Dec. 26-28 Fantasy Basketball Takeaways: Cade Cunningham, Victor Wembanyama, Tyrese Haliburton and More

The NBA headlines have ironically been dominated by the dreadful Detroit Pistons’ losing streak, but there’s been plenty of big-time individual performances on the court.

Let’s take a look of some of the best outings over the past three days (Dec. 26-28).

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Thursday’s Biggest Outings

Minnesota Timberwolves’ Anthony Edwards was the NBA’s top scorer on Thursday, scoring 44 points. He was 12-of-23 from the field, 6-of-11 from 3-point land and 14-of-18 on his free throws.

Edwards also tallied four assists, three steals and rebounds and one block, but committed six turnovers. He’s up to 22nd on the FantasySP trade value charts and has established himself as one of the game’s most electric players.

Boston Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis scored 35 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the team’s overtime win over the Pistons. He’s now scored over 20 points in three straight games.

Dallas Mavericks’ Tim Hardaway Jr. had a surprising 32-point showing on Thursday in the team’s loss to the Wolves. Hardaway made five triples on the night and also recorded three rebounds and assists and two steals. He’s currently owned in 68% of leagues, according to our charts, and if he’s going to be playing without Luka Doncic and Kyrie Irving like he did Thursday, Hardaway is probably worth a roster spot for the time being.

Detroit’s Cade Cunningham went for 31 points, nine assists, six rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the losing effort. Despite his team’s losing ways, Cunningham is up to 23rd on the trade value charts and is a big-time fantasy asset.

Boston’s Jayson Tatum recorded 31 points, 10 assists, seven rebounds and five steals in the team’s comeback win. He shot just 11-of-31 from the floor and 2-of-11 from deep. He’s struggled shooting of late, but he’s still scored at least 25 points in each of the last three games, and stuffs the stat sheet in plenty of other ways to be one of the better fantasy options in the league.

San Antonio Spurs’ Victor Wembanyama totaled 30 points, seven blocks and six assists and rebounds in the team’s win over the Portland Trail Blazers. It was Wemby’s third 30-point game of the season, and he showed some of the reasons why he’s such a big fantasy asset with a very well-rounded effort. He’s up to 37th on the trade value charts now.

Denver Nuggets’ Nikola Jokic had a huge triple-double in the team’s win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Jokic was 11-of-11 from the floor on his way to scoring 26 points, and he tallied 14 rebounds and 10 assists to round out the triple-double. 

Indiana Pacers’ Tyrese Haliburton finished with 21 points and 20 assists in the team’s win over the Chicago Bulls.

Los Angeles Lakers’ LeBron James had 17 points and 11 assists in just 24 minutes of action during the team’s win over the Charlotte Hornets.

Wednesday’s Top Performers

Doncic led the league in scoring on Wednesday night, scoring 39 points in the Mavs’ loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers. Luka also had seven boards, six assists and two steals and blocks in the contest.

Doncic’s well-rounded effort shows why he’s currently sitting first in the trade value charts.

Oklahoma City Thunder’s Shai Gilgeous-Alexander tallied 36 points, eight assists, seven boards and two steals and blocks in the team’s win over the New York Knicks. Teammate Jalen Williams added 36 points and three assists in the win. Williams made all five of his 3-pointers.

Milwaukee Bucks’ Giannis Antetokounmpo totaled 32 points, 10 rebounds, eight assists and two blocks in the team’s win over the Brooklyn Nets. He made 10-of-12 shots overall and added 12 points at the free throw line. Khris Middleton went for 27 points and 10 assists for the Bucks.

Phoenix Suns’ Kevin Durant recorded a triple-double in the team’s win over the Houston Rockets. Durant had 27 points, 16 assists and 10 rebounds. Durant sits 13th on the trade value charts and showed he’s still capable of doing it all for his team.

Teammate Eric Gordon made seven 3-pointers to help the Suns past the Rockets. Gordon finished with 27 points and three blocks. He’s owned in just 40% of leagues, and he’s worth adding to see if he can remain hot from deep.

Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen posted 24 points, 23 rebounds and six assists in the team’s loss to the Mavericks. It was his first time over 20 boards this season, and the ninth time he went over 10 rebounds.

Tuesday’s Best Showings

Sacramento Kings’ De'Aaron Fox scored 43 points to lead the NBA in scoring on Tuesday. He also had eight rebounds and four assists, but turned the ball over five times. Fox made seven triples in the contest.

Cunningham was 15-of-21 from the field to finish with 41 points in the Pistons' setback to the Nets. Cunningham also had nine assists, six rebounds and two steals.

SGA went for 34 points, nine assists and six boards in OKC’s win over the Timberwolves. He was 14-of-19 from the floor.

Domantas Sabonis tallied 34 points, 12 rebounds and five assists in the Kings’ loss to the Trail Blazers. He also was 14-of-19 shooting on the night.

Haliburton contributed 33 points, 10 assists and six rebounds in the team’s win over the Rockets. He knocked down seven triples.

Lauri Markkanen made five 3-pointers on his way to scoring 31 points for the Utah Jazz in a win over the Spurs. Markkanen also had 12 rebounds in the game.

Memphis Grizzlies’ Ja Morant went off for 31 points, seven assists, four boards and two blocks in the team’s win over the New Orleans Pelicans. Morant did turn the ball over six times.

Alperen Sengun stuffed the stat sheet and tallied 30 points, 16 rebounds, five assists and four steals in the Rockets’ loss to the Pacers.

Washington Wizards’ Jordan Poole knocked down six 3-pointers on his way to scoring 30 points in a loss to the Orlando Magic. Poole also had three steals and assists in the game.

Chicago Bulls’ Andre Drummond turned back the clock with a 24-point, 25-rebound showing during a win over the Atlanta Hawks. He was 11-of-13 from the floor and also had three steals and two blocks.

Wembanyama led the NBA with five blocks. He also had 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists, but shot just 6-of-15 overall in the Spurs’ loss to the Jazz.

Other Rookie Standouts

Portland’s Duop Reath tallied 25 points and nine rebounds in the team’s win over the Kings on Dec. 26. That same day, Orlando’s Anthony Black posted 23 points, six boards and four steals against the Wizards, OKC’s Chet Holmgren totaled 20 points, five assists and four boards against the Wolves and Portland’s Scoot Henderson had 17 points and 11 assists.

On Dec. 27, Holmgren had 22 points, five boards and four blocks in a win over the Knicks. That same day, Brooklyn’s Jalen Wilson had 21 points and 10 rebounds against Milwaukee and Cleveland’s Craig Porter Jr. had 12 rebounds, nine points, seven assists and three steals against Dallas.

Outside of Wemby’s big game on Dec. 28, Charlotte’s Brandon Miller recorded 17 points against the Lakers, Miami Heat’s Jaime Jaquez Jr. went for 17 points, six assists and five rebounds against the Golden State Warriors and Trayce Jackson-Davis had 10 points and 11 boards for the Warriors.