Welcome back! It’s been a while since we last wrote about the top performers in high-scoring fantasy basketball. This is due to the extended schedule of Week 17 games around the All-Star break. This gives some players the opportunity to play 5-6 games to try and achieve the best score for your lineup.
We now enter the final few games before the fantasy basketball playoffs begin (most commonly Week 21 of the Yahoo Default League). Below we take a look back at the perfect lineup for Week 17.
High-scoring perfect lineup for Week 17.
(Tyler William)
More information about top performers
Cade Cunningham, guard: It still feels weird that Cade isn’t getting more MVP hype this season. Of course, as we enter the final months of the regular season, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander has the Thunder once again at the top of the NBA standings. But Cunningham has the Pistons well ahead of the rest of the Eastern Conference, 5.5 games ahead of the second-place Boston Celtics. It was Cade’s 42-point performance against the Knicks at the Garden that gave Cade the recognition he deserved in the MVP conversation.
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Luka Doncic, guard: Luka has lost MVP status but still has a good chance of winning the 2025-26 NBA scoring title, averaging 32.8 points per game entering Week 18. Doncic scored 38 points, 6 rebounds and 11 assists in a three-point victory over the Clippers last weekend. He has been dealing with a nagging hamstring injury that kept him out of three games before the break. Fortunately, Doncic was strong at the end of a long week.
Nikola Jokic, frontcourt: Clowney hasn’t looked like himself since returning from a knee injury in late January, but he’s back. The Nuggets big man gave us a stat line we were used to seeing early in the season when he was by far the best fantasy asset. He scored 35 points, 20 rebounds, 12 assists and 5 steals, but lost to the Warriors who were missing Stephen Curry. Clowney’s high fantasy points haven’t reached 90+ since Christmas.
Victor Wembanyama, frontcourt: The Spurs have won eight games in a row and are closing in on the Thunder at the top of the Western Conference. When Wemby is aggressive offensively, his ceiling continues to increase. But we’ve also seen what the floor looks like; he’s had a few games with under 40 fantasy points over the past month or so. The Wings put on a stellar performance during the All-Star break before posting 28 points, 15 rebounds, six rebounds and five stocks in last weekend’s win over the Kings.
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Kawhi Leonard, frontcourt: It almost feels bad that Kawhi’s season is going to be wasted on this Clippers team. Since the Thunder own the team’s first-round pick, Los Angeles has no choice but to participate in the play-in round, but the chances of the Clippers making any noise in the playoffs are slim. So we’ll just enjoy this renaissance season from Leonard, who averaged just under 30 points per game in February. He is slowly climbing up the high-scoring rankings and could become a league champion.
Paulo Banchero, Utilities: Banchero joins this list with 26-14-8 and 4 blocks in a loss to the Suns. He’s been one of the most inconsistent players in fantasy basketball this season, considering his struggles with scoring. There were times when Banchero was in the perfect lineup, but it took the forward two overtimes to get past Tyrese Maxey. The Magic have a brutal schedule this week as they face the Lakers, Rockets and Pistons.
