Jusuf Nurkić vs Paul George: who to draft in 2026-27
Draft Paul George in both formats: 33.7 fantasy points a game to 33.5 in points leagues, and 33rd against 115th 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
- #62
- 33.5 FP/G, slot 6.02, $16
- 9-cat leagues
- #115
- -1.7 z, slot 10.07, $6
Out (Foot)
- Points leagues
- #60
- 33.7 FP/G, slot 5.12, $16
- 9-cat leagues
- #33
- +1.5 z, slot 3.09, $23
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
The call
Points leagues: draft Paul George. 33.7 fantasy points per game against 33.5, 60th on our board to 62nd.
9-cat leagues: Paul George again, +1.5 in summed z-scores against -1.7 (33rd to 115th).
Category by category, Jusuf Nurkić is ahead in 4 (REB, AST, BLK and FG%) and Paul George in 5 (PTS, STL, 3PM, FT% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, Jusuf Nurkić produces more: 45.6 fantasy points to 39.5, on 26.4 minutes a night against 30.7. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Jusuf Nurkić plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Paul George 2. For that week alone, start Paul George: 67.3 projected fantasy points to 0.0 for Jusuf Nurkić.
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 | Jusuf Nurkić | Paul George |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 33.5 | 33.7 |
| Minutes | 26.4 | 30.7 |
| PointsPTS | 10.9 | 17.3 |
| ReboundsREB | 10.4 | 5.3 |
| AssistsAST | 4.8 | 3.6 |
| StealsSTL | 1.3 | 1.7 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.5 | 0.4 |
| Threes3PM | 0.6 | 2.7 |
| Field goal %FG% | 50.3% | 43.9% |
| Free throw %FT% | 54.9% | 82.0% |
| TurnoversTO | 2.5 | 1.7 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 41 | 37 |
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 | Jusuf Nurkić | Paul George |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 45.6 | 39.5 |
| Points | 14.9 | 20.3 |
| Rebounds | 14.1 | 6.2 |
| Assists | 6.5 | 4.2 |
| Steals | 1.7 | 2.0 |
| Blocks | 0.7 | 0.5 |
| Threes | 0.8 | 3.2 |
| Turnovers | 3.4 | 2.0 |
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 | Jusuf Nurkić | Paul George |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -1.0 | +0.1 |
| ReboundsREB | +2.0 | -0.3 |
| AssistsAST | +0.5 | -0.0 |
| StealsSTL | +0.7 | +1.9 |
| BlocksBLK | -0.3 | -0.5 |
| Threes3PM | -1.1 | +1.1 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | +0.2 | -1.1 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -2.1 | +0.2 |
| TurnoversTO | -0.8 | +0.2 |
| Total | -1.7 | +1.5 |
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: Paul George stays ahead whichever category you give up.
| Punt | Jusuf Nurkić | Paul George |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -0.9 (#102) | +1.3 (#31) |
| REB | -4.3 (#267) | +1.7 (#27) |
| AST | -2.4 (#167) | +1.4 (#29) |
| STL | -2.5 (#164) | -0.4 (#73) |
| BLK | -1.9 (#122) | +2.0 (#25) |
| 3PM | -0.6 (#84) | +0.3 (#53) |
| FG% | -3.0 (#156) | +2.7 (#22) |
| FT% | +0.4 (#51) | +1.2 (#35) |
| TO | -1.1 (#83) | +1.4 (#43) |
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)
- Jusuf Nurkić: 3 games (Wed @MEM, Fri NOP, Sun LAL), listed Out.
- Paul George: 2 games (Tue @DET, Fri NYK).
Recent games
- Jusuf Nurkić: 39.8 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 33.5 on the board.
- Paul George: 38.3 fantasy points a game over his last 10 of 2025-26, against 33.7 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 Jusuf Nurkić or Paul George in 2026-27?
Points leagues: draft Paul George. 33.7 fantasy points per game against 33.5, 60th on our board to 62nd. 9-cat leagues: Paul George again, +1.5 in summed z-scores against -1.7 (33rd to 115th).
Who wins more categories, Jusuf Nurkić or Paul George?
Category by category, Jusuf Nurkić is ahead in 4 (REB, AST, BLK and FG%) and Paul George in 5 (PTS, STL, 3PM, FT% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 1, Jusuf Nurkić or Paul George?
Jusuf Nurkić plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Paul George 2. For that week alone, start Paul George: 67.3 projected fantasy points to 0.0 for Jusuf Nurkić.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number