ESPN's fantasy basketball experts held an 8-team roto league mock draft, and even in the smaller league Cooper Flagg was gone before the end of Round 1. Both Derrick White and Cooper Flagg were picked much higher than in last season's drafts.
Other big takeaways included Derrick White being picked at the end of Round 2 and Stephen Curry falling to pick No. 32. Only four rookies were drafted. The draft featured participants Joe Kaiser, Matt Williams, Steve Alexander, Eric Karabell, Rob Bodenburg, Jim Mc Cormick, Eric Moody and Andre Snellings.
The early rounds were led by Nikola Jokic, who went first overall to Kaiser, followed by Victor Wembanyama, Luka Doncic and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Anthony Edwards, Cade Cunningham and Cooper Flagg rounded out the first round, with Donovan Mitchell taken at pick eight.
The mock also showed how the board developed through later rounds, with Giannis Antetokounmpo, Anthony Davis and Kawhi Leonard going in Round 3, and players like James Harden, Kevin Durant and Devin Booker filling out the middle rounds. Fantasy managers can use these early selections as a benchmark for how the league is valuing top talent this season.
Source: ESPN NBA · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing