Max Christie vs Royce O'Neale: who to start in Week 1
Max Christie plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Royce O'Neale 3. For that week alone, start Royce O'Neale: 61.7 projected fantasy points to 61.5 for Max Christie. Over the season, Royce O'Neale leads in both formats: 20.6 fantasy points a game to 20.5, and 152nd against 190th 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, 8:28 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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- Points leagues
- #198
- 20.5 FP/G, slot 17.06
- 9-cat leagues
- #190
- -3.6 z, slot 16.10
- Points leagues
- #197
- 20.6 FP/G, slot 17.05
- 9-cat leagues
- #152
- -2.4 z, slot 13.08, $1
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
The call
Points leagues: Royce O'Neale. 20.6 fantasy points per game against 20.5, 197th on our board to 198th.
9-cat leagues: Royce O'Neale again, -2.4 in summed z-scores against -3.6 (152nd to 190th).
Category by category, Max Christie is ahead in 2 (PTS and FT%) and Royce O'Neale in 6 (REB, AST, STL, 3PM, FG% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, Royce O'Neale produces more: 28.3 fantasy points to 25.1, on 26.1 minutes a night against 29.4. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Max Christie plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Royce O'Neale 3. For that week alone, start Royce O'Neale: 61.7 projected fantasy points to 61.5 for Max Christie.
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 | Max Christie | Royce O'Neale |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 20.5 | 20.6 |
| Minutes | 29.4 | 26.1 |
| PointsPTS | 11.7 | 9.0 |
| ReboundsREB | 3.4 | 4.4 |
| AssistsAST | 2.0 | 2.2 |
| StealsSTL | 0.6 | 1.0 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| Threes3PM | 2.2 | 2.5 |
| Field goal %FG% | 42.6% | 41.7% |
| Free throw %FT% | 89.9% | 71.1% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.3 | 1.2 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 77 | 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 | Max Christie | Royce O'Neale |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 25.1 | 28.3 |
| Points | 14.3 | 12.3 |
| Rebounds | 4.1 | 6.0 |
| Assists | 2.5 | 3.1 |
| Steals | 0.8 | 1.4 |
| Blocks | 0.5 | 0.5 |
| Threes | 2.7 | 3.4 |
| Turnovers | 1.6 | 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 | Max Christie | Royce O'Neale |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -0.8 | -1.3 |
| ReboundsREB | -1.1 | -0.6 |
| AssistsAST | -0.8 | -0.7 |
| StealsSTL | -1.1 | -0.1 |
| BlocksBLK | -0.6 | -0.6 |
| Threes3PM | +0.5 | +0.9 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | -0.9 | -0.8 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | +0.5 | -0.1 |
| TurnoversTO | +0.7 | +0.9 |
| Total | -3.6 | -2.4 |
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: Royce O'Neale stays ahead whichever category you give up.
| Punt | Max Christie | Royce O'Neale |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -2.8 (#203) | -1.2 (#117) |
| REB | -2.6 (#168) | -1.9 (#130) |
| AST | -2.8 (#186) | -1.8 (#138) |
| STL | -2.6 (#167) | -2.5 (#161) |
| BLK | -3.2 (#178) | -2.0 (#135) |
| 3PM | -4.2 (#234) | -3.3 (#195) |
| FG% | -2.6 (#144) | -1.6 (#106) |
| FT% | -4.1 (#220) | -2.4 (#151) |
| TO | -4.4 (#188) | -3.4 (#155) |
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)
- Max Christie: 3 games (Wed @HOU, Fri @IND, Sat SAS), 1 back-to-back.
- Royce O'Neale: 3 games (Wed @BKN, Fri ATL, Sat MIA), 1 back-to-back.
Recent games
- Max Christie: 19.3 fantasy points a game over his last 3 of 2026-27, against 20.5 on the board.
- Royce O'Neale: 10.1 fantasy points a game over his last 3 of 2026-27, against 20.6 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Max Christie playing tonight? · Is Royce O'Neale playing tonight?
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Max Christie or Royce O'Neale?
Points leagues: Royce O'Neale. 20.6 fantasy points per game against 20.5, 197th on our board to 198th. 9-cat leagues: Royce O'Neale again, -2.4 in summed z-scores against -3.6 (152nd to 190th).
Who wins more categories, Max Christie or Royce O'Neale?
Category by category, Max Christie is ahead in 2 (PTS and FT%) and Royce O'Neale in 6 (REB, AST, STL, 3PM, FG% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 1, Max Christie or Royce O'Neale?
Max Christie plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Royce O'Neale 3. For that week alone, start Royce O'Neale: 61.7 projected fantasy points to 61.5 for Max Christie.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 25, 2026 at 8:28 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number