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Bruski 150SportsEthos 2026 Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide
Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide 2026: Face-off, Amen Thompson vs. Austin Reaves
Last Updated on October 17, 2026 4:06 pm by Keston Paul | Published: October 17, 2026
Our Fantasy Face-Off series will feature two SportsEthos staffers making their arguments in a head-to-head battle of comparable fantasy players.
Amen Thompson and Austin Reaves seem firmly ensconced as second-round picks on most platforms (we know one of them does some weird things but we don’t call names here). While Thompson is the young budding star, Reaves is an ascending star in his prime years. The player archetypes are almost polar opposites, but the production that both can provide is undeniable.
Tim represents Thompson, while Keston is all-in on Reaves.
Last Season
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | 3PTM | 3PTA | 3PT% | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-26 | HOU | 79 | 79 | 37.4 | 7.1 | 13.2 | 53.4 | 3.8 | 4.9 | 77.9 | 0.3 | 1.5 | 21.6 | 18.3 | 7.8 | 5.3 | 1.5 | 0.6 | 2.4 |
| 24-25 | HOU | 69 | 40 | 32.2 | 5.6 | 10.1 | 55.7 | 2.4 | 3.6 | 68.4 | 0.4 | 1.3 | 27.5 | 14.1 | 8.2 | 3.8 | 1.4 | 1.3 | 2.0 |
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | 3PTM | 3PTA | 3PT% | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-26 | LAL | 51 | 45 | 34.5 | 7.3 | 14.9 | 49.0 | 6.3 | 7.3 | 87.1 | 2.3 | 6.4 | 36.0 | 23.3 | 4.7 | 5.5 | 1.1 | 0.4 | 3.0 |
| 24-25 | LAL | 73 | 73 | 34.9 | 6.5 | 14.2 | 46.0 | 4.4 | 5.0 | 87.7 | 2.7 | 7.3 | 37.7 | 20.2 | 4.5 | 5.8 | 1.1 | 0.3 | 2.4 |
Amen Thompson was already a bit of a popular second-round pick last season and got off to a tremendously slow start, but did improve as the season went along. While he lost some production in his defensive areas (especially his blocks), he stepped up to the mantle without Fred VanVleet (ACL) to improve his output in assists, scoring and even took a massive jump from the free-throw line to turn himself from a prior punt-FT% player to one whose percentage at the line was respectable. That all culminated into a No. 32/31 (8-cat/9-cat) finish per game during his 79 appearances in the regular season in 2025-26. With VanVleet now healthy, maybe Thompson can refocus on being a defensive menace, or find a better balance between his growth on offense and his defensive impact.
Austin Reaves has grown exponentially as a player over the past few years from an undrafted impact guy in the rotation to knocking on the door of stardom. With LeBron James off to Philadelphia, Reaves has to be a star No. 2 option for the Lakers alongside Luka Doncic. We have seen flashes of what Reaves can do in recent years when he was forced into the No. 1 or No. 2 role and the ADP this year is showing belief that he has a second-round floor. In 2025-26, Reaves was the No. 21/27 (8-cat/9-cat) performer per game, but a calf issue that persisted through the middle of the season limited him to 51 games. In this case, Reaves started the season well and slowed down through the middle stages. Can he live up to the new pressure?
These are two budding stars in different parts of their career with evolving roles. They offer upside in different areas, so who will you opt for?
The Case for Amen Thompson
We’re breaking down this Face-off from every angle. Want to see who you should take? You’ll need to have an Ethos 360, All-Sport or NBA FantasyPass membership. Click here to learn more and sign up! Premium Access Required
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