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Andre Drummond vs Cameron Johnson: who to start in Week 1

Andre Drummond plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Cameron Johnson 2. For that week alone, start Andre Drummond: 69.0 projected fantasy points to 46.0 for Cameron Johnson. Over the season, Andre Drummond leads in points leagues (23.0 fantasy points a game to 23.0) and Cameron Johnson in 9-cat leagues (122nd against 182nd). 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.

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Andre Drummond
CNYKage 33
Points leagues
#157
23.0 FP/G, slot 14.01
9-cat leagues
#182
-3.3 z, slot 16.02

The pick in points leagues.

Cameron Johnson
SFPFSGDENage 30
Points leagues
#158
23.0 FP/G, slot 14.02
9-cat leagues
#122
-1.8 z, slot 11.02, $6

The pick in 9-cat leagues.

The call

Points leagues: Andre Drummond. 23.0 fantasy points per game against 23.0, 157th on our board to 158th.

9-cat leagues: Cameron Johnson instead, -1.8 in summed z-scores against -3.3 (122nd to 182nd), because the categories pay for a different mix.

Category by category, Andre Drummond is ahead in 2 (REB and BLK) and Cameron Johnson in 6 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM, FG% and FT%).

Per 36 minutes, Andre Drummond produces more: 41.8 fantasy points to 27.1, on 19.8 minutes a night against 30.5. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

Andre Drummond plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Cameron Johnson 2. For that week alone, start Andre Drummond: 69.0 projected fantasy points to 46.0 for Cameron Johnson.

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 gameAndre DrummondCameron Johnson
Fantasy points per game23.023.0
Minutes19.830.5
PointsPTS6.712.2
ReboundsREB8.83.8
AssistsAST1.42.4
StealsSTL0.60.7
BlocksBLK0.90.4
Threes3PM0.52.0
Field goal %FG%46.0%48.0%
Free throw %FT%60.9%83.9%
TurnoversTO0.90.9
Games, 2025-266354

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 36Andre DrummondCameron Johnson
Fantasy points41.827.1
Points12.314.4
Rebounds16.04.5
Assists2.62.9
Steals1.10.9
Blocks1.60.5
Threes0.92.4
Turnovers1.61.0

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

CategoryAndre DrummondCameron Johnson
PointsPTS-1.7-0.7
ReboundsREB+1.4-0.9
AssistsAST-1.1-0.6
StealsSTL-1.1-0.8
BlocksBLK+0.4-0.6
Threes3PM-1.2+0.4
Field goal percentageFG%-0.3-0.1
Free throw percentageFT%-0.9+0.3
TurnoversTO+1.2+1.3
Total-3.3-1.8

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 threes flips the 9-cat answer to Andre Drummond.

PuntAndre DrummondCameron Johnson
PTS-1.6 (#140)-1.1 (#110)
REB-5.0 (#296)-0.9 (#88)
AST-2.1 (#158)-1.2 (#111)
STL-2.2 (#152)-1.1 (#97)
BLK-4.0 (#233)-1.3 (#101)
3PM-2.0 (#140)-2.3 (#148)
FG%-3.6 (#185)-1.7 (#110)
FT%-2.3 (#149)-2.1 (#140)
TO-4.7 (#197)-3.2 (#142)

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)

  • Andre Drummond: 3 games (Tue PHI, Fri @BOS, Sun ORL).
  • Cameron Johnson: 2 games (Thu @OKC, Sat NOP).

Every team's games this week · Week 1 streamers

Recent games

  • Andre Drummond: 43.8 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 23.0 on the board.
  • Cameron Johnson: 27.6 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 23.0 on the board.

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Other picks at the same spot

NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers

Is Andre Drummond playing tonight? · Is Cameron Johnson playing tonight?

Rookie cards: Cameron Johnson

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Andre Drummond or Cameron Johnson?

    Points leagues: Andre Drummond. 23.0 fantasy points per game against 23.0, 157th on our board to 158th. 9-cat leagues: Cameron Johnson instead, -1.8 in summed z-scores against -3.3 (122nd to 182nd), because the categories pay for a different mix.

  • Who wins more categories, Andre Drummond or Cameron Johnson?

    Category by category, Andre Drummond is ahead in 2 (REB and BLK) and Cameron Johnson in 6 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM, FG% and FT%).

  • Who should I start in Week 1, Andre Drummond or Cameron Johnson?

    Andre Drummond plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Cameron Johnson 2. For that week alone, start Andre Drummond: 69.0 projected fantasy points to 46.0 for Cameron Johnson.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 9:54 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number