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Royce O'Neale vs Ryan Kalkbrenner: who to start in Week 3

Royce O'Neale plays 3 games in Week 3 (Nov 2-8), Ryan Kalkbrenner 3, an even 55.9 projected fantasy points each. Over the season, Ryan Kalkbrenner leads in both formats: 18.6 fantasy points a game to 18.6, and 175th against 192nd 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 Nov 3, 2:36 AM ET.

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Royce O'Neale
PFSFCHAage 33
Points leagues
#245
18.6 FP/G, slot 21.05
9-cat leagues
#192
-3.6 z, slot 16.12
Points leagues
#244
18.6 FP/G, slot 21.04
9-cat leagues
#175
-3.0 z, slot 15.07

The pick in points and 9-cat leagues.

The call

Points leagues: Ryan Kalkbrenner. 18.6 fantasy points per game against 18.6, 244th on our board to 245th.

9-cat leagues: Ryan Kalkbrenner again, -3.0 in summed z-scores against -3.6 (175th to 192nd).

Category by category, Royce O'Neale is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%) and Ryan Kalkbrenner in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO).

Per 36 minutes, Ryan Kalkbrenner produces more: 34.0 fantasy points to 27.1, on 19.7 minutes a night against 24.8. He does it in fewer minutes, so a bigger role would widen the gap.

Royce O'Neale plays 3 games in Week 3 (Nov 2-8), Ryan Kalkbrenner 3, an even 55.9 projected fantasy points each.

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 gameRoyce O'NealeRyan Kalkbrenner
Fantasy points per game18.618.6
Minutes24.819.7
PointsPTS8.16.4
ReboundsREB4.25.1
AssistsAST1.91.0
StealsSTL0.90.4
BlocksBLK0.41.4
Threes3PM2.20.0
Field goal %FG%40.2%75.2%
Free throw %FT%74.7%73.8%
TurnoversTO1.00.9
Games, 2025-267869

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 36Royce O'NealeRyan Kalkbrenner
Fantasy points27.134.0
Points11.811.8
Rebounds6.09.3
Assists2.71.9
Steals1.30.8
Blocks0.52.5
Threes3.20.0
Turnovers1.41.7

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

CategoryRoyce O'NealeRyan Kalkbrenner
PointsPTS-1.5-1.8
ReboundsREB-0.7-0.3
AssistsAST-1.0-1.4
StealsSTL-0.5-1.7
BlocksBLK-0.7+1.4
Threes3PM+0.5-1.7
Field goal percentageFG%-0.8+1.5
Free throw percentageFT%-0.1-0.3
TurnoversTO+1.2+1.3
Total-3.6-3.0

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 blocks and field goal percentage flips the 9-cat answer to Royce O'Neale.

PuntRoyce O'NealeRyan Kalkbrenner
PTS-2.0 (#171)-1.1 (#116)
REB-2.9 (#188)-2.9 (#187)
AST-2.6 (#183)-1.5 (#125)
STL-3.1 (#192)-1.3 (#110)
BLK-3.1 (#175)-4.7 (#258)
3PM-4.0 (#236)-1.1 (#97)
FG%-2.7 (#153)-4.9 (#249)
FT%-3.4 (#200)-2.5 (#172)
TO-4.9 (#208)-4.5 (#190)

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 438 ranked players.

Week 3 (Nov 2-8)

  • Royce O'Neale: 3 games (Mon DET, Wed @BKN, Fri BOS).
  • Ryan Kalkbrenner: 3 games (Mon DET, Wed @BKN, Fri BOS).

Every team's games this week · Week 3 streamers

Recent games

  • Royce O'Neale: 11.0 fantasy points a game over his last 8 of 2026-27, against 18.6 on the board.
  • Ryan Kalkbrenner: 15.8 fantasy points a game over his last 8 of 2026-27, against 18.6 on the board.

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Other picks at the same spot

NBA fantasy rankings · Draft cheat sheet · Sleepers

Is Royce O'Neale playing tonight? · Is Ryan Kalkbrenner playing tonight?

Rookie cards: Ryan Kalkbrenner

Common questions

  • Who is better for the rest of the 2026-27 season, Royce O'Neale or Ryan Kalkbrenner?

    Points leagues: Ryan Kalkbrenner. 18.6 fantasy points per game against 18.6, 244th on our board to 245th. 9-cat leagues: Ryan Kalkbrenner again, -3.0 in summed z-scores against -3.6 (175th to 192nd).

  • Who wins more categories, Royce O'Neale or Ryan Kalkbrenner?

    Category by category, Royce O'Neale is ahead in 5 (PTS, AST, STL, 3PM and FT%) and Ryan Kalkbrenner in 4 (REB, BLK, FG% and TO).

  • Who should I start in Week 3, Royce O'Neale or Ryan Kalkbrenner?

    Royce O'Neale plays 3 games in Week 3 (Nov 2-8), Ryan Kalkbrenner 3, an even 55.9 projected fantasy points each.

By the Parlae deskBoard updated Nov 3, 2026 at 2:36 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number