Eric Karabell Oct 5, 2026, 12:43 PM ET Close Eric Karabell is a senior writer covering fantasy football, baseball and basketball at ESPN. Eric is a charter member of the FSWA Hall of Fame, a BBWAA baseball Hall of Fame voter and author of "The Best Philadelphia Sports Arguments."
Give future Hall of Famer Kawhi Leonard credit for an outstanding 2025-26 season, as he averaged a career-best 27.9 PPG for the LA Clippers at age 34, and then emerged largely unscathed from offseason controversy to earn a new, generous two-year contract with one of his former teams, the Toronto Raptors. Leonard not only carried the Clippers last season, but he finished among the top 10 fantasy options for roto/categories formats on the ESPN Player Rater. Still, this is a player who turned 35 years old this summer, and with a long history of missing myriad games. Thanks to the presence of Scottie Barnes, Leonard's usage in Toronto will precipitously decline. Fantasy picks in the first three rounds should come with some durability and performance assurances. Leonard is too much risk for me.
Welcome to the latest annual "Do Not Draft" list. Here are other players whose ADP doesn't seem to match actual value: LaMelo Ball, PG, Minnesota Timberwolves: He led this list a season ago because he hadn't managed to play in 50 games in any of his past three seasons. Then Ball performed in 72 games last year. Problem solved! Well, not really. The Hornets heavily managed his minutes and his usage. Superstar Anthony Edwards runs the Timberwolves show. Ball is an odd fit, and Round 3 is too early for him. Anthony Davis, C, Washington Wizards: We don't need to waste major time on this one. Davis performed in 71 games during the past two seasons. He is an old 33, with a long history of injuries. Joel Embiid, C, Philadelphia 76ers: This one is all about how soon you must invest to get a player who has missed more than half of Philly's games each of the past three seasons. The 76ers are loaded. They need Embiid healthy for a playoff run, only. Embiid in Round 5 still feels too early.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing