Josh Hart vs Kyshawn George: who to start in Week 1
Josh Hart plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Kyshawn George 3. For that week alone, start Kyshawn George: 92.0 projected fantasy points to 91.0 for Josh Hart. Over the season, Kyshawn George leads in points leagues (30.7 fantasy points a game to 30.3) and Josh Hart in 9-cat leagues (68th against 96th). 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, 8:57 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #83
- 30.3 FP/G, slot 7.11, $12
- 9-cat leagues
- #68
- -0.4 z, slot 6.08, $13
The pick in 9-cat leagues.
- Points leagues
- #81
- 30.7 FP/G, slot 7.09, $12
- 9-cat leagues
- #96
- -1.2 z, slot 8.12, $9
The pick in points leagues.
The call
Points leagues: Kyshawn George. 30.7 fantasy points per game against 30.3, 81st on our board to 83rd.
9-cat leagues: Josh Hart instead, -0.4 in summed z-scores against -1.2 (68th to 96th), because the categories pay for a different mix.
Category by category, Josh Hart is ahead in 5 (REB, AST, STL, FG% and TO) and Kyshawn George in 4 (PTS, BLK, 3PM and FT%).
Per 36 minutes, Kyshawn George produces more: 38.1 fantasy points to 36.1, on 29.0 minutes a night against 30.2. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Josh Hart plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Kyshawn George 3. For that week alone, start Kyshawn George: 92.0 projected fantasy points to 91.0 for Josh Hart.
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 Hart | Kyshawn George |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 30.3 | 30.7 |
| Minutes | 30.2 | 29.0 |
| PointsPTS | 12.1 | 15.0 |
| ReboundsREB | 7.3 | 5.1 |
| AssistsAST | 4.7 | 4.4 |
| StealsSTL | 1.1 | 1.0 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.3 | 0.9 |
| Threes3PM | 1.5 | 2.0 |
| Field goal %FG% | 50.8% | 44.8% |
| Free throw %FT% | 71.5% | 80.6% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.9 | 2.7 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 66 | 48 |
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 Hart | Kyshawn George |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 36.1 | 38.1 |
| Points | 14.5 | 18.6 |
| Rebounds | 8.8 | 6.3 |
| Assists | 5.6 | 5.4 |
| Steals | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Blocks | 0.4 | 1.1 |
| Threes | 1.8 | 2.5 |
| Turnovers | 2.3 | 3.3 |
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 Hart | Kyshawn George |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -0.8 | -0.3 |
| ReboundsREB | +0.7 | -0.3 |
| AssistsAST | +0.5 | +0.4 |
| StealsSTL | +0.3 | -0.0 |
| BlocksBLK | -0.8 | +0.5 |
| Threes3PM | -0.1 | +0.4 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | +0.3 | -0.8 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -0.5 | +0.1 |
| TurnoversTO | -0.1 | -1.1 |
| Total | -0.4 | -1.2 |
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, field goal percentage and turnovers flips the 9-cat answer to Kyshawn George.
| Punt | Josh Hart | Kyshawn George |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | +0.3 (#50) | -1.0 (#104) |
| REB | -1.2 (#104) | -0.9 (#87) |
| AST | -1.0 (#97) | -1.7 (#127) |
| STL | -0.7 (#83) | -1.2 (#105) |
| BLK | +0.2 (#54) | -1.8 (#123) |
| 3PM | -0.3 (#70) | -1.6 (#121) |
| FG% | -1.0 (#88) | -0.5 (#73) |
| FT% | +0.1 (#59) | -1.3 (#108) |
| TO | -0.3 (#66) | -0.2 (#63) |
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)
- Josh Hart: 3 games (Tue PHI, Fri @BOS, Sun ORL).
- Kyshawn George: 3 games (Wed MIL, Fri TOR, Sat @CHI), 1 back-to-back.
Recent games
- Josh Hart: 30.9 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 30.3 on the board.
- Kyshawn George: 30.5 fantasy points a game over his last 1 of 2026-27, against 30.7 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Josh Hart playing tonight? · Is Kyshawn George playing tonight?
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Josh Hart or Kyshawn George?
Points leagues: Kyshawn George. 30.7 fantasy points per game against 30.3, 81st on our board to 83rd. 9-cat leagues: Josh Hart instead, -0.4 in summed z-scores against -1.2 (68th to 96th), because the categories pay for a different mix.
Who wins more categories, Josh Hart or Kyshawn George?
Category by category, Josh Hart is ahead in 5 (REB, AST, STL, FG% and TO) and Kyshawn George in 4 (PTS, BLK, 3PM and FT%).
Who should I start in Week 1, Josh Hart or Kyshawn George?
Josh Hart plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Kyshawn George 3. For that week alone, start Kyshawn George: 92.0 projected fantasy points to 91.0 for Josh Hart.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 8:57 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number