LaMelo Ball or Paolo Banchero: who to draft in 2026-27 fantasy basketball

LaMelo Ball wins 4 of the nine categories, Paolo Banchero wins 4, and 1 is too close to call.

Our board separates them by 3 picks; consensus ADP separates them by 3 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 Paolo Banchero in 3.
They do not fill the same slot: LaMelo Ball is PG, Paolo Banchero is PF.
The board grades both "durable" for availability.
Both rank inside the 181 players this comparison set is drawn from: LaMelo Ball 34th, Paolo Banchero 37th.

Category by category

Projected per game for 2026-27, nine-category scoring. Turnovers count fewest-first.
Category	LaMelo Ball	Paolo Banchero	Edge
PTS	18.9	24.2	Paolo Banchero wins
REB	4.5	7.8	Paolo Banchero wins
AST	5.9	5.6	too close to call
STL	1.0	0.8	LaMelo Ball wins
BLK	0.3	0.6	Paolo Banchero wins
3PM	3.0	1.6	LaMelo Ball wins
TO	2.5	3.2	LaMelo Ball wins
FG%	40.8%	46.0%	Paolo Banchero wins
FT%	86.6%	77.0%	LaMelo Ball wins

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