SportsEthos 2026 Fantasy Basketball Draft Guide

Mark C’s Dynasty Rankings – December 2025

By Mark C Published December 17, 2025 3 min read

Last Updated on December 17, 2025 12:08 pm by Mike Passador | Published: December 17, 2025

Welcome to my December 2025 dynasty rankings! WOO!

It’s quite the update, as we have close to two months of data on these players. While that still isn’t enough to fully say if statistical gains are going to hold, we’re nearing a point of confidence where we can start to envision new baselines for a majority of players.

It is also an excellent time to get a starting point on rookies and their outputs. Generally, rookies can’t move that far down for me but can certainly shoot up rankings if they have proven themselves. Rookies tend to struggle early and/or see little play time this early into the season, so I don’t want to be too quick in dropping them slots. That said, there are a handful of rookies I’m monitoring who need to show me something soon!

Once again, tiers are a loose guideline. Players within a tier are somewhat close together in my eyes, with factors such as fantasy team state (contending or rebuilding), stat preference, upside, and aging playing a role in stratifying players. Don’t sweat over the actual ranking too much – the general range in which players fall is much more important than the specific ranking. In this version. I’ve also included rank changes to log trends.

I’ve noted the 20 players that have risen into the Top-350 and fallen from the Top-350 below, with their previous rank in parentheses. Note that for formatting reasons, the new players entering the Top-350 have their ranks as “0” in the full rankings.

Player Name – Current Rank (Previous Rank)

Collin Gillespie – 204 (N/A)

Cam Spencer – 228 (N/A)

Jordan Walsh – 229 (N/A)

Daniss Jenkins – 263 (N/A)

Dominick Barlow – 267 (N/A)

Ryan Nembhard – 278 (N/A)

Andre Drummond – 281 (N/A)

Pelle Larsson – 285 (N/A)

Will Richard – 286 (N/A)

Jordan Goodwin – 295 (N/A)

Steven Adams – 298 (N/A)

Nae’qwan Tomlin – 302 (N/A)

Marvin Bagley III – 303 (N/A)

Bryce McGowen – 324 (N/A)

Tyrese Martin – 330 (N/A)

Blake Wesley – 333 (N/A)

Jock Landale – 334 (N/A)

Dru Smith – 335 (N/A)

Kris Murray – 347 (N/A)

Brooks Barnhizer – 349 (N/A)

Brook Lopez – N/A (209)

Chris Paul – N/A (218)

Jaylen Clark – N/A (294)

Caleb Martin – N/A (305)

Nikola Djurišić – N/A (308)

Brandon Clarke – N/A (309)

Ochai Agbaji – N/A (311)

Charles Bassey – N/A (315)

Larry Nance Jr. – N/A (320)

Ben Simmons – N/A (322)

Leonard Miller – N/A (329)

Terry Rozier – N/A (335)

Kelly Olynyk – N/A (338)

Jared Butler – N/A (339)

Tyler Kolek – N/A (341)

Georges Niang – N/A (342)

Max Shulga – N/A (345)

Trey Alexander – N/A (346)

Chaz Lanier – N/A (347)

Karlo Matkovic – N/A (348)

If you have any questions, feel free to ask me on BlueSky, X/Twitter, or on the SportsEthos Premium Discord! Enjoy the rankings below!

Mark C’s FULL Dynasty Category Rankings – December 2025

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Mark C’s FREE Dynasty Category Rankings – December 2025

Rank Player Rank Change Age Team Notes
1 Victor Wembanyama 0 21.9 San Antonio Wembanyama is shifting his shot diet more towards the basket but is still adjusting to how teams defend him in swarms. These are minor nitpicks, as Wembanyma still boasts the highest fanatsy upside of anyone in the league. These are typical growing pains for any young player.
2 Nikola Jokic 0 30.8 Denver Jokic is somehow even more efficient from the field. In my eyes he's the clear best player in redraft leagues. Only age and Wembanyama go against him being the number one dynasty player.
3 Shai Gilgeous-Alexander 0 27.4 Oklahoma City SGA continues to be one of the best isolation, mid-range scorers in the league. He doesn't have the same highs in other categories, but he remains an uber-efficient scoring machine.
4 Luka Doncic 0 26.8 LA Lakers Doncic has been incredible to start the season yet is slumping behind the arc. Imagine how much his production could rise if/when he starts hitting his threes.
5 Cade Cunningham 0 24.2 Detroit Cunningham is shouldering a massive offensive load. The only difference between this year and last is a shooting slump - there is no reason to be worried about Cunningham long-term.
6 Tyrese Maxey 8 25.1 Philadelphia Maxey's insane minutes obviously help his numbers, but he's taken steps forward as a scorer and creator. This rise is justified on that aspect.
7 Anthony Edwards -1 24.4 Minnesota Edwards is basically performing similar as in past years. There is still room for him to round out his passing, but it doesn't feel like an extra leap is coming.
8 Cooper Flagg -1 19.0 Dallas Flagg's start has been hampered by the context of the Mavericks. It seems like the team quickly realized that there should probably be a guard starting next to Flagg, so expect more positive results as Flagg continues to adjust to the game.
9 Jalen Williams 1 24.7 Oklahoma City Ho hum Jalen Williams is back and already looking solid. He's a fantastic all-around building block.
10 Jalen Johnson 9 24.0 Atlanta Johnson continues to grow his on-ball game. Things will shift once Trae Young returns, but Johnson can clearly be a force across almost all fantasy categories.
11 Chet Holmgren -2 23.6 Oklahoma City Holmgren continues to make marginal improvements in his offensive game. He's not popping out as much though as players around this range, but you do get a good breadth of stats.
12 Alperen Sengun 10 23.4 Houston Sengun has been forced to act as the lead offensive initiator for the team, which has worked out beautifully. Hub Sengun should be here to stay, as you cannot put the genie back in the bottle. Look for him to be impactful in assists going forward.
13 Scottie Barnes 4 24.4 Toronto I can't tell if Barnes is elite at anything, but there is still massive fantasy value in being above-average in everything. Barnes has excelled in the up-beat Raptors system.
14 LaMelo Ball -6 24.3 Charlotte I'm going to knock Ball down a peg just based on the nagging injuries. The good news is that when he's played, he's been awesome.
15 Giannis Antetokounmpo -3 31.0 Milwaukee Giannis is a one-man wrecking crew. His rim attempts are staggering, along with ruthless finishing efficiency. His defensive stats are solid too, so you're getting prime Giannis production even at his age. More injuries are starting to creep in for him.
16 Trae Young -5 27.2 Atlanta Before Young went out with injury, his shooting was very much MIA. He's going to need to show me he can score at an acceptable level before I shift hiim back up.
17 Tyrese Haliburton -4 25.8 Indiana Even with modern advances, I am extremely wary of how players look once they recover from Achilles injuries. You won't get any value next year with Haliburton recovering, but with his excellent floor-mapping you should at least get elite assists back once he returns. The scoring is where I am more skeptical.
18 Jayson Tatum 0 27.8 Boston Echoing Haliburton above, I have to be concerned if Tatum's best days are behind him. He is most likely to be effective, but perhaps at an 80-90% level of what we've seen from him.
19 Evan Mobley -4 24.5 Cleveland Mobley's percentages will surely come back up, but he hasn't looked fully comfortable on-ball. Mobley is a solid all-around talent but may lack that extra gear.
20 Amen Thompson -4 22.9 Houston Keep patience with Thompson. Outlier finishing on shots around the basket is the reason for his underperformance, along with depressed defensive stats. No reason to believe these are long-term concerns.
21 Karl-Anthony Towns -1 30.1 New York Towns' shot is in a slump, but that should only be a temporary thing. He is still in his prime with some elite scoring, boards, and treys from your big man spot.
22 Franz Wagner -1 24.3 Orlando As expected, Wagner has taken a small step back in usage with Desmond Bane in the building. He is still a solid source for points and other goodies as he starts beginning his fantasy prime.
23 Donovan Mitchell 5 29.3 Cleveland Mitchell has taken it upon himself to carry the Cleveland offense. The shooting should trickle down some, but that's fine with all the usage he has.
24 Jalen Brunson 2 29.3 New York Brunson has done just as well in a tweaked offensive system. His stats may be a little more narrow than you'd like, but elite points with efficiency and great assists are hard to come by.

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About the Author
Latest Posts
Mark C
After years of playing redraft fantasy basketball leagues with my friends, I branched out to dynasty leagues. As my hunger for competitive leagues grew, I found myself having lengthy conversations in various forums and developing my own thoughts on rookies and veteran players alike. Among the dynasty community, I found a gap in understanding on-court play and valuing transactions properly and thought to myself “I have a lot to say that could help dynasty managers!” I eventually came onto Sports Ethos as the Dynasty Lead, producing Dynasty Fantasy Basketball content such as rankings, rookie profiles, and other sorts of articles to enable managers to make informed decisions on their own squads. I pride myself in marrying on-court NBA and fantasy basketball analysis, giving readers and listeners of my content a holistic knowledge base of not only dynasty basketball projects but also the NBA itself.

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Rank	Player	Rank Change	Age	Team	Notes
1	Victor Wembanyama	0	21.9	San Antonio	Wembanyama is shifting his shot diet more towards the basket but is still adjusting to how teams defend him in swarms. These are minor nitpicks, as Wembanyma still boasts the highest fanatsy upside of anyone in the league. These are typical growing pains for any young player.
2	Nikola Jokic	0	30.8	Denver	Jokic is somehow even more efficient from the field. In my eyes he's the clear best player in redraft leagues. Only age and Wembanyama go against him being the number one dynasty player.
3	Shai Gilgeous-Alexander	0	27.4	Oklahoma City	SGA continues to be one of the best isolation, mid-range scorers in the league. He doesn't have the same highs in other categories, but he remains an uber-efficient scoring machine.
4	Luka Doncic	0	26.8	LA Lakers	Doncic has been incredible to start the season yet is slumping behind the arc. Imagine how much his production could rise if/when he starts hitting his threes.
5	Cade Cunningham	0	24.2	Detroit	Cunningham is shouldering a massive offensive load. The only difference between this year and last is a shooting slump - there is no reason to be worried about Cunningham long-term.
6	Tyrese Maxey	8	25.1	Philadelphia	Maxey's insane minutes obviously help his numbers, but he's taken steps forward as a scorer and creator. This rise is justified on that aspect.
7	Anthony Edwards	-1	24.4	Minnesota	Edwards is basically performing similar as in past years. There is still room for him to round out his passing, but it doesn't feel like an extra leap is coming.
8	Cooper Flagg	-1	19.0	Dallas	Flagg's start has been hampered by the context of the Mavericks. It seems like the team quickly realized that there should probably be a guard starting next to Flagg, so expect more positive results as Flagg continues to adjust to the game.
9	Jalen Williams	1	24.7	Oklahoma City	Ho hum Jalen Williams is back and already looking solid. He's a fantastic all-around building block.
10	Jalen Johnson	9	24.0	Atlanta	Johnson continues to grow his on-ball game. Things will shift once Trae Young returns, but Johnson can clearly be a force across almost all fantasy categories.
11	Chet Holmgren	-2	23.6	Oklahoma City	Holmgren continues to make marginal improvements in his offensive game. He's not popping out as much though as players around this range, but you do get a good breadth of stats.
12	Alperen Sengun	10	23.4	Houston	Sengun has been forced to act as the lead offensive initiator for the team, which has worked out beautifully. Hub Sengun should be here to stay, as you cannot put the genie back in the bottle. Look for him to be impactful in assists going forward.
13	Scottie Barnes	4	24.4	Toronto	I can't tell if Barnes is elite at anything, but there is still massive fantasy value in being above-average in everything. Barnes has excelled in the up-beat Raptors system.
14	LaMelo Ball	-6	24.3	Charlotte	I'm going to knock Ball down a peg just based on the nagging injuries. The good news is that when he's played, he's been awesome.
15	Giannis Antetokounmpo	-3	31.0	Milwaukee	Giannis is a one-man wrecking crew. His rim attempts are staggering, along with ruthless finishing efficiency. His defensive stats are solid too, so you're getting prime Giannis production even at his age. More injuries are starting to creep in for him.
16	Trae Young	-5	27.2	Atlanta	Before Young went out with injury, his shooting was very much MIA. He's going to need to show me he can score at an acceptable level before I shift hiim back up.
17	Tyrese Haliburton	-4	25.8	Indiana	Even with modern advances, I am extremely wary of how players look once they recover from Achilles injuries. You won't get any value next year with Haliburton recovering, but with his excellent floor-mapping you should at least get elite assists back once he returns. The scoring is where I am more skeptical.
18	Jayson Tatum	0	27.8	Boston	Echoing Haliburton above, I have to be concerned if Tatum's best days are behind him. He is most likely to be effective, but perhaps at an 80-90% level of what we've seen from him.
19	Evan Mobley	-4	24.5	Cleveland	Mobley's percentages will surely come back up, but he hasn't looked fully comfortable on-ball. Mobley is a solid all-around talent but may lack that extra gear.
20	Amen Thompson	-4	22.9	Houston	Keep patience with Thompson. Outlier finishing on shots around the basket is the reason for his underperformance, along with depressed defensive stats. No reason to believe these are long-term concerns.
21	Karl-Anthony Towns	-1	30.1	New York	Towns' shot is in a slump, but that should only be a temporary thing. He is still in his prime with some elite scoring, boards, and treys from your big man spot.
22	Franz Wagner	-1	24.3	Orlando	As expected, Wagner has taken a small step back in usage with Desmond Bane in the building. He is still a solid source for points and other goodies as he starts beginning his fantasy prime.
23	Donovan Mitchell	5	29.3	Cleveland	Mitchell has taken it upon himself to carry the Cleveland offense. The shooting should trickle down some, but that's fine with all the usage he has.
24	Jalen Brunson	2	29.3	New York	Brunson has done just as well in a tweaked offensive system. His stats may be a little more narrow than you'd like, but elite points with efficiency and great assists are hard to come by.

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Mark C’s Dynasty Rankings – December 2025

Mark C’s FULL Dynasty Category Rankings – December 2025

Mark C’s FREE Dynasty Category Rankings – December 2025

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