Naji Marshall vs Precious Achiuwa: who to start in Week 1
Naji Marshall plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Precious Achiuwa 3. For that week alone, start Naji Marshall: 83.9 projected fantasy points to 73.7 for Precious Achiuwa. Over the season, Naji Marshall leads in both formats: 28.0 fantasy points a game to 24.6, and 158th against 159th 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
- #101
- 28.0 FP/G, slot 9.05, $9
- 9-cat leagues
- #158
- -2.5 z, slot 14.02
The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.
- Points leagues
- #139
- 24.6 FP/G, slot 12.07, $4
- 9-cat leagues
- #159
- -2.5 z, slot 14.03
The call
Points leagues: Naji Marshall. 28.0 fantasy points per game against 24.6, 101st on our board to 139th.
9-cat leagues: Naji Marshall again, -2.5 in summed z-scores against -2.5 (158th to 159th).
Category by category, Naji Marshall is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%) and Precious Achiuwa in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO).
Per 36 minutes, Precious Achiuwa produces more: 36.4 fantasy points to 34.5, on 24.3 minutes a night against 29.2. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.
Naji Marshall plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Precious Achiuwa 3. For that week alone, start Naji Marshall: 83.9 projected fantasy points to 73.7 for Precious Achiuwa.
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 | Naji Marshall | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 28.0 | 24.6 |
| Minutes | 29.2 | 24.3 |
| PointsPTS | 15.0 | 10.6 |
| ReboundsREB | 4.5 | 6.6 |
| AssistsAST | 3.7 | 1.4 |
| StealsSTL | 1.2 | 1.0 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.1 | 0.6 |
| Threes3PM | 0.9 | 0.4 |
| Field goal %FG% | 50.6% | 54.2% |
| Free throw %FT% | 73.3% | 59.1% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.7 | 0.9 |
| Games, 2025-26 | 74 | 73 |
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 | Naji Marshall | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points | 34.5 | 36.4 |
| Points | 18.5 | 15.7 |
| Rebounds | 5.5 | 9.8 |
| Assists | 4.5 | 2.1 |
| Steals | 1.5 | 1.5 |
| Blocks | 0.1 | 0.9 |
| Threes | 1.1 | 0.6 |
| Turnovers | 2.1 | 1.3 |
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 | Naji Marshall | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| PointsPTS | -0.2 | -1.0 |
| ReboundsREB | -0.6 | +0.4 |
| AssistsAST | +0.0 | -1.1 |
| StealsSTL | +0.5 | -0.0 |
| BlocksBLK | -1.3 | -0.2 |
| Threes3PM | -0.8 | -1.3 |
| Field goal percentageFG% | +0.4 | +0.8 |
| Free throw percentageFT% | -0.8 | -1.3 |
| TurnoversTO | +0.2 | +1.2 |
| Total | -2.5 | -2.5 |
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
Punting points, assists, steals, threes and free throw percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Precious Achiuwa.
| Punt | Naji Marshall | Precious Achiuwa |
|---|---|---|
| PTS | -2.3 (#186) | -1.5 (#139) |
| REB | -2.2 (#142) | -3.2 (#204) |
| AST | -2.6 (#179) | -1.5 (#122) |
| STL | -3.0 (#184) | -2.6 (#166) |
| BLK | -1.4 (#108) | -2.7 (#156) |
| 3PM | -1.8 (#128) | -1.2 (#103) |
| FG% | -3.5 (#180) | -4.0 (#208) |
| FT% | -1.8 (#128) | -1.2 (#104) |
| TO | -2.8 (#136) | -3.8 (#173) |
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)
- Naji Marshall: 3 games (Wed @HOU, Fri @IND, Sat SAS), 1 back-to-back.
- Precious Achiuwa: 3 games (Wed @LAC, Fri POR, Sun MEM).
Recent games
- Naji Marshall: 29.2 fantasy points a game over his last 3 of 2026-27, against 28.0 on the board.
- Precious Achiuwa: 28.4 fantasy points a game over his last 2 of 2026-27, against 24.6 on the board.
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Other picks at the same spot
NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers
Is Naji Marshall playing tonight? · Is Precious Achiuwa playing tonight?
Common questions
Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Naji Marshall or Precious Achiuwa?
Points leagues: Naji Marshall. 28.0 fantasy points per game against 24.6, 101st on our board to 139th. 9-cat leagues: Naji Marshall again, -2.5 in summed z-scores against -2.5 (158th to 159th).
Who wins more categories, Naji Marshall or Precious Achiuwa?
Category by category, Naji Marshall is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%) and Precious Achiuwa in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO).
Who should I start in Week 1, Naji Marshall or Precious Achiuwa?
Naji Marshall plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Precious Achiuwa 3. For that week alone, start Naji Marshall: 83.9 projected fantasy points to 73.7 for Precious Achiuwa.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 25, 2026 at 2:29 PM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number