Why This Is Bold: Nikola Jokic has an average draft position (ADP) across the industry of 9.3, finished last season as the 11th-ranked player, and would have to beat out at least four of the clear-cut top-six players (Anthony Davis, Karl-Anthony Towns, Stephen Curry, Kevin Durant, James Harden, Giannis Antetokounmpo) to pull this off.
Why This Will Happen: Following the All-Star break last season, Jokic averaged 22.1 points, 1.9 triples, 11.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.2 steals, 1.0 block, and 3.0 turnovers in 34.8 minutes per contest, while shooting 53.5% from the field and 85.5% from the line. Those monster numbers were good enough to make him the 3rd-ranked player in nine-category leagues over that span (26 games), following only Davis and Towns.
We have Jokic projected to finish sixth this year, but at only 23 years of age and coming off a very strong finish to last season, he could very well have an even bigger breakout in him.