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P.J. Washington vs Saddiq Bey: who to start in Week 1

P.J. Washington plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Saddiq Bey 3. For that week alone, start P.J. Washington: 87.5 projected fantasy points to 87.1 for Saddiq Bey. Over the season, P.J. Washington leads in points leagues (29.2 fantasy points a game to 29.0) and Saddiq Bey in 9-cat leagues (79th against 161st). 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.

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P.J. Washington
PFCSFDALage 28
Points leagues
#90
29.2 FP/G, slot 8.06, $10
9-cat leagues
#161
-2.5 z, slot 14.05

The pick in points leagues.

Saddiq Bey
SFPFNOPage 27
Points leagues
#91
29.0 FP/G, slot 8.07, $10
9-cat leagues
#79
-0.8 z, slot 7.07, $11

The pick in 9-cat leagues.

The call

Points leagues: P.J. Washington. 29.2 fantasy points per game against 29.0, 90th on our board to 91st.

9-cat leagues: Saddiq Bey instead, -0.8 in summed z-scores against -2.5 (79th to 161st), because the categories pay for a different mix.

Category by category, P.J. Washington is ahead in 3 (REB, BLK and FG%) and Saddiq Bey in 6 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM, FT% and TO).

Per 36 minutes, Saddiq Bey produces more: 34.9 fantasy points to 33.4, on 29.9 minutes a night against 31.4. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

P.J. Washington plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Saddiq Bey 3. For that week alone, start P.J. Washington: 87.5 projected fantasy points to 87.1 for Saddiq Bey.

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 gameP.J. WashingtonSaddiq Bey
Fantasy points per game29.229.0
Minutes31.429.9
PointsPTS14.117.3
ReboundsREB7.05.3
AssistsAST1.72.3
StealsSTL0.80.8
BlocksBLK1.10.1
Threes3PM1.42.1
Field goal %FG%45.8%45.7%
Free throw %FT%66.1%83.9%
TurnoversTO1.71.1
Games, 2025-265672

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 36P.J. WashingtonSaddiq Bey
Fantasy points33.434.9
Points16.220.8
Rebounds8.16.4
Assists1.92.8
Steals0.91.0
Blocks1.30.2
Threes1.62.6
Turnovers2.01.3

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

CategoryP.J. WashingtonSaddiq Bey
PointsPTS-0.4+0.2
ReboundsREB+0.6-0.2
AssistsAST-1.0-0.6
StealsSTL-0.6-0.5
BlocksBLK+0.9-1.1
Threes3PM-0.3+0.5
Field goal percentageFG%-0.5-0.6
Free throw percentageFT%-1.4+0.5
TurnoversTO+0.2+1.0
Total-2.5-0.8

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 free throw percentage flips the 9-cat answer to P.J. Washington.

PuntP.J. WashingtonSaddiq Bey
PTS-2.2 (#175)-1.1 (#110)
REB-3.5 (#221)-0.7 (#83)
AST-1.6 (#129)-0.3 (#63)
STL-2.0 (#144)-0.4 (#72)
BLK-3.8 (#209)+0.1 (#54)
3PM-2.2 (#151)-1.4 (#110)
FG%-2.6 (#146)-0.3 (#70)
FT%-1.1 (#96)-1.5 (#115)
TO-2.8 (#134)-1.9 (#104)

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)

  • P.J. Washington: 3 games (Wed @HOU, Fri @IND, Sat SAS), 1 back-to-back.
  • Saddiq Bey: 3 games (Wed IND, Fri @UTA, Sat @DEN), 1 back-to-back.

P.J. Washington or Saddiq Bey: the Week 1 start/sit call

Recent games

  • P.J. Washington: 26.4 fantasy points a game over his last 3 of 2026-27, against 29.2 on the board.
  • Saddiq Bey: 22.8 fantasy points a game over his last 3 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 P.J. Washington playing tonight? · Is Saddiq Bey playing tonight?

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, P.J. Washington or Saddiq Bey?

    Points leagues: P.J. Washington. 29.2 fantasy points per game against 29.0, 90th on our board to 91st. 9-cat leagues: Saddiq Bey instead, -0.8 in summed z-scores against -2.5 (79th to 161st), because the categories pay for a different mix.

  • Who wins more categories, P.J. Washington or Saddiq Bey?

    Category by category, P.J. Washington is ahead in 3 (REB, BLK and FG%) and Saddiq Bey in 6 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM, FT% and TO).

  • Who should I start in Week 1, P.J. Washington or Saddiq Bey?

    P.J. Washington plays 3 games in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), Saddiq Bey 3. For that week alone, start P.J. Washington: 87.5 projected fantasy points to 87.1 for Saddiq Bey.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 25, 2026 at 8:28 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number