Cooper Flagg vs Karl-Anthony Towns: who to start in Week 1
Cooper Flagg plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Karl-Anthony Towns 3. For that week alone, start Karl-Anthony Towns: 121.4 projected fantasy points to 121.3 for Cooper Flagg. Over the season, Karl-Anthony Towns leads in both formats: 40.5 fantasy points a game to 40.4, and 24th against 28th in 9-cat. 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, 2:56 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #26
- 40.4 FP/G, slot 3.02, $27
- 9-cat leagues
- #28
- +1.8 z, slot 3.04, $25
- Points leagues
- #25
- 40.5 FP/G, slot 3.01, $27
- 9-cat leagues
- #24
- +2.6 z, slot 2.12, $30
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
The call
Points leagues: Karl-Anthony Towns. 40.5 fantasy points per game against 40.4, 25th on our board to 26th.
9-cat leagues: Karl-Anthony Towns again, +2.6 in summed z-scores against +1.8 (24th to 28th).
Category by category, Cooper Flagg is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, BLK and TO) and Karl-Anthony Towns in 4 (REB, 3PM, FG% and FT%).
Per 36 minutes, Karl-Anthony Towns produces more: 47.7 fantasy points to 43.5, on 30.5 minutes a night against 33.5. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Cooper Flagg plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Karl-Anthony Towns 3. For that week alone, start Karl-Anthony Towns: 121.4 projected fantasy points to 121.3 for Cooper Flagg.
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 | Cooper Flagg | Karl-Anthony Towns |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 40.4 | 40.5 |
| Minutes | 33.5 | 30.5 |
| PointsPTS | 21.7 | 20.0 |
| ReboundsREB | 6.6 | 11.9 |
| AssistsAST | 4.4 | 2.9 |
| StealsSTL | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| Threes3PM | 1.0 | 1.6 |
| Field goal %FG% | 47.6% | 50.8% |
| Free throw %FT% | 83.0% | 83.6% |
| TurnoversTO | 2.4 | 2.6 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 70 | 75 |
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 | Cooper Flagg | Karl-Anthony Towns |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 43.5 | 47.7 |
| Points | 23.4 | 23.6 |
| Rebounds | 7.1 | 14.0 |
| Assists | 4.7 | 3.4 |
| Steals | 1.4 | 1.0 |
| Blocks | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Threes | 1.1 | 1.9 |
| Turnovers | 2.6 | 3.1 |
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 | Cooper Flagg | Karl-Anthony Towns |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | +0.9 | +0.6 |
| ReboundsREB | +0.3 | +2.7 |
| AssistsAST | +0.4 | -0.4 |
| StealsSTL | +0.8 | -0.4 |
| BlocksBLK | +0.5 | -0.1 |
| Threes3PM | -0.6 | -0.0 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -0.3 | +0.5 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| TurnoversTO | -0.7 | -0.9 |
| Total | +1.8 | +2.6 |
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 rebounds flips the 9-cat answer to Cooper Flagg.
| Punt | Cooper Flagg | Karl-Anthony Towns |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | +0.9 (#38) | +2.0 (#19) |
| REB | +1.4 (#32) | -0.2 (#58) |
| AST | +1.4 (#29) | +2.9 (#15) |
| STL | +1.0 (#33) | +3.0 (#14) |
| BLK | +1.2 (#35) | +2.5 (#22) |
| 3PM | +2.3 (#21) | +2.6 (#17) |
| FG% | +2.0 (#31) | +2.0 (#30) |
| FT% | +1.2 (#34) | +1.9 (#26) |
| TO | +2.6 (#30) | +3.5 (#19) |
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)
- Cooper Flagg: 3 games (Wed @HOU, Fri @IND, Sat SAS), 1 back-to-back.
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 3 games (Tue PHI, Fri @BOS, Sun ORL).
Recent games
- Cooper Flagg: 45.3 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 40.4 on the board.
- Karl-Anthony Towns: 39.9 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 40.5 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Cooper Flagg playing tonight? · Is Karl-Anthony Towns playing tonight?
Rookie cards: Cooper Flagg, Karl-Anthony Towns
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Cooper Flagg or Karl-Anthony Towns?
Points leagues: Karl-Anthony Towns. 40.5 fantasy points per game against 40.4, 25th on our board to 26th. 9-cat leagues: Karl-Anthony Towns again, +2.6 in summed z-scores against +1.8 (24th to 28th).
Who wins more categories, Cooper Flagg or Karl-Anthony Towns?
Category by category, Cooper Flagg is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, BLK and TO) and Karl-Anthony Towns in 4 (REB, 3PM, FG% and FT%).
Who should I start in Week 1, Cooper Flagg or Karl-Anthony Towns?
Cooper Flagg plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Karl-Anthony Towns 3. For that week alone, start Karl-Anthony Towns: 121.4 projected fantasy points to 121.3 for Cooper Flagg.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 2:56 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number