Third year players and their fantasy outlook for 2023/24 season

Check out my second year players article here.

In this piece, I'm shedding light on three players entering their third year this season digging into their post-All-Star break performances, and peering ahead to what the upcoming season holds in store. A lot of the chatter will go for the bigger names such as Mobley, Giddey, Barnes etc, rightfully so, and as such I thought I’d take a closer look at three third year players with some intriguing questions around their impact this season that may not be as clear as the big guns.

Jalen Green

23 points 2.3 threes 3.1 rebounds with 3.9 assists

0.8 steals 0.2 blocks 43.4 FG% with 78.2 FT% in 35 minutes a game

Jalen Green can score and we know that. He took some strides in his mid range game, pull up threes, finishing as well as playmaking last year. With VanVleet’s arrival, we assume KPJ will go to the bench, the question would be how much of Jalen Green’s assists potential remains. Can he be the secondary playmaker effectively on the court with VanVleet and arrival of Amen Thompson too? I expect a jump in his FG/FT %’s since third year players tend to do that.

Fantasy outlook: His Yahoo ADP is currently 77, while that may be too high at the moment, that kind of scoring and that kind of upside if he figures out FG/FT is hard to get at that stage of the draft and I don’t mind him in the 90-110 range.

Jonathan Kuminga

13 points 1 three 4.3 rebounds with 2.1 assists

0.9 steals 0.5 blocks 57.2 FG% with 66.7 FT% in 24 minutes a game

Kuminga is younger than some of the lottery picks of 2023 NBA Draft and will enter his third year at the Warriors. He showed massive strides as a perimeter defender and finisher at the rim last year. To me, he also showed some passing chops, especially out of the post. This year, he is going to be the first wing/forward coming off the bench and if a starting forward misses games, he would be first in line.

Fantasy outlook: Worthy of a last round flier, he has the athletic tools to maybe average 13-14 points on good FG and if he improves his rebounding, there is scope as a standard league player.

Jalen Suggs

10.7 points 1.4 threes 3.7 rebounds with 2 assists

1.2 steals 0.6 blocks 40.3 FG% with 79.1 FT% in 24 minutes a game

Suggs in his rookie year was going routinely in the top 100 in drafts. In his second year, he’s shown to already be an elite defender, ranking in the top 10 for defensive playmaking that takes into account steals, blocks, deflections and offensive fouls drawn. This should keep him on the court. However his shooting remains a concern, also his playmaking potential may be capped at the moment with the plethora of primary ball handlers on the Magic team such as Fultz, Black, Anthony. Gary Harris is ahead of him in the depth chart at the SG spot, however with Harris being an expiring contract, there is a chance Suggs can get ahead of him and start this year at some point if he shows out. His fit with Paolo is a bit of a question mark if he doesn’t improve his shooting so thats noteworthy.

Fantasy outlook: 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks is mouthwatering in the minutes he got. In the hope that he can carve out a 30 minute role whether at Orlando or somewhere else this year, he is worth a last round flier.

Hope you enjoyed this piece and insight into some interesting third year players that may not be top of mind for many redraft managers!

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