Jakob Poeltl vs Wendell Carter: who to draft in 2026-27
Draft Wendell Carter in both formats: 26.6 fantasy points a game to 25.6 in points leagues, and 107th against 109th 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
- #133
- 25.6 FP/G, slot 12.01, $5
- 9-cat leagues
- #109
- -1.6 z, slot 10.01, $7
- Points leagues
- #123
- 26.6 FP/G, slot 11.03, $6
- 9-cat leagues
- #107
- -1.6 z, slot 9.11, $7
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
The call
Points leagues: draft Wendell Carter. 26.6 fantasy points per game against 25.6, 123rd on our board to 133rd.
9-cat leagues: Wendell Carter again, -1.6 in summed z-scores against -1.6 (107th to 109th).
Category by category, Jakob Poeltl is ahead in 4 (STL, BLK, FG% and TO) and Wendell Carter in 4 (PTS, REB, 3PM and FT%).
Per 36 minutes, Jakob Poeltl produces more: 36.9 fantasy points to 32.6, on 25.0 minutes a night against 29.3. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Jakob Poeltl plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Wendell Carter 3. For that week alone, start Wendell Carter: 79.7 projected fantasy points to 76.9 for Jakob Poeltl.
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 | Jakob Poeltl | Wendell Carter |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 25.6 | 26.6 |
| Minutes | 25.0 | 29.3 |
| PointsPTS | 10.7 | 11.8 |
| ReboundsREB | 7.0 | 7.4 |
| AssistsAST | 2.0 | 2.0 |
| StealsSTL | 0.9 | 0.8 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.7 | 0.6 |
| Threes3PM | 0.0 | 0.9 |
| Field goal %FG% | 70.0% | 51.2% |
| Free throw %FT% | 60.2% | 79.2% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.2 | 1.3 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 46 | 78 |
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 | Jakob Poeltl | Wendell Carter |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 36.9 | 32.6 |
| Points | 15.4 | 14.5 |
| Rebounds | 10.1 | 9.1 |
| Assists | 2.9 | 2.4 |
| Steals | 1.3 | 0.9 |
| Blocks | 1.0 | 0.8 |
| Threes | 0.0 | 1.1 |
| Turnovers | 1.8 | 1.6 |
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 | Jakob Poeltl | Wendell Carter |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -1.0 | -0.9 |
| ReboundsREB | +0.5 | +0.7 |
| AssistsAST | -0.8 | -0.8 |
| StealsSTL | -0.4 | -0.7 |
| BlocksBLK | +0.0 | -0.1 |
| Threes3PM | -1.7 | -0.7 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | +2.3 | +0.3 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -1.3 | -0.1 |
| TurnoversTO | +0.8 | +0.7 |
| Total | -1.6 | -1.6 |
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 points, rebounds, threes and free throw percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Jakob Poeltl.
| Punt | Jakob Poeltl | Wendell Carter |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -0.6 (#86) | -0.7 (#93) |
| REB | -2.5 (#153) | -2.5 (#154) |
| AST | -0.8 (#88) | -0.7 (#82) |
| STL | -1.2 (#109) | -0.9 (#89) |
| BLK | -1.9 (#123) | -1.7 (#116) |
| 3PM | +0.1 (#62) | -0.8 (#92) |
| FG% | -4.8 (#242) | -2.3 (#128) |
| FT% | -0.3 (#68) | -1.5 (#113) |
| TO | -2.6 (#124) | -2.5 (#121) |
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)
- Jakob Poeltl: 3 games (Wed CHI, Fri @WAS, Sun @MIN).
- Wendell Carter: 3 games (Wed ATL, Fri MIN, Sun @NYK).
Recent games
- Jakob Poeltl: 25.1 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 25.6 on the board.
- Wendell Carter: 22.8 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 26.6 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 Jakob Poeltl or Wendell Carter in 2026-27?
Points leagues: draft Wendell Carter. 26.6 fantasy points per game against 25.6, 123rd on our board to 133rd. 9-cat leagues: Wendell Carter again, -1.6 in summed z-scores against -1.6 (107th to 109th).
Who wins more categories, Jakob Poeltl or Wendell Carter?
Category by category, Jakob Poeltl is ahead in 4 (STL, BLK, FG% and TO) and Wendell Carter in 4 (PTS, REB, 3PM and FT%).
Who should I start in Week 1, Jakob Poeltl or Wendell Carter?
Jakob Poeltl plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Wendell Carter 3. For that week alone, start Wendell Carter: 79.7 projected fantasy points to 76.9 for Jakob Poeltl.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number