Desmond Bane

Bane assembled a breakout 2021-22 campaign and was one of the finalists for Most Improved Player. After demonstrating his upside as a shooter as a rookie, Bane took on an expanded offensive role, and his efficiency held firm. Notably, he increased his two-point attempts and added some playmaking responsibilities. Altogether, his increased responsibilities resulted in 18.2 points on shooting splits of 46/44/90, which included 3.0 three-point makes per game. In addition, he tallied 4.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in 29.8 minutes, making him one of the biggest fantasy sleepers. After ranking 157th in per-game fantasy scoring as a rookie, Bane ascended to 29th last season. Encouragingly, that strong play translated to the postseason, where he averaged 18.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists across 35.7 minutes in 12 appearances. Expect Bane to maintain a similar role this year, though, given his age (24) and evident importance to the team, it's fair to expect statistical improvement. He'll fight a bit for touches with Dillon Brooks, who played just 32 games last year due to injury, but Bane's development tracks much better, so he'll likely take priority within the offense.