NBA Fantasy 2024-25: Safest Players to Draft

Everyone loves to find the next sleeper or breakout candidate for fantasy basketball. However, to take a chance on identifying some of those players, you'll need to draft some safer options with a high floor. Let's discuss five such players who are among the safest options in the league heading into this season.

Nikola Jokic, Denver Nuggets

Those who want to draft Jokic must get lucky enough to have either the first or second selection in their league. It comes down to him and Victor Wembanyama for the first pick. Wembanyama has worked his way into the conversation because of his freakish defensive skills, averaging 3.6 blocks and 1.2 steals during his rookie season. While he wasn't efficient from behind the arc, Wembanyama used a heavy volume of attempts to average 1.8 three-pointers per game.

There are plenty of factors that make Jokic one of the safest players to draft in fantasy basketball. He has averaged at least 24.5 points, 10.8 rebounds, 7.9 assists and 1.3 steals in each of the last four seasons. He has also shot 55.7 percent from the field and 82.7 percent from the free-throw line for his career.

Some might say availability is also a skill. That could be one of Jokic's best. He has never played in fewer than 69 games in a season. He has appeared in at least 72 games in eight of his nine seasons in the league.

Anthony Edwards, Minnesota Timberwolves

Edwards is on the Jokic trajectory in terms of his availability. He has played at least 72 games in all four of his seasons in the league. He has even appeared in 79 games in each of the last two seasons. He also averaged at least 35 minutes per game in both of those campaigns.

Edwards has seen his points per game, assists per game and field-goal percentage increase in each season of his career. Last season, he was a multi-category wizard with averages of 25.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.1 assists, 1.3 steals and 2.4 three-pointers per game. Given his hefty usage rate, his 46.1 percent shooting from the field was also a plus for his fantasy value. With Karl-Anthony Towns gone and Julius Randle now the Timberwolves' second-best scoring option, Edwards should continue to have an incredibly high floor.

Bam Adebayo, Miami Heat

Since becoming a regular starter for the Heat, Adebayo has averaged at least 15.9 points and 9.0 rebounds in five straight seasons. He has really come into his own the last three seasons, averaging at least 19.1 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 1.1 steals in each campaign. After playing 75 games two seasons ago, he appeared in 71 games last season.

Adebayo doesn't rack up blocks like a traditional center, averaging 0.9 blocks or fewer in each of the last three seasons. He also provides virtually nothing in terms of three-pointers. However, his career 54.7 percent shooting from the field and 75.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line help to make up for his deficiencies. If the Heat are going to be successful again, it will be firmly on the shoulders of Adebayo and Jimmy Butler. For those who miss out on the top-tier centers, Adebayo can still provide fantasy managers with an incredibly high floor at the position.

Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

Williams is only 23 years old and will be entering his third season in the league. However, he is still a top option for this list. He has stepped right into an integral role for the Thunder, averaging at least 30 minutes in both of his first two seasons in the league. He also played in at least 71 games in both seasons.

Last season was a breakout campaign for Williams. He averaged 19.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.5 three-pointers per game. He was also efficient, shooting 54.0 percent from the field and 81.4 percent from the free-throw line. His biggest improvement came from behind the arc. After converting 35.6 percent of his three-point attempts during his rookie season, Williams shot 42.7 percent from three last season.

The Thunder have their sights set on making a deep run in the playoffs. They added Alex Caruso and Isaiah Hartenstein during the offseason to help them reach that goal. Both should be key depth pieces, but neither player is known for their scoring prowess. After posting a 23.7 percent usage rate last season, Williams should once again be one of the Thunder's top scoring options.

Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

Banchero is another young player who is well worth including in this list. Like Williams, he has been healthy, appearing in at least 72 games in both seasons of his career. Last season, he averaged 35 minutes and played 80 games. That helped him produce averages of 22.6 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 1.5 three-pointers per game.

One of Banchero's biggest downsides in fantasy for his rookie campaign was that he shot only 42.7 percent from the field and 29.8 percent from three. He improved on both of those marks last season, shooting 45.5 percent from the field and 33.9 percent from behind the arc. However, his 72.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line left a lot to be desired, especially with him averaging 7.0 free-throw attempts per game.

After making the playoffs last season, the Magic mostly stood pat during the offseason. They did bring over Kentavious Caldwell-Pope from the Nuggets, but he's not likely to command a lot of shot attempts. For his career, he has a 16.6 percent usage rate. He is also not a great facilitator, averaging 1.8 assists per game for his career. Banchero will have the ball in his hands a ton and get all of the shot attempts he can handle again this season. Expect him to provide plenty of juicy counting stats.