The Fantasy Basketball 2025-26 regular season is officially confirmed. Before we arrive at the final High Score 100 ranking, some housekeeping notes on the methodology. First, any player who does not play in at least 30 regular season games will be excluded from consideration. That means Anthony Davis, Ja Morant, Trae Young, Dejounte Murray and Walker Kessler are all left out as their per-game averages have all fallen into the top 100.
Second, the risers and fallers below are limited to players who appear in both the preseason high 100 and the final rankings. That means guys like rookies Kon Knueppel and V.J. Edgecombe — both of whom made the final roster after impressive first seasons — aren’t eligible for comparison because they weren’t ranked in the top 100 in October’s projections. The same goes for players like Collin Gillespie, Isaiah Collier, Ryan Rollins and Saddiq Bey, who all made the final 100 but weren’t on the preseason radar. Their emergence is a story worth telling—but not this one.
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As for the final rankings (below), when you compare preseason expectations to everyone’s actual rankings, it’s the following rankings that stand out the most.
📈 High score risers
|
player |
team |
Preseason rankings |
final ranking |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Jaren Johnson |
ATL |
30 |
6 |
+24 |
|
Michael Porter Jr. |
Buckney |
68 |
37 |
+31 |
|
Keyonte George |
Uta |
86 |
28 |
+58 |
Keyonte George – G, Utah Jazz (Final Rank: No. 28, Preseason: No. 86, Rank Change: ⬆️ 58)
No one in the entire High 100 made a bigger leap than George. He was ranked No. 86 going into the season in my preseason projections, largely because Isaiah Collier was expected to get involved in the offense early. That’s not what happened: Collier was injured and George got the key, which he never gave back to him.
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The third-year guard emerged as a legitimate top-30 asset — a real breakout that I’ve been adamant about all season, calling him one of the most improved players in the league both in fantasy and real life. Judging from his growth as a scorer, efficiency and 28% usage rate, George is one of the most valuable guards this season.
Michael Porter Jr. – FC, Brooklyn Nets (Final Rank: 37th, Preseason: 68th, Rank Change: ⬆️ 31)
Moving from Denver’s crowded offensive ecosystem to Brooklyn unlocks MPJ’s upside in fantasy. Sure, the Nets are struggling, but that hasn’t stopped Porter from averaging career bests in points, rebounds, assists, steals, three-point field goal percentage and free throw shooting.
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He’s the heart of Brooklyn’s offense, and while No. 68 is the highest I’ve ranked him in years, I don’t give his game enough respect. His 30.4% usage rate ranks in the top 15 in the league, and with Brooklyn looking like an unpopular free agent destination, we’ll likely see this version of MPJ next season. Get ready to pay it off!
Jaren Johnson – FC, Atlanta Hawks (Final Rank: 6th, Preseason: 30th, Rank Change: ⬆️ 24)
Johnson is already on the breakout radar (hence my inclusion as a third-rounder), but first-round value versus sixth-rounder? ! No, that’s untrue. Johnson is well-deserved to be selected as an All-Star. He ranks second in triple-doubles this year (13 times), second only to Nikola Jokic. Trae Young’s injury and trade bolstered Johnson’s fantasy prospects as one of the most versatile stat-fillers this season.
He’s averaging 23.0 points, 10.4 rebounds, 8.0 assists and 1.8 assists per game, and he’s not only been a solid performer, but he’s given fantasy managers the chance to win high-scoring peak games.
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📉 High score loser
|
player |
team |
Preseason rankings |
final ranking |
Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Ivica Zubac |
clinical trial |
56 |
83 |
-27 |
|
Miles Bridges |
Chaan |
45 |
76 |
-31 |
|
Zion Williamson |
Nope |
13 |
45 |
-32 |
Ivica Zubac — FC, Indiana Pacers (Final Rank: No. 83, Preseason: No. 56, Rank Change ⬇️ 27)
I’m extremely high on Zu after he posted the best numbers of his career in 2024-25. He and James Harden form one of the top assist duos in the league, but I underestimated how all the offseason moves to bring in Brook Lopez, Bradley Beal (initially), and John Collins might impact Zubac’s role in the offense. Ultimately, it was more of Zu’s poor performance and Kawhi Leonard’s transformation back into one of the best players in the league that hindered his progress.
Zu’s numbers dropped in seven of nine categories before being shipped to Indiana at the deadline while dealing with injuries. This was essentially the end of his season as he only played three games for the Pacers and was on a minutes restriction. It’s not that I don’t like him at all. Playing with Tyrese Haliburton will be a good thing in the long run, but that chemistry will take time to build. Unfortunately, the season is over and the fantasy managers who drafted Zu didn’t live up to expectations.
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Miles Bridges — FC, Charlotte Hornets (Final Rank: No. 76, Preseason: No. 45, Rank Change ⬇️ 27)
The rise of Brandon Miller and my Rookie of the Year Con Knupper have hurt some of Bridges’ chances this season. I think a high-scoring format would increase his fantasy value a little because you wouldn’t have to worry about his inconsistent shooting.
However, with fewer touches, that doesn’t matter as his numbers have dropped, resulting in fewer counting statistics in major fantasy categories. In retrospect, Top 50 is so rich that I expect him to be more of a late 70s to 80s guy in the future. The Hornets have rightly prioritized their young core.
Zion Williamson – FC, New Orleans Pelicans (Final Rank: No. 45, Preseason: No. 13, Rank Change: ⬇️ -32)
The fact that we still got to see Zion play in March despite him being on the undrafted list is a W. Still, I ranked him aggressively, expecting him to perform at an All-Star level, but that didn’t happen. I don’t think Williamson will be improved by Brandon Ingram, Dejounte Murray taking time to rehab and the rookie learning curve. The Pelicans’ season took too long to get on track, and while Zion was solid, he was far from second-round value, averaging 38.7 points per game.
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The question now is, will Zion be with the Pelicans next season? Arguably, he is in the best shape of his life. Getting through the end of the season could boost his trade value this summer… but from a fantasy standpoint, Zion looks like a more top-50 player than I did when I was rooting for him in the preseason.
Complete high score 100 ranking
High Score 100 is a continued reflection of end-of-season performance in the 2025-26 fantasy basketball season