Michael Porter Jr.’s 30.4% usage rate ranked in the top 15 in the NBA for the 2025-26 season.
The 2025-26 regular season of fantasy basketball is officially in the books. Before we get to the final High Score 100 rankings, a couple of housekeeping notes on methodology. First, any player who didn’t suit up for at least 30 regular-season games has been excluded from consideration. That means Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Walker Kessler are all off the board, after their per-game averages fell within the top-100 overall.
Second, the risers and fallers below are limited to players who appeared on both the preseason High Score 100 and the final rankings. That means guys like rookies Kon Knueppel and VJ Edgecombe — both of whom earned spots on the final list after impressive debut seasons — aren’t eligible for the comparison since they weren’t projected inside the top-100 in October. The same goes for players like Collin Gillespie, Isaiah Collier, Ryan Rollins and Saddiq Bey, all of whom cracked the final 100 but weren’t on the preseason radar. Their emergence is a story worth telling — just not this one.
As for the final rankings (down below), here’s what stood out most when you stack preseason expectations against where everyone actually landed.
📈 High Score Risers
| Player | Team | Preseason rank | Final rank | Change |
| Jalen Johnson | ATL | 30 | 6 | +24 |
| Michael Porter Jr. | BKN | 68 | 37 | +31 |
| Keyonte George | UTA | 86 | 28 | +58 |
Keyonte George – G, Utah Jazz
Final ranking: 28th
Preseason: 86th
Rank change: ⬆️ 58
Nobody had a bigger leap in the entire High Score 100 than George. He came into the season 86th in my preseason projections, largely because Isaiah Collier was expected to take a share of the offense early. It didn’t happen that way: Collier got hurt, George got the keys and he never gave ‘em back.
The third-year guard turned into a legitimate top-30 asset — a true breakout that I’ve been staunch about all season, calling him one of the most improved players in the league both in fantasy and in real life. Between his growth as a scorer, his efficiency and 28% usage rate, George was one of the best valued guards of the season.
Michael Porter Jr. – FC, Brooklyn Nets
Final ranking: 37th
Preseason: 68th
Rank change: ⬆️ 31
The move away from Denver’s crowded offensive ecosystem to Brooklyn unlocked MPJ’s upside in fantasy. Sure, the Nets are aiming for a top draft pick, but it didn’t prevent Porter from averaging career-bests in points, rebounds, assists, steals, 3-pointers and free-throw percentage.
He was Brooklyn’s entire offense, and while 68th was the highest I’ve had him ranked in years, I didn’t give his game enough respect. His 30.4% usage rate ranked in the top 15 in the league, and with Brooklyn looking like an undesirable free-agent destination, we’ll likely see this version of MPJ next season. Get ready to pay up!
Jalen Johnson – FC, Atlanta Hawks
Final ranking: 6th
Preseason: 30th
Rank change: ⬆️ 24
Johnson was already on the breakout radar (hence me having him as a third-rounder), but first-round value and sixth overall?! Nah, that was unreal. Johnson’s All-Star campaign is justified, ranking second in triple-doubles this year (13) behind Nikola Jokić. Trae Young getting both hurt and traded stamped Johnson’s fantasy outlook as one of the most versatile stat stuffers this season.
At 23.0 points, 10.4 boards, 8.0 assists with 1.8 stocks per game, he was not only consistent but offered fantasy managers those spike game opportunities to win in High Score.
📉 High Score Fallers
| Player | Team | Preseason rank | Final rank | Change |
| Ivica Zubac | IND | 56 | 83 | -27 |
| Miles Bridges | CHA | 45 | 76 | -31 |
| Zion Williamson | NOP | 13 | 45 | -32 |
Ivica Zubac — FC, Indiana Pacers
Final ranking: 83rd
Preseason: 56th
Rank change: ⬇️ 27
I was pretty high on Zu after he posted the best numbers of his career in 2024-25. He and James Harden formed one of the top assist duos in the league, but I discounted how all of the offseason moves in bringing in Brook Lopez, Bradley Beal (initially) and John Collins might impact Zubac’s role in the offense. What ended up being less of that and more about Zu just not playing as well and Kawhi Leonard morphing back into one of the best players in the league, stunted his progression.
Zu’s numbers were down seven of nine categories while also dealing with injuries before being sent to Indiana at the deadline. That was essentially the end of his season, as he’s played in just three games for the Pacers with a minutes restriction. I’m not totally out on him; playing with Tyrese Haliburton will be a good thing long-term, but that chemistry will take time to build. Unfortunately, this season is pretty much done and fantasy managers who selected Zu fell short of expectations.
Miles Bridges — FC, Charlotte Hornets
Final ranking: 76th
Preseason: 45th
Rank change: ⬇️ 27
The ascent of Brandon Miller and my Rookie of the Year, Kon Knueppel, ate into some of Bridges’ opportunity size this season. I thought the High Score format would boost his fantasy value a bit since you didn’t have to worry about his inconsistent shooting.
However, with fewer touches, it didn’t really matter because his volume was down, resulting in fewer counting stats across the major fantasy categories. Top-50 in retrospect was too rich and I’ll expect to see him as more of a late 70s-80s guy going forward. The Hornets are rightfully prioritizing their younger core.
Zion Williamson – FC, New Orleans Pelicans
Final ranking: 45th
Preseason: 13th
Rank change: ⬇️ -32
Even though he’s on the fallers list, the fact that we’re still seeing Zion play games into March is a W. Still, I aggressively ranked him expecting All-Star-level production, and that didn’t happen. I figured no Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray taking time to rehab and the rookie learning curve would elevate Williamson. The Pelicans’ season took too long to get on track and while Zion’s been solid, he was far from a second-round value, averaging 38.7 fantasy points per game.
Now the question becomes, will Zion be on the Pelicans next season? He’s arguably in the best shape of his life; making it through the end of the season could give a bump to his trade value this summer … but from a fantasy perspective, Zion is more of a top-50 guy than where I gassed him up to in the preseason.
Complete High Score 100 rankings
The High Score 100 is a running reflection of end-of-season performance for the 2025-26 fantasy basketball season
| # | Player | Titus 03/16 |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nikola Jokić
DEN – C
|
1 |
| 2 | Luka Dončić
LAL – PG,SG
|
2 |
| 3 | Cade Cunningham
DET – PG,SG
|
3 |
| 4 | Shai Gilgeous-Alexander
OKC – PG
|
4 |
| 5 | Tyrese Maxey
PHI – PG,SG
|
5 |
| 6 | Jalen Johnson
ATL – PF,SF
|
6 |
| 7 | Victor Wembanyama
SAS – C,PF
|
7 |
| 8 | Giannis Antetokounmpo
MIL – PF,C
|
8 |
| 9 | Donovan Mitchell
CLE – PG,SG
|
9 |
| 10 | Jaylen Brown
BOS – SG,SF
|
10 |
| 11 | James Harden
CLE – PG,SG
|
11 |
| 12 | Kawhi Leonard
LAC – PF,SF
|
12 |
| 13 | Anthony Edwards
MIN – PG,SF,SG
|
13 |
| 14 | Deni Avdija
POR – PF,SF,SG
|
14 |
| 15 | Alperen Sengun
HOU – C,PF
|
15 |
| 16 | Josh Giddey
CHI – PG,SG,SF
|
16 |
| 17 | Jamal Murray
DEN – PG,SG
|
17 |
| 18 | Joel Embiid
PHI – C
|
18 |
| 19 | Scottie Barnes
TOR – C,PF,SF,SG
|
19 |
| 20 | LeBron James
LAL – SF,PF
|
20 |
| 21 | Kevin Durant
HOU – PF,SF,SG
|
21 |
| 22 | Jalen Brunson
NYK – PG
|
22 |
| 23 | Kevin Porter Jr.
MIL – PG,SG
|
23 |
| 24 | Devin Booker
PHO – PG,SG
|
24 |
| 25 | Stephen Curry
GSW – PG
|
25 |
| 26 | Paolo Banchero
ORL – C,PF,SF
|
26 |
| 27 | Austin Reaves
LAL – PG,SF,SG
|
27 |
| 28 | Keyonte George
UTH – PG,SG
|
28 |
| 29 | Pascal Siakam
IND – C,PF,SF
|
29 |
| 30 | LaMelo Ball
CHA – PG,SG
|
30 |
| 31 | Amen Thompson
HOU – PF,PG,SF,SG
|
31 |
| 32 | Lauri Markkanen
UTH – SF,PF
|
32 |
| 33 | Karl-Anthony Towns
NYK – PF,C
|
33 |
| 34 | Julius Randle
MIN – C,PF
|
34 |
| 35 | Evan Mobley
CLE – PF,C
|
35 |
| 36 | Cooper Flagg
DAL – PF,PG,SF,SG
|
36 |
| 37 | Michael Porter Jr.
BKN – SF,PF
|
37 |
| 38 | Bam Adebayo
MIA – C,PF
|
38 |
| 39 | Derrick White
BOS – PG,SG
|
39 |
| 40 | Trey Murphy III
NOR – PF,SF,SG
|
40 |
| 41 | Stephon Castle
SAS – PG,SG
|
41 |
| 42 | Jimmy Butler III
GSW – PF,SF,SG
|
42 |
| 43 | De’Aaron Fox
SAS – PG,SG
|
43 |
| 44 | Brandon Ingram
TOR – SG,SF,PF
|
44 |
| 45 | Zion Williamson
NOR – C,PF,SF
|
45 |
| 46 | Russell Westbrook III
SAC – PG,SG
|
46 |
| 47 | Ryan Rollins
MIL – PG,SG
|
47 |
| 48 | Jalen Duren
DET – C
|
48 |
| 49 | Brandon Miller
CHA – PF,SF,SG
|
49 |
| 50 | Alex Sarr
WAS – C
|
50 |
| 51 | Desmond Bane
ORL – SG,SF
|
51 |
| 52 | Immanuel Quickley
TOR – PG,SG
|
52 |
| 53 | Andrew Nembhard
IND – PG,SG
|
53 |
| 54 | Chet Holmgren
OKC – PF,C
|
54 |
| 55 | Dyson Daniels
ATL – PG,SF,SG
|
55 |
| 56 | Onyeka Okongwu
ATL – C,PF
|
56 |
| 57 | Jrue Holiday
POR – PG,SG
|
57 |
| 58 | Darius Garland
LAC – PG
|
58 |
| 61 | Jalen Suggs
ORL – PG,SG
|
61 |
| 62 | Nickeil Alexander-Walker
ATL – PG,SF,SG
|
62 |
| 63 | Norman Powell
MIA – SG,SF
|
63 |
| 64 | Shaedon Sharpe
POR – PG,SF,SG
|
64 |
| 65 | VJ Edgecombe
PHI – PG,SG
|
65 |
| 66 | Nikola Vučević
BOS – C
|
66 |
| 67 | Kyshawn George
WAS – PF,SF,SG
|
67 |
| 68 | Donovan Clingan
POR – C
|
68 |
| 69 | RJ Barrett
TOR – PF,SF,SG
|
69 |
| 70 | Kon Knueppel
CHA – SF,SG
|
70 |
| 71 | Payton Pritchard
BOS – PG
|
71 |
| 72 | DeMar DeRozan
SAC – PF,SF
|
72 |
| 73 | Grayson Allen
PHO – PG,SF,SG
|
73 |
| 74 | Josh Hart
NYK – PF,SF,SG
|
74 |
| 75 | OG Anunoby
NYK – SF,PF
|
75 |
| 76 | Miles Bridges
CHA – SF,PF
|
76 |
| 77 | Jarrett Allen
CLE – C
|
77 |
| 78 | Mikal Bridges
NYK – PF,SF,SG
|
78 |
| 79 | Anthony Black
ORL – PG,SG,SF
|
79 |
| 80 | Jaime Jaquez Jr.
MIA – PF,SF,SG
|
80 |
| 81 | CJ McCollum
ATL – PG,SG
|
81 |
| 82 | Andrew Wiggins
MIA – PF,SF,SG
|
82 |
| 83 | Ivica Zubac
IND – C
|
83 |
| 84 | Rudy Gobert
MIN – C
|
84 |
| 85 | Isaiah Collier
UTH – PG,SG
|
85 |
| 86 | Nic Claxton
BKN – C
|
86 |
| 87 | Matas Buzelis
CHI – SF,PF
|
87 |
| 88 | Bennedict Mathurin
LAC – SG,SF
|
88 |
| 89 | Dillon Brooks
PHO – PF,SF,SG
|
89 |
| 90 | Derik Queen
NOR – C,PF
|
90 |
| 91 | Coby White
CHA – PG,SG
|
91 |
| 92 | Isaiah Hartenstein
OKC – C
|
92 |
| 93 | Collin Gillespie
PHO – PG,SG
|
93 |
| 94 | P.J. Washington Jr.
DAL – C,PF,SF
|
94 |
| 95 | Santi Aldama
MEM – C,PF,SF
|
95 |
| 96 | Jabari Smith Jr.
HOU – C,PF,SF
|
96 |
| 97 | Tre Jones
CHI – PG,SG
|
97 |
| 98 | Saddiq Bey
NOR – SF,PF
|
98 |
| 99 | Donte DiVincenzo
MIN – PG,SG
|
99 |
| 100 | Jerami Grant
POR – SF,PF
|
100 |
