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Brandon Miller vs Ivica Zubac: who to start in Week 1

Brandon Miller plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Ivica Zubac 3. For that week alone, start Ivica Zubac: 95.9 projected fantasy points to 95.8 for Brandon Miller. Over the season, Ivica Zubac leads in points leagues (32.0 fantasy points a game to 31.9) and Brandon Miller in 9-cat leagues (76th against 90th). 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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Brandon Miller
SFPFSGCHAage 23
Points leagues
#69
31.9 FP/G, slot 6.09, $15
9-cat leagues
#76
-0.8 z, slot 7.04, $11

The pick in 9-cat leagues.

Ivica Zubac
CINDage 29
Points leagues
#68
32.0 FP/G, slot 6.08, $15
9-cat leagues
#90
-1.1 z, slot 8.06, $9

The pick in points leagues.

The call

Points leagues: Ivica Zubac. 32.0 fantasy points per game against 31.9, 68th on our board to 69th.

9-cat leagues: Brandon Miller instead, -0.8 in summed z-scores against -1.1 (76th to 90th), because the categories pay for a different mix.

Category by category, Brandon Miller is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%) and Ivica Zubac in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO).

Per 36 minutes, Ivica Zubac produces more: 38.4 fantasy points to 38.2, on 29.9 minutes a night against 30.1. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

Brandon Miller plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Ivica Zubac 3. For that week alone, start Ivica Zubac: 95.9 projected fantasy points to 95.8 for Brandon Miller.

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 gameBrandon MillerIvica Zubac
Fantasy points per game31.932.0
Minutes30.129.9
PointsPTS19.213.9
ReboundsREB4.610.9
AssistsAST3.02.0
StealsSTL1.00.3
BlocksBLK0.70.9
Threes3PM3.00.0
Field goal %FG%41.2%59.5%
Free throw %FT%88.0%68.6%
TurnoversTO2.51.8
Games, 2025-266548

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 36Brandon MillerIvica Zubac
Fantasy points38.238.4
Points23.016.7
Rebounds5.513.1
Assists3.62.5
Steals1.20.4
Blocks0.91.1
Threes3.60.0
Turnovers3.02.2

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

CategoryBrandon MillerIvica Zubac
PointsPTS+0.5-0.4
ReboundsREB-0.5+2.3
AssistsAST-0.3-0.8
StealsSTL-0.0-1.9
BlocksBLK+0.1+0.5
Threes3PM+1.4-1.7
Field goal percentageFG%-2.0+1.8
Free throw percentageFT%+0.9-1.0
TurnoversTO-0.8+0.1
Total-0.8-1.1

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 points, assists, steals, threes and free throw percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Ivica Zubac.

PuntBrandon MillerIvica Zubac
PTS-1.3 (#122)-0.7 (#91)
REB-0.2 (#63)-3.7 (#241)
AST-0.5 (#74)-0.4 (#67)
STL-0.8 (#83)+0.7 (#43)
BLK-0.9 (#86)-2.0 (#129)
3PM-2.3 (#151)+0.6 (#45)
FG%+1.5 (#35)-3.7 (#191)
FT%-1.7 (#126)-0.0 (#60)
TO+0.0 (#61)-1.3 (#92)

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)

  • Brandon Miller: 3 games (Wed @BKN, Fri ATL, Sat MIA), 1 back-to-back.
  • Ivica Zubac: 3 games (Wed @NOP, Fri DAL, Sun @BKN).

Every team's games this week · Week 1 streamers

Recent games

  • Brandon Miller: 19.3 fantasy points a game over his last 2 of 2026-27, against 31.9 on the board.
  • Ivica Zubac: 32.1 fantasy points a game over his last 2 of 2026-27, against 32.0 on the board.

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Other picks at the same spot

NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers

Is Brandon Miller playing tonight? · Is Ivica Zubac playing tonight?

Rookie cards: Brandon Miller

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Brandon Miller or Ivica Zubac?

    Points leagues: Ivica Zubac. 32.0 fantasy points per game against 31.9, 68th on our board to 69th. 9-cat leagues: Brandon Miller instead, -0.8 in summed z-scores against -1.1 (76th to 90th), because the categories pay for a different mix.

  • Who wins more categories, Brandon Miller or Ivica Zubac?

    Category by category, Brandon Miller is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%) and Ivica Zubac in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO).

  • Who should I start in Week 1, Brandon Miller or Ivica Zubac?

    Brandon Miller plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Ivica Zubac 3. For that week alone, start Ivica Zubac: 95.9 projected fantasy points to 95.8 for Brandon Miller.

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