Top NBA Guards to Target in Fantasy Drafts

The NBA regular season is a few weeks away, and draft rooms are already humming. This year, the sharpest edges in Yahoo Fantasy High Score aren’t in the paint or on the wing. They’re in the backcourt, where price and role have slipped badly out of sync.

Ignore last spring’s noise, and the guard board opens up.

Garland takes the keys in Los Angeles

Darius Garland walks into a Clippers locker room that looks nothing like the one he joined.

James Harden and Ivica Zubac were moved at last season’s deadline. Kawhi Leonard is expected to follow. What’s left is a franchise in transition and a multi-time All-Star suddenly standing at the center of everything they do with the ball.

The résumé is already elite for 9-cat formats. Over the last five seasons, Garland has averaged 20.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.2 steals and 2.6 threes in 33 minutes, shooting 46 percent from the field, 39 percent from deep and 87 percent at the line. That’s a first-round statistical profile hiding in plain sight.

Now layer in the opportunity. When Leonard sat last season, Garland’s numbers spiked: 27.5 points, 2.2 rebounds, 8.5 assists and 1.2 steals per 75 possessions on a 34 percent usage rate. That’s the shape of the role he’s about to inherit full-time.

In High Score, where assists are worth two points apiece, that kind of playmaking doesn’t just help. It tilts matchups.

Dejounte Murray’s comeback gathers speed in New Orleans

Dejounte Murray has spent two years fighting his way back from an Achilles tear. The grind barely showed in his closing stretch.

Across the last two seasons, he played only 45 games while working back to full strength. The question wasn’t who he is. It was whether his body would let him be that player again.

The track record is clear. Since 2021-22, Murray has averaged 20.7 points, 6.2 rebounds, 7.1 assists, 1.7 steals and 1.9 threes. That’s the profile that once made him a Top-25 fantasy pick.

The final 13 games of last season hinted that version is back: 17 points, 5.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.7 steals in about 28 minutes a night. Essentially his five-year production, in six fewer minutes.

He’s still not 30. Modern Achilles recoveries look nothing like they did a decade ago. And in New Orleans, he lands in a backcourt with Jeremiah Fears and Jordan Poole, flanked by scorers like Zion Williamson and Trey Murphy III. The runway is clear for a featured role.

In High Score, those 1.7 steals per game are worth more than five points on their own. That’s a category swing baked into a single box score.

VanVleet’s discount in Houston

Fred VanVleet has lived in the Top-50 for most of his fantasy life. Now he’s hanging around at the back of drafts with a 35-minute starting job waiting for him.

He tore his ACL in September 2025 and has reportedly looked fully healthy since. His long-term production speaks loudly: over the last six seasons, VanVleet has put up 18.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 6.8 assists, 1.7 steals, 0.6 blocks and 3.1 threes per game.

Even if you only trust the Houston sample, the floor is high. Across his two seasons with the Rockets, he’s averaged 15.9 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.9 assists, 1.5 steals and 0.6 blocks on solid efficiency.

Houston’s playoff run exposed how much they missed his steady handle and late-game control. He returns to a roster that already knows it needs him, in a role that doesn’t require projection.

At his current price, that’s theft.

De’Aaron Fox: buried by the narrative, not the numbers

De’Aaron Fox’s draft slot tells the story of San Antonio’s spring, not his own.

Dylan Harper and Stephon Castle lit up the playoffs. Fox, dealing with a significant ankle sprain, never looked like the blur that has defined his career. For a player built on speed, that’s a brutal backdrop.

But the calendar matters. He doesn’t turn 29 until just before Christmas. The ankle heals. The game remains.

Even in what’s being called a “down” season, Fox averaged 18.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.2 steals. Those are strong numbers for a player sitting around pick 85.

His longer body of work points higher. Over the previous six years, he posted 24.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game. That’s the ceiling range managers are effectively ignoring.

Durability backs it up: at least 72 games played in three of the last four seasons. In a High Score format where one explosive night can decide a week, Fox’s upside isn’t just nice to have. It’s a weapon.

Quickley’s Garland-lite profile in Toronto

Immanuel Quickley looks a lot like Garland statistically. The 40-pick gap between them comes down to Toronto’s depth chart.

That’s a manageable concern when you share a floor with a playmaker like Scottie Barnes, who lifts the usage and efficiency of everyone around him, especially his point guard.

Across two full seasons with the Raptors, Quickley has averaged 16.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 2.6 threes. He’s done it efficiently too: nearly 44 percent from the field, 38 percent from three and 84 percent from the line.

He’s logged those numbers in just 30.6 minutes a night. This year, 30 minutes looks more like his floor, with only Jamal Shead and Ja’Kobe Walter behind him in the guard rotation.

Availability is another quiet edge. Quickley has appeared in at least 64 games in five of his six NBA seasons. For fantasy managers tired of patching lineups, that matters.

Scotty Pippen Jr. and Memphis’ open door

Memphis has a vacancy at point guard after trading Ja Morant. The battle is wide open. Scotty Pippen Jr. has made a habit of producing whenever he’s given the job.

Across three seasons with the Grizzlies, Pippen Jr. has averaged 10.6 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.2 threes in 22 minutes per game. Solid numbers for a reserve.

As a starter two years ago, filling in for Morant over 21 games, he elevated his line to 14.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 5.7 assists. Last season, he played only 10 games, but he finished the year in the starting lineup, a quiet hint at the staff’s trust.

The fit is obvious: a guard who can organize, defend and slide next to Memphis’ scoring wings. The price is absurd: a 155 ADP for a player with a clear path to starter’s minutes.

That’s the kind of bet that wins leagues, not just drafts.

Keon Ellis: a defensive specialist waiting to explode in Brooklyn

Keon Ellis sits outside the Top 200, a name most managers will only see in the late rounds or on the waiver wire. That might not last long.

His calling card is defense, and fantasy managers have noticed. Brooklyn might finally give him the minutes to turn that reputation into weekly value. The Nets enter the season with a wide-open guard rotation and a clear opportunity for Ellis to carve out a 30-minute role.

He hasn’t needed that much time to matter. Across his career, he has played just under 20 minutes a game and still produced 1.2 steals and 0.6 blocks. Stretch those numbers out with a bump in playing time, and you have a category specialist who can swing matchups without taking a single high-usage shot.

In High Score, where steals and blocks are worth three points each, that defensive output becomes a cheat code.

The draft room will focus on the names they know. The managers who profit will be the ones who read the depth charts, trust the roles and grab these guards before the rest of the league catches up.