113) |
| TO | -4.2 (#181) | -2.7 (#129) |
Value is the sum of the other eight z-scores, recomputed with the punted category left out of the pool that sets them; the rank is among all 391 ranked players.
Week 1 (Oct 19-25)
- Aaron Nesmith: 3 games (Wed @NOP, Fri DAL, Sun @BKN), listed DTD.
- Julian Champagnie: 3 games (Tue OKC, Fri HOU, Sat @DAL), 1 back-to-back.
Aaron Nesmith or Julian Champagnie: the Week 1 start/sit call
Recent games
- Aaron Nesmith: 23.7 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 23.5 on the board.
- Julian Champagnie: 28.1 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 23.5 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Aaron Nesmith playing tonight? · Is Julian Champagnie playing tonight?
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Aaron Nesmith or Julian Champagnie?
Points leagues: Aaron Nesmith. 23.5 fantasy points per game against 23.5, 152nd on our board to 153rd. 9-cat leagues: Julian Champagnie instead, -1.2 in summed z-scores against -3.5 (95th to 190th), because the categories pay for a different mix.
Who wins more categories, Aaron Nesmith or Julian Champagnie?
Category by category, Aaron Nesmith is ahead in 2 (PTS and AST) and Julian Champagnie in 5 (REB, STL, BLK, FG% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 1, Aaron Nesmith or Julian Champagnie?
Aaron Nesmith plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Julian Champagnie 3. For that week alone, start Aaron Nesmith: 70.6 projected fantasy points to 70.4 for Julian Champagnie.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 9:54 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number