The Nets’ Michael Porter Jr. is averaging over 51 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks.
The High Score 100 — the top 100 players in Yahoo’s newest fantasy basketball format — is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production. Each weekly update captures who’s actually delivering value and who’s fading.
Here’s a breakdown of the biggest risers and fallers through the 12th week of fantasy basketball — with the complete High Score 100 at the bottom of the article. I’ll be updating my rankings every Tuesday throughout the fantasy basketball season.
The Risers: Breakthrough players shining
Trey Murphy III – FC, New Orleans Pelicans
43rd overall (⬆️ 10)
Murphy has been going off since the flip of the calendar, averaging 31.3 points, 7 rebounds and 4.5 assists in his last four games. He was a top-10 player in Week 12, posting 51.9 fantasy points per game and a High Score of 63.
Opposing teams interested in Murphy will have to pay a hefty price in real life and fantasy because he’s on a heater right now, and his value couldn’t be higher. For the year, Murphy ranks 48th, but I’m bumping him up a bit higher now that he’s been playing more aggressively while flirting with becoming the 1A option in New Orleans.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker – G/FC, Atlanta Hawks
65th overall (⬆️ 9)
Trae Young has been traded to Washington, enhancing NAW’s ceiling for the rest of the season. Walker has provided fantasy managers with 50+ fantasy points in High Score over the past two weeks as he continues to deliver a mix of points, rebounds, assists and steals. He’s enjoying a career year, averaging more than 20 points per game, and with Trae gone, he’ll continue to play north of 33 minutes per night. His rise from 74 to 65 is driven by his recent performance (top-50 over the last two weeks) and the trade, which secured his minutes and role moving forward.
Michael Porter Jr. – FC, Brooklyn Nets
31st overall (⬆️ 8)
MPJ is too successful to be considered a Most Improved Player, but the numbers he’s putting up in Brooklyn are getting out of hand. Porter is averaging over 51 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks, ranking in the top-12 in High Score. The former Nugget is making a strong case for his first All-Star bid with career-highs in points, rebounds and assists. He’s the hub of Brooklyn’s offense, and it shows by his bump in scoring from 18.2 to 25.9 this year, along with his underrated playmaking.
Teams have been calling about MPJ’s availability ahead of the trade deadline and the Nets could fetch a decent return for him given the way he’s playing. However, for fantasy, managers will want him to stay in BK, where he’ll continue seeing a 30% usage rate and shoot any shot he wants. He could legitimately finish as a top-25 player.
Fallers — Vets hitting an atypical wall
Bam Adebayo – FC, Miami Heat
69th overall (⬇️ 11)
Welcome back, Bam. It’s his second consecutive week on the fallers list because his offense is nowhere to be found. Bam’s slide continues as the Heat stagger through January with a 2-4 record through Monday. He’s been playing poorly since he went out with a back injury in Week 10. Unfortunately for fantasy managers, it looks like he doesn’t have the same lift or burst that we’re used to seeing. He’s also a guy who doesn’t make excuses and plays through injuries, as seen by him playing in at least 69 games in six of his nine seasons.
It’s your choice if you want to weather the storm. It just doesn’t look like Bam is going to turn this around without time off. He hasn’t registered a 40-point fantasy performance in over a month and hasn’t scored 20 in a game since Dec. 15.
Zach LaVine – G/FC, Sacramento Kings
92nd overall (⬇️ 7)
LaVine slips slightly from 85 to 92 as he remains part of the disaster that is the Sacramento Kings. For the season, LaVine ranks 118th in High Score after averaging 30.2 fantasy points per game. I still have him in my top 100 because he’s capable of a spike game each week. Still, it’s getting harder to justify keeping him there because, over his last five games since returning from a nine-game absence, his minutes have been anywhere from 28 to 37 a night. The rotation is a mess — plus, the Kings are actively shopping him, DeMar DeRozan and likely every other vet not named Keegan Murray.
LaVine is still talented, it’s just tricky to extract much value outside of his scoring in an environment like Sacramento.
OG Anunoby – FC, New York Knicks
90th overall (⬇️ 6)
The High Score format kind of shields OG’s inconsistency. While he’s posted 40+ point fantasy outings over the past two weeks, he’s averaging just 31 fantasy points per game over his last seven games. Most fantasy managers need a higher output to win their week. Anunoby is a player who makes for a solid spot start on a lighter slate, but it’s hard to trust him every game knowing that, in a crowded frontcourt, he can post some duds. OG is still in the top 100; I just don’t love the upside in High Score unless another Knicks starter gets injured.
Complete High Score 100 rankings
The High Score 100 is a running reflection of year-to-date performance and trending production.
The top player in High Score (and across all formats), Nikola Jokić, remains out with a hyperextended knee. Even though he’ll be out for multiple weeks, he’s far and away the best fantasy player in High Score. He’s the only player averaging north of 70 fantasy points per game and since his injury isn’t expected to keep him out long term, he should still be the No. 1 overall pick if drafting a team right now.
