We’ve given you the 2023 fantasy basketball sleepers who could be worth reaching for or grabbing late in your drafts.
Now, it’s time to concentrate on the players who are already names you might know pretty well and how they’re going to make the leap in 2023-24 into some level of stardom.
These are, in most cases, players you will target in the first 100 or so picks. But the hope is, like sleepers, they’ll blast past the draft position they’re taken at and give you a great return.
Let’s run through some of those notable names who could be breakout stars in 2023:
1
SG/SF Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder
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He was a really solid rookie, and now in Year 2, I see him being an awesome two-way threat, with points, assists, and steals coming consistently from him.
2
C Alperen Sengun, Houston Rockets
(AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
You could say last year was a breakout for the big man, but I think there’s more in store with solid scoring and rebounding numbers, plus a smattering of threes, some dimes and solid FG percentage.
3
C Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz
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He flashed some serious big man skills in his first year. He’s going to get more minutes and will swat more shots and grab more rebounds than last year.
4
PG Cade Cunningham, Detroit Pistons
(Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images)
Ignore missing most of last year. He’s going to explode this year, especially with an improved Pistons team around him.
5
PG/SG Jordan Poole, Washington Wizards
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I love taking good players on bad teams, especially ones with a chip on their shoulders after what happened in Golden State. I’m buying HUGE scoring numbers.
6
PG Tyus Jones, Washington Wizards
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See above. He’ll break out on a bad Wizards team.
7
C Onyeka Okongwu, Atlanta Hawks
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This is more a theory: Clint Capela is still around, but I get the feeling he’s going to lose more playing time to Okongwu, who will be great as a center. And then maybe the Hawks deal Capela.
