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Bruski 150SportsEthos 2026 Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide
Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide 2026: Face-off, Cooper Flagg vs. Jalen Johnson
Last Updated on October 15, 2026 2:45 pm by Mike Passador | Published: October 15, 2026
Our Fantasy Face-Off series will feature two SportsEthos staffers making their arguments in a head-to-head battle of comparable fantasy players.
This edition features two multi-talented young forwards whose best days are still ahead of them, with first-round ADPs befitting their immense skill. It’s the legendary Doctor Steve Alexander standing with Cooper Flagg and Sorin Alexander planting his flag with Jalen Johnson.
Last Season
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | 3PTM | 3PTA | 3PT% | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-26 | DAL | 70 | 70 | 33.5 | 8.0 | 17.1 | 46.8 | 4.0 | 4.9 | 82.7 | 1.0 | 3.5 | 29.5 | 21.0 | 6.7 | 4.5 | 1.2 | 0.9 | 2.3 |
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FGM | FGA | FG% | FTM | FTA | FT% | 3PTM | 3PTA | 3PT% | PTS | REB | AST | STL | BLK | TO |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 25-26 | ATL | 72 | 72 | 35.2 | 8.3 | 17.1 | 48.9 | 4.2 | 5.3 | 78.8 | 1.7 | 4.7 | 35.2 | 22.5 | 10.3 | 7.9 | 1.2 | 0.4 | 3.4 |
| 24-25 | ATL | 36 | 36 | 35.7 | 7.5 | 15.1 | 50.0 | 2.6 | 3.5 | 74.6 | 1.2 | 3.9 | 31.2 | 18.9 | 10.0 | 5.0 | 1.6 | 1.0 | 2.9 |
Flagg looked like a special prospect entering the league and the Mavs were not shy about exploring the depths of his game, giving him a start at PG on opening night. That was a sign of things to come in more ways than one; Flagg had the versatility to do it all on the floor, but the Mavs also had a roster that couldn’t quite allow him to settle into a consistent, optimal role. The silver lining is that Flagg was good no matter what Dallas asked of him. Over the last two months of the campaign he was a top-30 fantasy value behind 23.2 points, 1.0 triples, 7.1 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks per contest, heating up as the Mavs asked him to be less responsible for primary playmaking action. Flagg closed things out with a bang, dropping a 51-point game against Orlando followed by a 45-point game vs. the Lakers in early April en route to the Rookie of the Year award.
Johnson presented some risk at his lofty ADP coming off seasons of 56 and 36 games, but he managed to stay healthy and everything else took care of itself. Trae Young’s run came to a quiet end and the Kristaps Porzingis acquisition ended up doing very little, as the new-look Hawks quickly pivoted to a defense-first team built around Johnson’s versatility. He’s a two-way demon who rose to the challenge of primary scoring duties and rode new personal bests in points, rebounds, assists, 3-pointers and free throw percentage to a top-20 campaign. Johnson managed to do all that despite losses in steals and blocks.
The Case for Cooper Flagg
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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