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Al Horford vs Isaiah Stewart: who to start in Week 1

Al Horford plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Isaiah Stewart 3. For that week alone, start Isaiah Stewart: 63.8 projected fantasy points to 63.8 for Al Horford. Over the season, Isaiah Stewart leads in points leagues (21.3 fantasy points a game to 21.3) and Al Horford in 9-cat leagues (149th against 166th). 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 24, 8:26 AM ET.

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Al Horford
CPFGSWage 40
Points leagues
#184
21.3 FP/G, slot 16.04
9-cat leagues
#149
-2.3 z, slot 13.05, $2

The pick in 9-cat leagues.

Isaiah Stewart
CPFMEMage 25
Points leagues
#183
21.3 FP/G, slot 16.03
9-cat leagues
#166
-2.8 z, slot 14.10

The pick in points leagues.

The call

Points leagues: Isaiah Stewart. 21.3 fantasy points per game against 21.3, 183rd on our board to 184th.

9-cat leagues: Al Horford instead, -2.3 in summed z-scores against -2.8 (149th to 166th), because the categories pay for a different mix.

Category by category, Al Horford is ahead in 5 (AST, STL, 3PM, FT% and TO) and Isaiah Stewart in 3 (PTS, BLK and FG%).

Per 36 minutes, Al Horford produces more: 36.1 fantasy points to 34.4, on 21.2 minutes a night against 22.3. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

Al Horford plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Isaiah Stewart 3. For that week alone, start Isaiah Stewart: 63.8 projected fantasy points to 63.8 for Al Horford.

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 gameAl HorfordIsaiah Stewart
Fantasy points per game21.321.3
Minutes21.222.3
PointsPTS7.59.6
ReboundsREB4.84.8
AssistsAST2.41.1
StealsSTL0.60.3
BlocksBLK1.11.5
Threes3PM1.50.6
Field goal %FG%41.2%55.3%
Free throw %FT%84.6%75.6%
TurnoversTO0.91.2
Games, 2025-264558

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 36Al HorfordIsaiah Stewart
Fantasy points36.134.4
Points12.715.6
Rebounds8.27.8
Assists4.11.7
Steals1.10.5
Blocks1.92.4
Threes2.61.0
Turnovers1.52.0

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

CategoryAl HorfordIsaiah Stewart
PointsPTS-1.5-1.2
ReboundsREB-0.4-0.4
AssistsAST-0.6-1.3
StealsSTL-1.0-1.9
BlocksBLK+0.9+1.7
Threes3PM-0.1-1.0
Field goal percentageFG%-0.8+0.7
Free throw percentageFT%+0.1-0.3
TurnoversTO+1.2+0.8
Total-2.3-2.8

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

Punting assists, steals and threes flips the 9-cat answer to Isaiah Stewart.

PuntAl HorfordIsaiah Stewart
PTS-0.8 (#97)-1.6 (#145)
REB-2.0 (#132)-2.6 (#167)
AST-1.7 (#137)-1.5 (#128)
STL-1.4 (#116)-1.0 (#94)
BLK-3.5 (#195)-4.8 (#264)
3PM-2.2 (#147)-1.7 (#126)
FG%-1.6 (#105)-4.0 (#201)
FT%-2.4 (#152)-2.5 (#159)
TO-3.7 (#164)-3.7 (#167)

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 392 ranked players.

Week 1 (Oct 19-25)

  • Al Horford: 3 games (Wed @LAL, Fri MEM, Sat @PHX), 1 back-to-back.
  • Isaiah Stewart: 3 games (Wed UTA, Fri @GSW, Sun @SAC).

Every team's games this week · Week 1 streamers

Recent games

  • Al Horford: 12.4 fantasy points a game over his last 2 of 2026-27, against 21.3 on the board.
  • Isaiah Stewart: 7.4 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 21.3 on the board.

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Other picks at the same spot

NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers

Is Al Horford playing tonight? · Is Isaiah Stewart playing tonight?

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Al Horford or Isaiah Stewart?

    Points leagues: Isaiah Stewart. 21.3 fantasy points per game against 21.3, 183rd on our board to 184th. 9-cat leagues: Al Horford instead, -2.3 in summed z-scores against -2.8 (149th to 166th), because the categories pay for a different mix.

  • Who wins more categories, Al Horford or Isaiah Stewart?

    Category by category, Al Horford is ahead in 5 (AST, STL, 3PM, FT% and TO) and Isaiah Stewart in 3 (PTS, BLK and FG%).

  • Who should I start in Week 1, Al Horford or Isaiah Stewart?

    Al Horford plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Isaiah Stewart 3. For that week alone, start Isaiah Stewart: 63.8 projected fantasy points to 63.8 for Al Horford.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 24, 2026 at 8:26 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number