The Olympics, a prestigious international sporting event, serves as a platform for athletes to showcase their skills on a global stage. For fantasy basketball enthusiasts, the impact of the Olympics can be multifaceted:
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Evaluation of player performance
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Monitoring the workload of aging veterans
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Assessment of the lesser-known players who can raise their fantasy stock
Let’s delve into how the Olympics might shape the fantasy basketball landscape, focusing on key players and emerging talents.
The injury and load-management watchlist
NOTE: You won’t see LeBron James here because Father Time is nowhere in sight.
🇺🇲 Joel Embiid
The former MVP played in just 39 regular-season games last season. Hard to believe that playing in the Paris Olympics is the ideal rest and recovery strategy, considering his postseason injuries. Embiid averaged over 59 fantasy points per game last year and is unquestionably one of the best players when healthy; however, the injury concerns are real, and fantasy managers must consider whether it’ll be worth spending a top-five pick on him.
Who knows? Maybe this Olympic run will prepare him better for the regular season. Although history tells us you can’t count on Embiid for at least 20 games a year. I’m praying he plays no more than 15 minutes a game in the Olympics, stops foul-baiting and plays more unselfishly because it’ll bode well for when he returns to the Sixers in a quest to finally make it past the second round of the playoffs.
🇬🇷 Giannis Antetokounmpo
The good news — the Greek Freak is coming off an MVP-like campaign, averaging over 30 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two stocks per game with a 30% usage rate. The bad news is Giannis missed the final three games of the regular season and all of the postseason after sustaining a calf injury. Fortunately, he’s had time to heal and led the Greek men’s basketball team to their first Olympics since 2008.
Calf injuries can be tricky (look at Kevin Durant), so fantasy managers will want to pay close attention to Giannis’ workload in Paris. And it won’t be easy as Greece needs to outlast the “Group of Death” to medal at the 2024 Olympics.
🇨🇦 Jamal Murray
A failed late-season push for the top seed in the Western Conference had the Denver Nuggets gassed once the postseason hit. Murray also wasn’t himself, averaging just 21 points per game on 40% shooting from the field — far below his playoff career marks. Murray dealt with calf and elbow injuries, and while those injuries…