Josh Giddey vs Payton Pritchard: who to start in Week 1
Josh Giddey plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Payton Pritchard 2. For that week alone, start Josh Giddey: 116.4 projected fantasy points to 58.0 for Payton Pritchard. Over the season, Josh Giddey leads in both formats: 38.8 fantasy points a game to 29.0, and 88th against 89th 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 25, 2:29 PM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #34
- 38.8 FP/G, slot 3.10, $25
- 9-cat leagues
- #88
- -1.0 z, slot 8.04, $9
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
- Points leagues
- #94
- 29.0 FP/G, slot 8.10, $10
- 9-cat leagues
- #89
- -1.0 z, slot 8.05, $9
The call
Points leagues: Josh Giddey. 38.8 fantasy points per game against 29.0, 34th on our board to 94th.
9-cat leagues: Josh Giddey again, -1.0 in summed z-scores against -1.0 (88th to 89th).
Category by category, Josh Giddey is ahead in 4 (REB, AST, STL and BLK) and Payton Pritchard in 5 (PTS, 3PM, FG%, FT% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, Josh Giddey produces more: 45.0 fantasy points to 32.7, on 31.0 minutes a night against 32.0. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Josh Giddey plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Payton Pritchard 2. For that week alone, start Josh Giddey: 116.4 projected fantasy points to 58.0 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.
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Per game, side by side
| Per game | Josh Giddey | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 38.8 | 29.0 |
| Minutes | 31.0 | 32.0 |
| PointsPTS | 15.1 | 16.3 |
| ReboundsREB | 8.0 | 3.8 |
| AssistsAST | 9.0 | 4.9 |
| StealsSTL | 0.9 | 0.6 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.4 | 0.1 |
| Threes3PM | 1.6 | 2.5 |
| Field goal %FG% | 42.7% | 45.7% |
| Free throw %FT% | 74.8% | 86.5% |
| TurnoversTO | 3.4 | 1.3 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 54 | 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 | Josh Giddey | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 45.0 | 32.7 |
| Points | 17.5 | 18.3 |
| Rebounds | 9.2 | 4.3 |
| Assists | 10.5 | 5.5 |
| Steals | 1.0 | 0.7 |
| Blocks | 0.5 | 0.1 |
| Threes | 1.9 | 2.9 |
| Turnovers | 3.9 | 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 | Josh Giddey | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -0.2 | -0.0 |
| ReboundsREB | +1.0 | -0.9 |
| AssistsAST | +2.7 | +0.6 |
| StealsSTL | -0.3 | -1.0 |
| BlocksBLK | -0.6 | -1.2 |
| Threes3PM | +0.0 | +0.9 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -1.2 | -0.6 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -0.6 | +0.4 |
| TurnoversTO | -1.9 | +0.7 |
| Total | -1.0 | -1.0 |
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, assists, steals and blocks flips the 9-cat answer to Payton Pritchard.
| Punt | Josh Giddey | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -0.8 (#99) | -1.1 (#111) |
| REB | -2.2 (#145) | -0.2 (#56) |
| AST | -3.8 (#232) | -1.8 (#136) |
| STL | -0.7 (#79) | -0.1 (#64) |
| BLK | -0.7 (#79) | +0.1 (#56) |
| 3PM | -1.1 (#97) | -2.1 (#144) |
| FG% | -0.2 (#68) | -0.3 (#71) |
| FT% | -0.4 (#76) | -1.6 (#117) |
| TO | +0.8 (#48) | -1.7 (#101) |
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)
- Josh Giddey: 3 games (Wed @TOR, Fri @MIL, Sat WAS), 1 back-to-back.
- Payton Pritchard: 2 games (Tue @DET, Fri NYK).
Recent games
- Josh Giddey: 24.8 fantasy points a game over his last 3 of 2026-27, against 38.8 on the board.
- Payton Pritchard: 16.3 fantasy points a game over his last 2 of 2026-27, against 29.0 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Josh Giddey playing tonight? · Is Payton Pritchard playing tonight?
Rookie cards: Josh Giddey, Payton Pritchard
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Josh Giddey or Payton Pritchard?
Points leagues: Josh Giddey. 38.8 fantasy points per game against 29.0, 34th on our board to 94th. 9-cat leagues: Josh Giddey again, -1.0 in summed z-scores against -1.0 (88th to 89th).
Who wins more categories, Josh Giddey or Payton Pritchard?
Category by category, Josh Giddey is ahead in 4 (REB, AST, STL and BLK) and Payton Pritchard in 5 (PTS, 3PM, FG%, FT% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 1, Josh Giddey or Payton Pritchard?
Josh Giddey plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Payton Pritchard 2. For that week alone, start Josh Giddey: 116.4 projected fantasy points to 58.0 for Payton Pritchard.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 25, 2026 at 2:29 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number