With the first round of the NBA playoffs nearing completion, proactive fantasy basketball managers are already gathering intelligence for next season's draft.
From pending free agents auditioning for new teams to young talents locking down their roles, playoff performance can provide a revealing microcosm of a player's true potential. These high-pressure games can expose weaknesses or showcase skills that remain hidden during the regular season.
Here are six fantasy basketball players to scout in the playoffs whose performances could significantly impact their fantasy draft position come October. (Statistics as of April 29, 2025)
1. Ty Jerome
(SG, Cleveland Cavaliers)
2024-25 stats: 12.5 PPG, 2.5 RPG
3.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.0 BPG
51.6 FG%, 43.9 3P%, 87.2 FT%
In a contract year, Ty Jerome had by far the best regular season of his career, obliterating his career averages in PPG, field goal percentage, and three-point percentage as one of the most efficient perimeter players in the league. He was pivotal to the East-leading Cavaliers and even earned a finalist nod for Sixth Man of the Year.
In a dominant first-round sweep of the Heat, Jerome stayed hot, averaging 16.3 PPG and 4.8 APG, while converting 10-20 threes. The unrestricted free agent has hinted that he wants to remain in Cleveland next year, but with the Cavaliers capped at offering him around $14 million, he might be playing his way off the team.
If another franchise values him well above that range, Jerome could easily become the lead guard, or at least a starter, elsewhere. Over the course of this Cleveland playoff run, it would be wise to monitor Jerome’s performance both in the clutch and when his responsibilities increase with Donovan Mitchell and/or Darius Garland off the floor. Shining in those moments would bode well for a potentially more prominent role on another team next season.
2. Chet Holmgren
(C, Oklahoma City Thunder)
2024-25 stats: 15.0 PPG, 8.0 RPG
2.0 APG, 0.7 SPG, 2.2 BPG
49.0 FG%, 37.9 3P%, 75.4 FT%
Since being drafted in 2022, Chet Holmgren has at times looked like the best young big man in the league, and at other times looked injury-prone, overmatched physically, and inefficient.
This season has illustrated those ups and downs as the 22-year-old center missed over half the regular season due to a pelvic fracture in November and shot sub-50% from the field in the 32 games he did play. At the same time, his three-point efficiency increased this season and that success has carried over to the playoffs, as he shot 11-26 from distance in a sweep of Memphis. Holmgren is also leading the playoffs in BPM for the second straight year at 2.8.
The next series will be a great test of Holmgren’s star power, as he will face off against one of the two most physical centers in the league in either Ivica Zubac or Nikola Jokic. If Holmgren can hold his own defensively and on the glass while finding more efficient looks inside the arc, he can play himself into the first three rounds of 2025 fantasy drafts.
3. Jonathan Kuminga
(PF, Golden State Warriors)
2024-25 stats: 15.3 PPG, 4.6 RPG
2.2 APG, 0.8 SPG, 0.4 BPG
45.4 FG%, 30.5 3P%, 66.8 FT%
Jonathan Kuminga has had a rough 2024-25, featuring among our eight biggest busts of the season, and has been unable to do much to turn things around in the first round of the playoffs.
Kuminga is not viewed as a fit in Warriors lineups featuring Jimmy Butler, evidenced by head coach Steve Kerr leaving him on the bench in games one and four against the Rockets when Butler was fully available. With Butler out much of game two and all of game three, Kuminga played significant minutes but was unable to resolve the efficiency issues that have plagued him all year, shooting 7-19.
Kuminga is a restricted free agent this offseason and appears unlikely to return due to Golden State’s success without him. The rebuilding Nets have been floated among potential suitors for the 22-year-old still in just his fourth NBA season. If Kuminga does manage to see the floor more this postseason, keep an eye on his efficiency among other key metrics, as the high-flying, high-potential forward could be a great buy-low option in 2025 drafts.
4. Brandin Podziemski
(SG, Golden State Warriors)
2024-25 stats: 11.7 PPG, 5.1 RPG
3.4 APG, 1.1 SPG, 0.2 BPG
44.5 FG%, 37.2 3P%, 75.8 FT%
Unlike his teammate Kuminga, Brandin Podziemski’s play has elevated substantially in the Jimmy Butler era. The second-year shooting guard’s PPG shot up from 9.4 prior to Butler’s arrival to 15.0 since, coinciding with significant bumps to his field goal percentage and three-point percentage.
That success has carried over to the playoffs. After a slow start in the first three games against Houston, Podziemski’s talents were on full display in a critical game four, leading the Warriors in FGM (9) and 3PM (6) in a 26-point performance.
Another name to add to that list: Brandin Podziemski Huge performance in yesterday’s win vs Houston. Has been such an important part of GSW success — high-level shooter, off-ball play, rebounding + connectivity & IQ. Averaging 15.5 PPG, 6 RPG & 3.3 APG (43.8% 3P) post All-Star.
With his well-above-average defensive skill set and emergence as the clear-cut number-three option in Golden State’s offense, Podziemski is in a great spot to continue putting up big numbers. If he has more games like he did Monday night, there is no reason not to target him in the middle rounds of your 2025 draft.
5. Nickeil Alexander-Walker
(SG, Minnesota Timberwolves)
2024-25 stats: 9.4 PPG, 3.2 RPG
2.7 APG, 0.6 SPG, 0.4 BPG
43.8 FG%, 38.1 3P%, 78.0 FT%
Nickeil Alexander-Walker had an up-and-down regular season. The 26-year-old appeared ready to break out in late February with six straight double-digit scoring performances, but regressed in March and finished his season with production and efficiency hovering around his career averages.
The playoffs should be a great barometer for the upcoming free agent as NBA teams and fantasy managers assess his value going into 2025-26. Alexander-Walker is rumored to demand in the range of $20 million per year which would place him among the top 20 earning shooting guards in the league.
However, his postseason play has not been up to that standard. Alexander-Walker has shot just 6-23 in four games against the Lakers and saw his minutes dwindle down to 14 and 12 in games three and four, respectively. His value is being tested in the most critical games of the year and so far, he does not appear worthy of a contract that large or a late-round fantasy selection.
6. Jaden McDaniels
(PF, Minnesota Timberwolves)
2024-25 stats: 12.2 PPG, 5.7 RPG
2.0 APG, 1.3 SPG, 0.9 BPG
47.7 FG%, 33.0 3P%, 81.3 FT%
Jaden McDaniels has been a premier defensive player since entering the league in 2020 and his offense has come along nicely, averaging double-digit scoring each of the past three seasons. McDaniels was especially productive in February, posting 18.5 PPG that month, and his offense has picked up again in the postseason, earning the final spot among our fantasy basketball players to scout in the playoffs.
In the Timberwolves’ three first-round victories over the Lakers so far, McDaniels averaged 23.7 PPG and shot a scorching 65.2 FG%. While Anthony Edwards is clearly Minnesota’s offensive engine, the team does appear to follow McDaniels’ lead, as the offense struggled as a whole in a game two loss in which McDaniels shot just 3-11.
McDaniels’ offensive skill set currently looks the best it ever has and if he continues to post scoring outputs in the 20-30 points range during the most vital stretch of the year, that productivity seems likely to carry over to next season.