Josh Hart or Payton Pritchard? Week 1
Who to start in fantasy basketball in Week 1 (Oct 19-25), SGs ranked 17th and 20th at the position, compared on 2025-26 and 2026-27 per-game production.
Updated Oct 22, 9:54 AM ET. Rechecked every 30 minutes.
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The Week 1 call
Points leagues, Week 1 (Oct 19-25): start Josh Hart. Josh Hart has 2 games counted to 1 for Payton Pritchard, for 60.6 projected fantasy points against 30.3.
9-cat leagues: Payton Pritchard instead, -0.4 category value for the week to -0.8, because his category mix is worth more there.
Josh Hart played 30.3 minutes a game over his last 1 game of 2026-27, in line with his 30.2 on the board.
Payton Pritchard's minutes are down: 27.5 a game over his last 1 game of 2026-27, against 32.1 on the board.
This is the call for one lineup slot across the week, the way weekly-lock leagues play it. In a daily-lineup league, start whichever of the two plays that night, and both when they fit.
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Week 1 (Oct 19-25), side by side
| This week | Josh Hart | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Games, Week 1 | 3 | 2 |
| Games counted (left this week) | 2 | 1 |
| Back-to-backs | 0 | 0 |
| Games, Week 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Minutes, last games | 30.3 (last 1) | 27.5 (last 1) |
| Minutes, board | 30.2 | 32.1 |
| Shots per 36, last games | 11.9 | 11.8 |
| Injury | None listed | None listed |
| Projected fantasy points | 60.6 | 30.3 |
| Projected 9-cat value | -0.8 | -0.4 |
Schedule: Josh Hart Tue PHI, Fri @BOS, Sun ORL. Payton Pritchard Tue @DET, Fri NYK.
Projected totals for the games counted
| Stat | Josh Hart | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 24.3 | 17.0 |
| Rebounds | 14.7 | 4.0 |
| Assists | 9.4 | 4.9 |
| Steals | 2.3 | 0.7 |
| Blocks | 0.6 | 0.1 |
| Threes | 3.1 | 2.6 |
| Turnovers | 3.9 | 1.3 |
Each projection is the board's per-game line times the games counted; a player listed Out counts none. 9-cat value is the per-game category score (z-scores against the top 156) times games. Minutes and shots per 36 come from the last 1 games of 2026-27. Schedule from the NBA's published slate via ESPN.
The season-long call
For the next game, the market-based projection favors Josh Hart: 27.2 fantasy points on Fri, Oct 23 against 26.2 for Payton Pritchard.
Points leagues: Josh Hart, 30.3 fantasy points per game to 30.3.
9-cat leagues: Josh Hart again, 68th overall against 71st.
Josh Hart vs Payton Pritchard: the full comparison, per 36 and by punt build
Per game, side by side
| Stat | Josh Hart | Payton Pritchard |
|---|---|---|
| Fantasy points per game | 30.3 | 30.3 |
| Minutes | 30.2 | 32.1 |
| PointsPTS | 12.1 | 17.0 |
| ReboundsREB | 7.3 | 4.0 |
| AssistsAST | 4.7 | 4.9 |
| StealsSTL | 1.1 | 0.7 |
| BlocksBLK | 0.3 | 0.1 |
| Threes3PM | 1.5 | 2.6 |
| Field goal %FG% | 50.8% | 46.3% |
| Free throw %FT% | 71.5% | 88.6% |
| TurnoversTO | 1.9 | 1.3 |
Bold is the better number. Per-game lines blend last season with this one, the same numbers the rankings use.
Other close calls
Week 1 streamers · NBA waiver wire · Games per team this week
Is Josh Hart playing tonight? · Is Payton Pritchard playing tonight?
Your next move
Common questions
Should I start Josh Hart or Payton Pritchard in Week 1?
Points leagues, Week 1 (Oct 19-25): start Josh Hart. Josh Hart has 2 games counted to 1 for Payton Pritchard, for 60.6 projected fantasy points against 30.3. 9-cat leagues: Payton Pritchard instead, -0.4 category value for the week to -0.8, because his category mix is worth more there. Josh Hart played 30.3 minutes a game over his last 1 game of 2026-27, in line with his 30.2 on the board. Payton Pritchard's minutes are down: 27.5 a game over his last 1 game of 2026-27, against 32.1 on the board.
Who is better for the season, Josh Hart or Payton Pritchard?
For the next game, the market-based projection favors Josh Hart: 27.2 fantasy points on Fri, Oct 23 against 26.2 for Payton Pritchard. Points leagues: Josh Hart, 30.3 fantasy points per game to 30.3. 9-cat leagues: Josh Hart again, 68th overall against 71st.
Who wins more categories, Josh Hart or Payton Pritchard?
Josh Hart is ahead in 4 (rebounds, steals, blocks, field goal percentage); Payton Pritchard in 5 (points, assists, threes, free throw percentage, turnovers), per game.
By the Parlae deskBoard updated Oct 22, 2026 at 9:54 AM ETHow this is builtReport a wrong number