Dynasty Roundup, Week 5 (2024-2025)

With the season settling in a month since Opening Night, let's take a look at some of the biggest risers, fallers, and top rookie performances this week.

Storylines of the Week

Who’s on Top?

This week, to the surprise of no one, the Cleveland Cavaliers remain on top of the Eastern Conference at 17-1. The Cavaliers have looked far and away like one of the best teams in the NBA right now, and despite a close loss to the 2nd seed Boston Celtics (14-3), they look like the team to beat going forward. However, the 5th-seeded Miami Heat (7-7) and 6th-seeded Milwaukee Bucks (8-9) have won their respective last 2 and 4 games and are trending upward to make the middle of the Eastern Conference start looking interesting. Perhaps one of the biggest stories of the year has been the Philadelphia 76ers, who are currently 4-13 and sitting at 14th in the East.

As for the Western Conference, it’s becoming a tight race at the top with the Golden State Warriors (12-4), Oklahoma City Thunder (12-4) and Houston Rockets (12-6) all vying for the top seed, while the rest of the Los Angeles Lakers (10-6), Los Angeles Clippers (11-7), Denver Nuggets (9-6) and Memphis Grizzlies (10-7) are fighting tooth and nail to avoid the play-in tournament. The West is a total bloodbath and will force some pretty good teams to even mss the Play-In Tournament.

The Future Is (Not) Now, Grandpa

This week, the top 50 of per-game value via Basketball Monster was full of oldsters turning back the clock. Jimmy Butler (6th overall/35 years old), Brook Lopez (8th overall/36 years old), James Harden (29th overall/35 years old), Al Horford (31st/38 years old), Steph Curry (32nd/36 years old) and Chris Paul (46th/39 years old) all put up big performances to help managers win their weeks. Don’t forget about the often underrated value veterans can give your teams.

Riser of the Week, Week 5: Jalen Williams, Oklahoma City Thunder

From the very beginning of his time at the Oklahoma City Thunder, it’s been clear to anyone watching that Jalen Williams is special. Williams was selected 12th overall in 2022, marking the very first time a Santa Clara player was drafted since Steve Nash in 1996, got his opportunities to shine and coexist with Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, and has completely become a star in his own right.

Well, it seems JDub has so, so much more to show after two superstar-level performances this week that pushed him to the very top of Basketball Monster’s per-game rankings this week. Williams posted 28.5 points, 8.5 rebounds, 7 assists, 3.5 steals and 1 block while shooting 53.1% from the field. Just an unreal all-around week for Williams and, in a time where the Thunder needed him to step up, has looked like an utter superstar and easy shoe-in for an All-NBA spot. Seeing him play a small 5 role has been pretty freaking incredible and it should really leave no doubts about him being a true top 10 dynasty asset.

Week 5 Risers

Brandon Miller, Charlotte Hornets

This week, it was an extremely close battle for the top spot in per-game value between two young stars, Williams and Charlotte Hornets wing Brandon Miller. Williams ultimately came away with it, but not by much with Miller close behind at 2nd. Miller hit all-time highs of 33 points, 7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, 2.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks while shooting 56.1% from the field and 55.8% from 3. Miller broke his career high and scored 38 in a thrilling overtime win over the Detroit Pistons. Expect to see Miller rising into the top 30 and above going forward.

Franz Wagner, Orlando Magic

No Paolo? No problem. The Orlando Magic have been trucking along without their 2022 1st overall pick in large part to their 8th overall pick from 2021. In the 4 games he played this week, Franz Wagner finished as the 9th best fantasy player in per-game value according to Basketball Monster. Wagner averaged 28.3 points, 6.5 rebounds, 8.3 assists and 2.3 steals per game while shooting 49.4% from the field off a whopping 20.4 attempts. The Magic have gone 3-1 last week with no Paolo Banchero.

Jimmy Butler, Miami Heat

Well, just a bit after we declared Jimmy Butler one of the biggest fallers in the early parts of the season, he came back with a veangence as the 6th best player of Week 5. Jimmy Buckets put up a modest 31.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, 5.5 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 65.5% from the field.

Lauri Markkanen, Utah Jazz

Markkanen had some up-and-down games early on and seemed to climb back to his normal level this week. Markkanen finished as the 5th best player in per-game value through 3 games and posting 28.7 points, 7 rebounds, 1.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks while shooting 58.3% from the field. The Jazz have badly needed someone to help right the storm after a rocky start for both Markannen and Utah (the latter of which playing out as intended) and he certainly looks ready to keep rolling.

Tari Eason, Houston Rockets

Tari Eason has quietly emerged as one of Houston’s best players in the midst of Jalen Green and Jabari Smith Jr.’s well-documented declines. Eason’s defensive metrics have been off the charts and looking the part of an All-Defense candidate (and a serious DPOY candidate?), but his fantasy game has been pretty sweet, too. Eason finished 17th overall in per-game value, translating to 11.5 points, 9 rebounds, 1 assist, 3.5 steals, 1 block, and 1 three per game while shooting 44.4% from the field. Pretty special numbers and even more special to see his rise coming on lower usage at 17.8%. To me, Eason is still a great buy at his price now and will be someone I target heavily in dynasty and redraft for the rest of the season.

Jakob Poeltl, Toronto Raptors

Poeltl exploded this week with some huge double-doubles that pushed him to be the 48th best player in fantasy this week. Poeltl dropped averages of 19 points, 15.3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal, and 1.3 blocks on 60.5% shooting from the field. Poeltl has been pretty excellent this season for the Raptors. Unfortunately, he feels like a pretty clear sell-high if you’re able to get higher returns on his recent hits, as it’s likely we’ll see him traded at the deadline with a number of suitors out there for his services.

Andrew Wiggins, Golden State Warriors

Wiggins has struggled with a lot of peaks and valleys in his career. It’s no secret he was geniunely bad and unplayable for stints last season, just removed from being a huge contributor to the Golden State Warriors’ recent title run. Wiggins had a fantastic week where he finished 22nd in per-game value with averages of 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 0.5 steals, and 1 block while shooting 57.6% from the field and 48% from 3.

Ty Jerome, Cleveland Cavaliers

Ty Jerome has seriously emerged as a big-time candidate for 6th Man of the Year and an ultra-efficient scoring machine. To date, Jerome is shooting 59.7% from the field on 7.7 attempts, 54.4% from 3 on 3.2 attempts, and 87.9% on free throws, all while averaging 12.6 points, 2.1 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 1.3 steals. This week, Jerome’s rise into 20+ points per game territory in the Cavs’ 3 games pushed him to 66th in per-game value.

Keon Ellis, Sacramento Kings

Kings HC Mike Brown has been trying a lot of stuff with the Kings’ rotation, some of which heavily excluded Keon Ellis for stretches. Why he did so, I couldn’t tell you. Heck, I had to scrap heavy bits in my notes confused about why Kevin Heurter has been getting priority after the revelation Ellis has become. Thankfully, ixnay to that after this week’s performances. Ellis leaped into the top 100 this week at 86th, posting 14.3 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1 assist, 0.7 steals, and 1.3 blocks on 48% shooting from the field. Ellis went nuclear last Monday, where he dropped a career-high 33 points and made 9 of 15 threes out of nowhere. Just another weapon for the Kings that can be a viable starter or bench player. I’m really looking forward to the havoc him and rookie Devin Carter will wreak on defenses when (if?) Carter returns.

Moussa Diabate, Charlotte Hornets

Despite the Hornets still not winning too many games recently, Diabate has been a huge part of them staying extremely competitive in close losses. After failing to make much of an impact with the Los Angeles Clippers, Diabate carved out a role in Charlotte and has found his way into a starting job with their center position nearly depleted. Diabate finished 173rd, but doing so on only 0.3 points (!!!), 11.3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks while shooting 0% from the field. Yes, you read that right. He didn’t make a single field goal all week, with his only point coming from a free throw. Diabate was 0-8 all week and 1-3 on free throws. It’s kind of impressive he even managed to do this well with being a complete zero in the scoring department. Nonetheless, with Grant Williams tearing his ACL, Mark Williams still being a TBD on when he plays, and Nick Richards likely out for another week (or more), Diabate has a serious role to maintain even as a backup.

Other Risers

Jake LaRavia, Memphis Grizzlies

Jordan Miller, Los Angeles Clippers

Oso Ighodaro, Phoenix Suns

Wendell Moore, Detroit Pistons

Quenton Jackson, Indiana Pacers

Charles Bassey, San Antonio Spurs

Faller of the Week, Week 5: D’Angelo Russell, Los Angeles Lakers

We’ve officially arrived at the cliff for D’Angelo Russell. Russell has been grossly underperforming all year and it reached its head this week, where Russell posted just 7.3 points, 3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 0.7 steals, 0.7 blocks and 2 turnovers while shooting a putrid 25% from the field in 22.4 minutes. This week, Russell finished 214th in per-game fantasy value.

While Russell has been passing the ball well, his shooting struggles continue and it’s clear he is the most expendable of the Lakers’ main rotation at this point. Ironically, the Lakers have been better and winning with his demotion and it seems he will likely be a key piece in any trade they make based on salary alone. How much they get for him at this juncture is a big question there, but it’s clear that Russell is just not a guy they can lean on anymore. Just based off Russell’s history and career to date, it’s likely he could get himself out of this funk and get back to relevancy for redraft purposes, but I don’t know that I see his career getting back on track to be close to a top 100 dynasty asset going forward.

Week 5 Fallers

Jalen Duren, Detoit Pistons

Honestly, I almost put Duren as the Faller of the Week this week if it weren’t for the Pistons’ loss against the Chicago Bulls being so much worse than it looked in the stats. Duren still found a way to finish 132nd in per-game value this week, and considering D’Angelo Russell wasn’t even top 200, I had to go with the latter. Nonetheless, I think we really need to start hitting the panic button on Duren and his upside at this point. It happened all week, most notably in the following games after Chicago where Duren’s minutes remained at low-end starting territory with averages of 9 points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.3 steals, and 1 block on 54.2% from the field. Duren just hasn’t been progressing much as a defender, letting the likes of Nikola Vucevic railroad him on offense and get beat on rebounds by Moussa Diabate. He also just looks like a lousy fit both ways and hasn’t been progressing much where he’s been offensively, clearly looking at the odd man out on any given night with their main starting 5. Quite simply, I just think Isaiah Stewart is the better starter than him at this rate. I am feeling increasingly uneasy about Duren’s chances of being even a long-term top 100 dynasty asset and he’s getting close to being there in my ranks. We’ll see what happens soon when there’s a chance the Pistons could be on the hunt for a new big man.

Jerami Grant, Portland Trail Blazers

It’s been a weird season for a lot of Blazers so far, and Grant’s per-game numbers have dropped dramatically compared to his recent Portland years. Grant dropped out of the top 100 in per-game value at 103, posting only 13.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.7 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.7 blocks while shooting a putrid 39.3% from 3. It’s a tough time to be a Grant owner and it’s unlikely owners are going to net much now or once he’s likely traded anytime between December and the February trade deadline. We just have to hope his role gets better and he and the Blazers get on the same page. This is just unfortunately what HC Chauncey Billups has been doing for everyone.

Grant Williams, Charlotte Hornets

Grant Williams’ stint playing starting center for the Charlotte Hornets didn’t last long after he tore his ACL this week. Williams will likely be out until November 2025 and we’ll hope to see his surgery and rehabilitation go well so he can get back to the court. Nonetheless, this missed time could prove to crater Williams’ value if he ends up buried in the rotation, slow to return and making a lot of money on a tradable contract for the Hornets.

Malcolm Brogdon, Washington Wizards

This past week, Malcolm Brogdon has recovered from offseason injuries and returned to the court, this time with the Wizards. His return pushed rookie guard Bub Carrington out of the starting lineup, and frankly, this has just been a rough look for Brogdon, Carrington, and the Wizards as a whole. Brogdon had a rough week at 163rd overall in per-game value, posting 13.3 points, 4 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and 0.7 steals while shooting 48.4% from the field. I like Brogdon as a veteran contributor, but despite his skills, I don’t think he has ostensibly contributed much to making the team better and I think the team does make more sense when Carrington gets steady minutes. Anyway, we’ll likely continue to see Brogdon on some downward trends until he’s ultimately traded at the deadline when the Wizards have to exile all their vets.

Other Fallers

Jaime Jaquez Jr., Miami Heat

Kevin Huerter, Sacramento Kings

Nickeil Alexander-Walker, Minnesota Timberwolves

Simone Fontecchio, Detroit Pistons

Rookie of the Week, Week 5: Dalton Knecht, Los Angeles Lakers

It’s been quite the week for Knecht, who has absolutely lit the world on fire for the last week and a half. He started building some strong momentum last Wednesday in a 19-point win over the Memphis Grizzlies, followed by 14 points in a win last Friday vs. the San Antonio Spurs, and a 27-point win on the second leg of a back-to-back against the New Orleans Pelicans. It was Tuesday where sparks would really fly in a 37-point thriller against the Utah Jazz. Knecht connected on 9 of 12 threes along with 5 rebounds and a steal.

Despite being projected as a lottery pick and proceeding to fall out of there to the Lakers, many of us in the fantasy basketball and draft community saw Knecht as one of the more pro-ready prospects in this very strange class. While he’s largely been the guy we expected in terms of his role as a 3PT specialist, he’s been red-hot and has much more of a green light to score than I can say I expected, and I liked Knecht fine enough as a late lottery to late tens prospect. That’s not even to mention that, to date, Knecht is now one of the very few 50-40-90 shooters in the NBA (52% FG, 46.1% 3PT, 92.3% FT).

So, where are we at with him in dynasty formats? To be clear, I don’t want to tear Knecht down or try to act like this isn’t a great start. It absolutely is, and I cannot take away an electric run like this. He was a great shooter at Tennessee, and it’s fair to expect a high-level shooter by all measures then is still a high-level shooter now. However, I just have a hard time believing Knecht will stay at these good shooting splits over time. Knecht is very much a momentum shooter in the same line as guys like Luke Kennard or Max Strus, and as we’ve seen in their careers, when it rains, it can certainly pour at times. We see ups and downs just as we’ve seen with Knecht, and I am fully convinced we’re going to see plenty of big pops followed by some drops.

I think it’s also worth noting that, prior to his game on 11/23, Knecht is 35-76 on 3s in the pros in total, and in the last 5 games alone, Knecht is 24-39 (61.5%). That’s insanely elite through the stretch, but it also shows us the fact that Knecht has struggled to shoot it prior, shooting 11-37 (29.7%) before November 13th. It would be incredibly tough to foresee Knecht staying this efficient long-term over the next month or so. I would also argue that, given his athletic profile, skillset and lack of defense he’s showed so far at the collegiate and pro levels, it’s difficult to honestly see Knecht being more than a Strus or Kennard and might peak as an elite 3PT specialist.

Interestingly enough, though, Knecht has yielded pretty stellar value this week and beyond thus far. Just the first part of this week alone (11/18 - 11/2), Knecht is 18th in per game value according to Basketball Monster. I have a very hard time seeing this stick much longer, but hey, the guy’s been deadly accurate and perhaps this bodes well for long-term value on your squad. Is he more likely to be a sell high though? I think so.

Edit, 11/23: Just as I suspected, Knecht did eventually come back down to Earth, coming off the bench, albeit playing good minutes (28), and had 9 ponts, 5 rebounds and an assist while shooting 42.9% (3-7) from the field and 25% (1-4) from 3. Ultimately, Knecht finished at 35th according to Basketball Monster. Pretty good still!

Top Rookies of the Week

Jared McCain, Philadelphia 76ers

No one came particularly close to Knecht’s 35th overall finish this week, but McCain still had a great performance at 85th overall. It wasn’t on quite the hyper-efficiency we’ve seen in weeks past from McCain (43.8% from the field), but 22 points, 2.8 rebounds, 4 assists, and 1 steal is nothing to cringe at. McCain is still looking like the frontrunner to Rookie of the Year to me and will likely remain as such on next week’s rankings check-in.

Jaylen Wells, Memphis Grizzlies

Jaylen Wells hasn’t quite gotten the love he deserves from me recently, but among the many rookies fighting for their spots and trying to make an impact, Wells’ impact has felt very consistent and effortless all year. Wells has given them one of the biggest things they’ve needed in a shooting wing that can give them consistent minutes and play, and done so that in droves. In 3 games, Wells averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 0.7 steals and 0.3 blocks while shooting 58.3% from the field and 47.6% from 3 off 21 attempts, good for finishing 90th overall.

Donovan Clingan, Portland Trail Blazers

Unfortunately, Donovan Clingan is expected to miss the next 2-3 (or potentially more) weeks with an () injury, but he had some solid performances last week that got him just outside the top 100 at 104. Clingan finished with 6.3 points, 11.7 rebounds, 0.7 assists, 1 steal, and 2.3 blocks on 44.4% shooting from the field. Clingan has been a per-minute monster so far, posting those lines on just 20.7 minutes per game. Clingan sits at 104th overall on the week and will look to get back to a strong level when he’s back closer to Christmas.

Jaylon Tyson, Cleveland Cavaliers

With the need to rest a handful of the Cavaliers’ rotation guys from a long stretch of play, Tyson stepped into the starting lineup on Wednesday against the New Orleans Pelicans and gave HC Kenny Atkinson a pretty strong case to earn a long-term role. In that game, Tyson turned in 16 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 7 of 12 from the field and 1-4 on 3s. Pretty darn impressive for a wing. Despite his 3 other performances that all gave him under 10 minutes each, Tyson’s one game was enough to make him the 129th overall player this week in per-game value.

Honorable Mentions

Zaccharie Risacher, Atlanta Hawks (146th overall)

Yves Missi, New Orleans Pelicans (153rd overall)

Tidjane Salaun, Charlotte Hornets (159th overall)

Jonathan Mogbo, Toronto Raptors (160th overall)

Tristan Da Silva, Orlando Magic (171st overall)