NBA Fantasy Power Rankings Week 20: The Joker Regains the Top Spot

The players listed below had the highest average fantasy points per game last week (minimum of two games played):

#1. Nikola Jokić, Nuggets

Last Week

: 62.3 FP/G

Season Rank

: 1 (63.9 FP/G)     

   

 

Jokić is back in his familiar spot atop the fantasy mountaintop thanks to a stellar four-game week that he capped off just one assist short of three straight triple-doubles. The Nuggets went 2-2 on their road trip, but blame can hardly be laid at the feet of Jokić. The perennial All-Star opened the week with an 18-point, 19-rebound double-double that included four steals against the Pacers on Monday, and he proceeded to go a blistering 19-for-28 from the floor over the next two games against the Bucks and Pistons. Jokić then closed out the prolific stretch with 20 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists, and two steals while shooting 9-for-15 in a marquee showdown with the Celtics at TD Garden on Sunday afternoon.

#2.  Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks

Last Week

: 59.2 FP/G

Season Rank

: 2 (57.0 FP/G)

 

Antetokounmpo led the Bucks to a 2-1 week against a trio of noteworthy Western Conference opponents in the Rockets, Nuggets and Mavericks. In his final game Saturday versus Dallas, Giannis fell just a rebound short of making it three straight double-doubles, a game in which he also finished with nine assists alongside 29 points. Antetokounmpo’s well-rounded line of 28.0 points, 12.7 rebounds, 7.3 assists and 1.3 blocks across the three games were critical in keeping the Bucks just ahead of the Pacers for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference as the calendar flips to the final full month of the regular season.

#3. Tyrese Haliburton, Pacers

Last Week

: 53.6 FP/G

Season Rank

: 30 (40.3 FP/G)

 

Speaking of the Bucks’ conference rival, Haliburton led the way for the Pacers during a four-game week while extending an impressive double-double streak to five games. The hot hand point guard entered the week with persistence throughout, as he shot 62.3% overall, including 60.7% from 3-point range. Haliburton was impressively just as effective as a facilitator and defender, handing out 12.0 assists per contest and accumulating 13 steals during the four-game stretch as well.

#4. Kyrie Irving, Mavericks

Last Week

: 52.1 FP/G

Season Rank:

28 (41.1 FP/G)    

 

Irving has naturally taken on a much larger role since the trade of Luka Dončić, and the immediate extended absence of Anthony Davis. Despite a disappointing 1-2 week for the Mavericks, the veteran guard stood out with a pair of 30-point-plus efforts – his fifth and sixth tallies of at least 30 since the trade of Dončić – and finished the three-game sample with a well-rounded line of 30.3 points (on 24.7 shot attempts), 7.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists, 2.0 steals and 1.3 blocks across a robust 38.7 minutes per contest.

#5. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder

Last Week

: 51.9 FP/G

Season Rank

: 4 (53.8 FP/G)

 

A mainstay in the upper echelon of the fantasy rankings most of the season, Gilgeous-Alexander set the tone for another standout week Monday with a 39-point, 10-rebound double-double versus the Timberwolves that also included eight assists and featured a noteworthy 11-for-20 shooting effort. SGA finished the week with back-to-back 31-point tallies in favorable matchups against the Hawks and Spurs, and he also recorded either two steals or two blocks in each of the last three contests of OKC’s 3-1 stretch.

This Week’s Preview: 

The following players are top fantasy point producers and play at least three games next week with fewer than two matchups against top-10 defenses:

Nikola Jokić, Nuggets (63.9 FP/G) – SAC, PHO, @OKC

Giannis Antetokounmpo, Bucks (57.0 FP/G) – @ATL, DAL, ORL, CLE

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Thunder (53.8 FP/G) – HOU, @MEM, POR, DEN

Luka

Dončić

, Lakers (51.4 FP/G) – NO, NYK, @BOS

Jayson Tatum, Celtics (48.1 FP/G)- POR, PHI, LAL