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 isn’t the ideal rest and recovery strategy when 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 25 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 that 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 don’t seem to be hampering him now, he hasn’t impressed in the limited minutes he has spent playing for Team Canada.
He’s still looking like a fourth-round pick heading into next year, but he’ll need to come out of the Olympics unscathed as he’s extension-eligible in a contract year.
🇺🇲 Kevin Durant
We’ve yet to see the most prolific scorer in USA Basketball history play in any scrimmages after sustaining a calf injury before the USA Basketball training camp got underway. On the bright side, Durant’s been playing 5-on-5 and is on track to play in Sunday’s group play opener against Serbia. Team USA has kept Durant on ice for a reason, and hopefully, he’ll be as close to 100% as he can get. Some concern is warranted, though.
He’s 35, and before last season, he hadn’t played more than 60 games in a season in five years due to various injuries. Considering his latest ailment is a calf injury, it isn’t great, but Durant is coming off another stellar campaign, averaging 27/6/5 and two stocks with 52/41/85 shooting splits. Just be aware that a long journey to gold could play into some fatigue and load management as next season approaches.
Emerging talent to watch
🇩🇪 Franz Wagner
He got the bag this summer, and Wagner will be the player to watch for Germany as they will likely come out of Group B along with France.
Wagner has improved each of his first three seasons in the league, and after carrying a sixth-round ADP on Yahoo last year, he’s a player I’d expect to improve his draft stock by a round, possibly two, with a strong showing in Paris.
🇨🇦 RJ Barrett
Once Barrett left NYC, he became a different player. He averaged 36 fantasy points per game in Toronto, right around Jaylen Brown and Paul George. His free-throw shooting hurt him in category leagues, but averaging 22/6/4 on 55% shooting made it worthwhile.
Barrett went in the 11th round in drafts last season, and as the second option with Team Canada (and Toronto), if he plays well enough, fantasy managers could pluck him a round or two earlier than we’re used to for 2024-25.
🇨🇦 Andrew Nembhard
Nembhard put himself on the map after averaging 21/4/8 in the Eastern Conference Finals last season. Now that his contract extension is locked in, he’ll play a pivotal role off the bench for Team Canada.
Nembhard has been steady as a nine-point, four-assist guy, but Year 3 is trending to be his best year in the pros. He went undrafted in most leagues last season, but this year, he will be worth a late-rounder.
🇦🇺 Dyson Daniels
Daniels was traded to Atlanta as part of the Dejounte Murray deal, and if he makes noise for the Boomers in Paris, it could be the momentum he needs to make a push for the starting shooting guard spot.
He’s not a good shooter, and his finishing at the rim is suspect, but I liked what I saw from him against France several days ago. He shot 6-for-9 from the field with two 3s. If he keeps that going, with his exceptional defense, he could emerge as a sleeper for fantasy.
🇫🇷 Bilal Coulibaly
First off, happy 20th birthday, Bilal! Secondly, I don’t expect a significant impact from Coulibaly, but he’s in the rotation, having played at least 21 minutes in three of his last five exhibitions.
The Olympics would be a great stage for him to demonstrate his growth offensively from his rookie season and prove worthy of a late-round pick in fantasy drafts. He could be starting next year, so it’s definitely possible.
🇷🇸 Nikola Joviċ
Jović averaged nine points, four rebounds and two assists across 22 minutes per game in 38 starts last season. That’s nothing crazy, but the soon-to-be third-year power forward can make a statement in these Olympic games.
Joviċ missed most of the preparation games due to an ankle injury, but he played against Greece on July 22 and scored 10 points with four boards in 11 minutes. He shot 40% from 3 last year, so his ability to stretch the floor is essential for the Heat after losing Caleb Martin in free agency. Playing with Nikola Jokiċ in the Olympics can only be a positive for his development, so let’s see how he plays and if it’ll put him on the fantasy radar.
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