Dec. 21 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Anfernee Simons, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Kyle Kuzma, Russell Westbrook and More

There were a handful of big-time performances in the NBA on Thursday night.

Let’s discuss some of the best outings and some recent numbers for some of these guys.

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Anfernee Simons Leads League in Scoring

Simons went off for 41 points in the Portland Trail Blazers’ loss to the Washington Wizards. He made 15-of-28 shots overall, half of his 14 3-pointers and 4-of-5 from the free throw line.

Simons also had seven assists and four rebounds during the contest. He turned the ball over three times.

It was Simons’ season high in points, although he’s topped 30 points three times previously in just nine games played. 

Simons is 74th on the FantasySP trade value charts because he’s missed so much time this season. He won’t be nearly that cheap if you are looking to acquire him. I’d try to package a couple players and acquire him before he has too many more big scoring nights, otherwise he might become pretty close to untouchable in the near future.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Helps Bucks to Win

Antetokounmpo scored 37 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, dished out six assists and blocked two shots to help the Milwaukee Bucks to a win over the Orlando Magic. He did turn the ball over five times and only made 11-of-25 shots overall - Giannis was 15-of-19 from the free throw line.

Even with Damian Lillard around, Antetokounmpo has also scored over 30 points in 16 contests. He notched his 20th double-double of the year. 

Giannis is fourth on the trade value charts and seems pretty unlikely to ever fall below that mark if he remains healthy. He’s a guy that should be nearly untouchable - unless someone really wants to overpay for him.

Kyle Kuzma Erupts in Winning Effort

Kuzma made half of his 22 shots, including three triples and seven free throws to score 32 points in the Wizards’ win over the Trail Blazers. It was tied for the third-most points this season for Kuzma.

The forward also tallied eight rebounds, six assists and one steal in the contest, while turning the ball over three times. 

Kuzma has scored in double figures every game this season, and now has topped 30 points on five occasions. He’s only failed to reach 20 points on seven occasions.

Kuzma sits 44th on the trade value charts after having an average draft position of 54. I’d say to sell high, but he’s got the chance to keep producing for this not-so-great Wizards team.

SGA Does It All for OKC

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is having a fantastic season, and it continued on Thursday when the Oklahoma City Thunder toppled the Los Angeles Clippers. SGA had 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and two blocks, while committing just one turnover.

These well-rounded efforts are exactly why Gilgeous-Alexander sits sixth on the trade value charts. There’s not many NBA players capable of these kinds of numbers, and SGA does it pretty regularly.

SGA has scored 30+ points 18 times now this season - he’s only had under 20 points twice. He’s tallied over five boards in all but eight contests, only has less than five assists on six occasions, has at least one steal in every game and has recorded a block in 13 of his 25 contests. He simply makes an impact everywhere and should also be pretty close to untouchable.

Russell Westbrook Efficient is Losing Effort

Speaking of the Clippers, Westbrook had a strong showing in the loss. He made 7 of his 12 shots to finish with 15 points. He also grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out four assists, but committed five turnovers.

Westbrook isn’t the scorer he once was, but he stuffs the stat sheet enough to still be a pretty solid fantasy asset. He’s got five double-doubles this season despite failing to reach 20 minutes played in 10 of his 28 games.

Westbrook has scored in double figures 17 times, had five or more boards in 17 contests and had five or more assists 12 times. He’s had a steal in 14 games and a block in 11 contests.

You could package Westbrook (78th on the trade value charts) with another player to land a player a bit higher up on the charts.

Other Notable Performances

Los Angeles Lakers’ Anthony Davis tallied 31 points, eight rebounds, four assists and three blocks in the team’s loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves. 

Memphis Grizzlies' Desmond Bane went for 31 points, seven assists, six rebounds and one steal in the team’s win over the Indiana Pacers.

Franz Wagner recorded 29 points, six assists, six rebounds and one steal in the Magic’s loss to the Bucks.

Detroit Pistons’ Cade Cunningham totaled 28 points, 10 assists, six boards, two steals and a block in the team’s setback to the Utah Jazz.

Portland’s Deandre Ayton tallied 23 points, 16 rebounds, two assists and one block in the loss to the Wizards. 

Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and blocks and one steal in the win over the Lakers.

Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton posted 17 points, 14 assists and four boards in the loss to the Grizzlies. 

Utah’s Kris Dunn ended with 13 points, 10 assists, five boards, two steals and one block in the win over Detroit.

Chicago Bulls’ Andre Drummond recorded 12 points, eight boards, five steals, two blocks and one assist across just 19 minutes in a win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Washington’s Daniel Gafford totaled 16 points, eight boards, six blocks and four steals in the win over Portland.

Orlando’s Cole Anthony tallied 18 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and two steals in the loss to the Bucks.

Washington’s Deni Avdija had 13 points, 11 rebounds, six assists and one steal in the win over Washington.

New Orleans Pelicans’ Trey Murphy III hit six triples to score 28 points in a win over the Cleveland Cavaliers. He also tallied four boards, three assists and one steal and block.

On the other end of the court, Cleveland’s Dean Wade hit six triples of his own on his way to a 20-point outing. Wade also had nine rebounds and two blocks.

Detroit’s Marvin Bagley III was an efficient 10-of-12 overall to score 22 points. He also had five rebounds.

Memphis’ Jaren Jackson Jr. made 8-of-10 shots on his way to 21 points. He also had eight boards and one assist and steal, but turned the ball over a league-high seven times.

Rookie Standouts

Oklahoma City’s Chet Holmgren was pretty easily the top-performing rookie on Thursday. He went for 23 points, seven assists and six rebounds in the win over the Clippers. Holmgren finished 9-of-11 overall, 2-of-3 on his triples and a perfect 3-for-3 on free throws.

San Antonio’s Victor Wembanyama was limited to seven points, five boards and assists, three blocks and two steals across 22 minutes - the rookie is working his way back from an ankle injury. Even though he was held to seven points, Wembanyama showed he can fill the stat sheet in other ways to still be a strong fantasy asset.

Cleveland’s Craig Porter Jr. had 11 assists, three boards and one steal to go along with seven points. It was a new season high in assists for Porter.

Portland’s Duop Reath played just nine minutes, but had 10 points, five rebounds and one block. He committed four fouls in his limited playing time.