CJ McCollum vs Payton Pritchard: who to draft in 2026-27
Draft Payton Pritchard in both formats: 30.7 fantasy points a game to 30.6 in points leagues, and 70th against 113th in 9-cat. The two go close together on our board, which is our own ranking order from 2025-26 box scores, not ADP.
- Points leagues
- #84
- 30.6 FP/G, slot 7.12, $12
- 9-cat leagues
- #113
- -1.7 z, slot 10.05, $6
Day to day (Rest)
- Points leagues
- #81
- 30.7 FP/G, slot 7.09, $12
- 9-cat leagues
- #70
- -0.4 z, slot 6.10, $13
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
The call
Points leagues: draft Payton Pritchard. 30.7 fantasy points per game against 30.6, 81st on our board to 84th.
9-cat leagues: Payton Pritchard again, -0.4 in summed z-scores against -1.7 (70th to 113th).
Category by category, CJ McCollum is ahead in 3 (PTS, STL and BLK) and Payton Pritchard in 6 (REB, AST, 3PM, FG%, FT% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, CJ McCollum produces more: 37.0 fantasy points to 34.2, on 29.8 minutes a night against 32.4. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
CJ McCollum plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Payton Pritchard 2. For that week alone, start CJ McCollum: 91.9 projected fantasy points to 61.4 for Payton Pritchard.
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.
Per game, side by side
| Per game | CJ McCollum | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 30.6 | 30.7 |
| Minutes | 29.8 | 32.4 |
| PointsPTS | 18.7 | 17.0 |
| ReboundsREB | 3.3 | 3.9 |
| AssistsAST | 3.9 | 5.2 |
| StealsSTL | 0.8 | 0.7 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Threes3PM | 2.5 | 2.7 |
| Field goal %FG% | 45.5% | 46.4% |
| Free throw %FT% | 77.2% | 89.0% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.8 | 1.4 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 76 | 79 |
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 | CJ McCollum | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 37.0 | 34.2 |
| Points | 22.6 | 18.9 |
| Rebounds | 4.0 | 4.4 |
| Assists | 4.7 | 5.7 |
| Steals | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Blocks | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| Threes | 3.0 | 3.0 |
| Turnovers | 2.1 | 1.5 |
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 | CJ McCollum | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | +0.4 | +0.1 |
| ReboundsREB | -1.1 | -0.9 |
| AssistsAST | +0.1 | +0.7 |
| StealsSTL | -0.5 | -0.8 |
| BlocksBLK | -0.5 | -1.2 |
| Threes3PM | +0.9 | +1.0 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -0.8 | -0.5 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -0.2 | +0.5 |
| TurnoversTO | +0.1 | +0.6 |
| Total | -1.7 | -0.4 |
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: Payton Pritchard stays ahead whichever category you give up.
| Punt | CJ McCollum | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -2.2 (#168) | -0.5 (#84) |
| REB | -0.6 (#78) | +0.6 (#49) |
| AST | -1.9 (#143) | -1.2 (#106) |
| STL | -1.3 (#110) | +0.3 (#50) |
| BLK | -1.3 (#95) | +0.8 (#42) |
| 3PM | -2.7 (#172) | -1.6 (#115) |
| FG% | -1.1 (#88) | +0.3 (#56) |
| FT% | -1.6 (#116) | -1.0 (#93) |
| TO | -1.8 (#105) | -1.0 (#80) |
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 406 ranked players.
Week 1 (Oct 19-25)
- CJ McCollum: 3 games (Wed @ORL, Fri @CHA, Sat HOU), 1 back-to-back, listed DTD.
- Payton Pritchard: 2 games (Tue @DET, Fri NYK).
Recent games
- CJ McCollum: 34.5 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 30.6 on the board.
- Payton Pritchard: 30.7 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 30.7 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Common questions
Should I draft CJ McCollum or Payton Pritchard in 2026-27?
Points leagues: draft Payton Pritchard. 30.7 fantasy points per game against 30.6, 81st on our board to 84th. 9-cat leagues: Payton Pritchard again, -0.4 in summed z-scores against -1.7 (70th to 113th).
Who wins more categories, CJ McCollum or Payton Pritchard?
Category by category, CJ McCollum is ahead in 3 (PTS, STL and BLK) and Payton Pritchard in 6 (REB, AST, 3PM, FG%, FT% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 1, CJ McCollum or Payton Pritchard?
CJ McCollum plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Payton Pritchard 2. For that week alone, start CJ McCollum: 91.9 projected fantasy points to 61.4 for Payton Pritchard.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number