LaMelo Ball or Jabari Smith Jr: who to draft in 2026-27 fantasy basketball

LaMelo Ball wins 5 of the nine categories, Jabari Smith Jr wins 4.

Our board separates them by 36 picks; consensus ADP separates them by 80 picks, with LaMelo Ball going earlier in the room.
Against the 181 ranked players in this set, LaMelo Ball projects above average in 5 of the nine categories and Jabari Smith Jr in 6.
They do not fill the same slot: LaMelo Ball is PG, Jabari Smith Jr is PF.
The board grades both "durable" for availability.
Both rank inside the 181 players this comparison set is drawn from: LaMelo Ball 34th, Jabari Smith Jr 70th.

Category by category

Projected per game for 2026-27, nine-category scoring. Turnovers count fewest-first.
Category	LaMelo Ball	Jabari Smith Jr	Edge
PTS	18.9	16.4	LaMelo Ball wins
REB	4.5	6.7	Jabari Smith Jr wins
AST	5.9	2.2	LaMelo Ball wins
STL	1.0	0.7	LaMelo Ball wins
BLK	0.3	0.9	Jabari Smith Jr wins
3PM	3.0	2.3	LaMelo Ball wins
TO	2.5	1.6	Jabari Smith Jr wins
FG%	40.8%	45.4%	Jabari Smith Jr wins
FT%	86.6%	80.4%	LaMelo Ball wins

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