At this point, chances are good that your NFL fantasy teams are ready to go; you're just waiting for the season to start and for chaos to be unleashed on your roster. In the meantime, let's take another step toward prepping for your NBA fantasy drafts by recognizing some potential breakout stars.
Established superstars will do most of the work for you. But unless everyone else in your league doesn't know what they're doing, you can't have a team stacked with superstars. No, you need a couple of players who haven't blown up yet to realize their full potential and break out.
We think these players may do just that.
Toumani Camara, Portland Trail Blazers
Of course, a big part of any breakout campaign is playing time; it's kind of hard to break out if you're not on the court. Camara only chipped in 11.3 points per game last season, but his defense was so good that he made second-team All-Defense the previous season, his second in the league.
Defensive players will only get you so many fantasy points, though. But with the departure of Anfernee Simons, the team will need someone to fill the scoring void.
After the All-Star break last season, he averaged 13.8 points a night and 2.3 three-pointers. Portland had seven players, including Camara and Simons, who averaged double digits. So he may not get a ton of additional shots, but with his value as a defender, he will be on the court more than most.
It wouldn't be shocking to see him average close to 20 ppg this year. He will not be the reason you win your league, but you will not be taking him out of your lineup.
Kevin Porter Jr., Milwaukee Bucks
Picking Porter Jr. as a 'breakout' player is almost cheating. We've already seen him average 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists, 1.4 steals, and 2.4 three-pointers in 34 minutes per game. However, that was during the 2022-23 season with Houston. Last season, he started with the Clippers and averaged just 9.3 ppg, but then improved a little after being traded to the Bucks (11.7 ppg).
With Damian Lillard now in Milwaukee, there's a hole that needs to be filled. With the players the Bucks have on the roster, Porter Jr. looks like the best option. Since defenses will be focused on Giannis, it may not take him too long to find his shot.
When he was with the Rockets, he averaged 32.3, 33.2, and 37.6 fantasy ppg. It wouldn't be surprising if his fantasy production were to be somewhere in that range this season (22.1 fppg last season).
Sam Hauser, Boston Celtics
Hauser averaged all of 3.5 ppg, 1.4 rpg, and 0.5 apg last season. He wasn't just fantasy irrelevant last year; as far as fantasy leagues were concerned, he didn't exist. But now he's on the Boston Celtics, who will be without Jaylen Brown for most, if not all, of the year, traded Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, and didn't bring Al Horford back.
Other than the trade for Anfernee Simons, the Celtics didn't really bring anyone in. So the opportunity will be there for Hauser to get additional playing time (13.5 minutes per game last season). Of course, to qualify as a 'breakout player,' he'll need to be productive when he's on the court.
When it gets late in your draft and most everyone else is on autopilot, stick around long enough to snatch him with a late pick. That way, you can stash him on your bench until we know for sure he's going to be a part of the game plan.
