André Snellings’ Ultimate Draft Board

What do you want your team to look like?

This is a question that you should really ask yourself before your draft, and you should enter the draft with an answer in mind. Because the reality is, most of the people in your leagues aren’t going to really go into the draft with much of a plan and will instead just hope for the best.

So if you do come in prepared with an idea about what the talent looks like at different parts of the draft, it will give you an advantage on the competition right from the opening tip.

There are many ways to build a championship-caliber squad, and ultimately you’ll need to come up with the strategy that works best for you. In my experience, I like the old “practice makes perfect” adage, so I like to do mock draft(s) before my real drafts to get a feel for what players should be available.

Will my sleeper picks be there, or does everyone know about them so they go earlier than expected?

Similarly, are there really good players that are just ranked lower than expected in the draft software and thus likely to go later than they should?

Having answers to these kinds of questions beforehand is very valuable when it comes time for your real draft(s).

To that end, here’s a quick look at how drafts have been shaping up so far. Utilizing Average Draft Pick (ADP) data, I’ve gone through and looked at the types of players that are going at different spots in the draft.

Here are some of the players that catch my eye at different spots in different rounds, given their ADP slots.

Note: All listed ADPs are as of Oct. 5.

The foundation

Round 1: Top tier and best of rest

Nikola Jokic is one of the easiest No. 1 overall picks we’ve had in fantasy basketball in awhile. After Jokic, I go Giannis Antetokounmpo and Luka Doncic, in that order, particularly in points leagues. Antetokounmpo finished second to Jokic in fantasy points per game last season, and Doncic still has achievable 30/10/10 potential in any given season. They make a clear top-3 tier.

For the rest of the round, I’m hoping for one of Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum or LaMelo Ball. Embiid has the highest projected per game fantasy scoring average of the trio, less than one FP/G behind Doncic’s projected average. But, Embiid has an injury history that makes him more risky; the 68 games he played last season actually represented a career high.

Tatum is likely the safest…