Fantasy Basketball: Anthony Davis, Giannis among preseason rankings 'misses'

A fun exercise in the aftermath of a fantasy basketball season is to look back on the preseason rankings and figure out which players lived up to the expectations and which ones did not. While some of the "misses" may not affect how a player is viewed for the next season, that isn't the case across the board. Below are some of our misses based on the preseason Top-200 rankings that we released in October.

2026 NBA free agents: LeBron James, Jalen Duren among notable names to watch for fantasy basketball In addition to actual free agents, some player option situations will significantly affect fantasy basketball this summer. Raphielle Johnson , F/C Anthony Davis, Washington Wizards Preseason rank: 6 Even with Davis coming off a 2024-25 season in which he appeared in 51 games, the belief that he could flourish in Dallas led to him being placed within the top-10 of our preseason rankings. To say that things didn't go to plan would be a severe understatement.

Injuries limited Davis to 20 games, all of which were played before the Mavericks traded him to the Wizards. And it would not be until the final week of the regular season that Washington dropped the charade and announced that Davis would not play. Between the injury history and not knowing how he'll fit into a rotation that includes Trae Young , Alex Sarr and Kyshawn George , there's no way that Davis can be ranked this high in the 2026-27 preseason rankings.

F Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks Preseason rank: 5 After appearing in 61 games or more in each of his first 12 seasons, Antetokounmpo played 36 for the Bucks this season. Thanks to two separate calf strains and a knee injury that was the source of much controversy late in the season, he was unable to make good on the first-round expectations. Also, when Giannis was on the floor, his production took a noticeable hit.