2023-24 Fantasy Basketball Sleepers: Centers
We are less than two weeks away from the start of the 2023-24 NBA season, which means that your fantasy basketball drafts are rapidly approaching if they haven’t occurred for you already!
This week, we went over went over 10 fantasy guards and forwards sleepers. To cap our sleepers series, let’s dive into five sleeper centers that you should keep an eye on ahead of your drafts!
(Disclosure: I used Fantasy Pros’ position designations for these rankings. While there’s plenty of overlap, I looked at centers outside the top 10 to better signify true sleeper candidates.)
Honorable mentions:
- Alperen Sengun, C21
- Jonas Valanciunas, C24
- Daniel Gafford, C35
- Steven Adams, C39
- James Wiseman, C49
- Jaylin Williams, C64
Deandre Ayton, Portland Trail Blazers (C11)
It’s not a secret that there was a strain in the relationship between Ayton and the Phoenix Suns. Even though there wasn’t much drop-off numbers-wise, perhaps new scenery is exactly what he needed to re-ignite Ayton’s fire. Over the last three seasons, he’s averaged 16.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 0.9 blocks on 64.0 percent true-shooting, which suggests he’s still capable of producing quality numbers with good efficiency. He’s averaged a double-double in all five seasons and will be a primary roll threat alongside a fascinating collection of guards in rookie Scoot Henderson, Anfernee Simons and Malcolm Brogdon. There’s a world where the former No. 1 pick becomes a top-7/8 center, similar to where he rested in previous seasons.
Rudy Gobert, Minnesota Timberwolves (C15)
Gobert’s production will likely never reach where it was in his last four years with the Jazz — 15.2 points, 13.6 rebounds and 2.3 blocks — but the 31-year-old big is an excellent source for rebounding, blocks and high efficiency. We only saw a 33-game sample (reg. season + playoffs) of Gobert and Karl-Anthony Towns together last year; in those 665 minutes, Gobert averaged 15.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per 75 possessions (per PBP stats) on 63.3 percent true-shooting. That’s not nothing, especially if you’re looking for a center with a high floor in the middle rounds.
Walker Kessler, Utah Jazz (C22)
Kessler’s sophomore NBA season will be his first as a full-time starter. In 74 games (40 starts) as a rookie, Kessler–who was flipped in the infamous Gobert trade–averaged 9.2 points, 8.4 rebounds and 2.3 blocks on 70.2 percent true-shooting (!!!!) in just 23.0 minutes. But across those 40 starts, those numbers vaulted to 11.5 points, 10.2 rebounds and 2.7 blocks on similar efficiency. If he’s able to maintain that pace over a 60-70-game sample, he’s bound to reach top-15 status fantasy-wise.
Mark Williams, Charlotte Hornets (C29)
Believe it or not, the Charlotte Hornets were a top-10 defense after the All-Star break, and a huge reason for that was Williams. The 7-foot-1 big has battled a thumb injury over the last year, but averaged 11.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks on 64.3 percent true shooting after moving into Charlotte’s starting lineup full-time on Feb. 10. If Williams–who’s the guy at center in Charlotte–carries that momentum into 2023-24, he’s bound to surge up these rankings.
Naz Reid, Timberolves (C48)
Reid should likely be looked at as more of a streaming option to begin the season. But he was uber impactful when Karl-Anthony Towns and Rudy Gobert missed time last year, posting career highs in points (11.5), rebounds (4.9 rpg) and efficiency (61.7 TS%). It’ll be difficult to replicate those exact numbers–which landed him as a top-30 center in 2022-23–but he averaged 23.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and one block per 75 minutes in the 16 combined games that Towns, Gobert and Reid all played in last year. He’ll be the first big off the bench and, on some nights, the starting 4/5 depending on who’s available.
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