Grabbing a sleeper pick during your draft and watching it pay off for you every game during the season is an amazing feeling. In fact, there may be nothing more satisfying in fantasy sports than hitting the jackpot on a sleeper pick.
To aid you in your quest for the elusive fantasy basketball sleeper, we've put together a list of potential breakout or bounce-back characters to help you win this season.
This list is in alphabetical order and the degree to which these players qualify as sleepers obviously depends on your specific league. We've included each player's projected stats for the upcoming season so that you can properly evaluate them.
Chicago Bulls (F)
2025–26 Projections
The No. 11 pick in the 2024 NBA Draft, Buzelis wasn't afforded many opportunities to begin his rookie season. In total, he averaged 8.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, 1.0 assists, 0.9 blocks and 1.2 three-pointers in 18.9 minutes per contest across 80 regular-season games. The Bulls struggled as a team, and the franchise grew frustrated with Patrick Williams. Buzelis would eventually earn a larger role in the offense, and across Buzelis' 31 regular-season starts, he averaged 13.0 points, 4.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, and 1.1 blocks in 26.8 minutes on 47.3/34.9/80.6 shooting splits. As for 2025-26, the Bulls will look pretty similar. The club was quiet in free agency, and the team has continued to shop Williams with no success. The Bulls did select forward Noa Essengue with the No. 12 overall pick in the 2025 NBA Draft, though they envision him as a fit alongside Buzelis in the future. Buzelis looked very polished in the Summer League, and he has to be considered the heavy favorite to open the season as the starting power forward. With the flashes he showed at the end of his rookie season, Buzelis offers plenty of intrigue as a late-round pick with upside.
Atlanta Hawks (F)
2025–26 Projections
The No. 1 overall pick in last year's draft, Risacher finished second in Rookie of the Year voting. Based on your expectations for the class as a whole, and Risacher specifically, the campaign could be considered a success or a letdown. Either way, it's undeniable he improved as the season went along. From Jan. 1 onward, Risacher averaged 14.0 points and 1.9 threes on 50/40/73 shooting, 3.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.6 steals and 0.4 blocks across 25.3 minutes. The main knock on the 20-year-old's game right now is probably that he doesn't have a standout skill. Spot-up shooting became a positive for Risacher, but not until later in the year, and he was only strong from the corners. And while he was fine defensively, racking up some solid block and offensive rebound numbers for his position, it wasn't anything to write home about. It's also important to consider how low his usage rate was, given that Jalen Johnson - Atlanta's No. 2 option - didn't see the floor from Jan. 25 through the end of the season. He'll be healthy to start the year, and the Hawks brought in Kristaps Porzingis, Nickeil Alexander-Walker and Luke Kennard this summer. Minutes and usage will be tougher to come by for Risacher this year than last. Of course, it's possible Risacher takes a sizable step forward and forces the coaching staff to play him 30 minutes per game, but his ceiling for this season still feels relatively capped.
Houston Rockets (G)
2025–26 Projections
The 2024 No. 3 overall pick was overlooked as a rookie. The Rockets prioritized winning over developmental minutes and made a surprise leap to the top of the Western Conference playoff picture. However, Houston lost to Golden State in the first round as a No. 2 seed, prompting dramatic changes this offseason. The Rockets shipped Jalen Green and Dillon Brooks to Phoenix in a package deal to land Kevin Durant. They also sent Cam Whitmore to Washington for draft capital, signed Fred VanVleet to a multi-year extension and added Dorian Finney-Smith and Clint Capela in free agency. However, VanVleet tore his ACL in late September and will likely miss the entire 2025-26 campaign. With four rotation players, including three starters and the team's 2024-25 leading scorer, out of the picture, Sheppard should have a clearer path to consistent minutes in Year 2. The most significant addition to replace the trio of departures was Durant, who has missed fewer than 20 regular-season games only once in the past five seasons. Sheppard is an obvious option for more playing time and usage, but he'll have to earn everything. Veteran Aaron Holiday will be Sheppard's primary competition for backcourt minutes, though rising star Amen Thompson will also have a lot of ball-handling duties. The only thing left for Sheppard to do is prove himself at the highest level. He starred in the G League last season, averaging 30.7 points, 7.3 assists and 2.7 steals while shooting 40.5 percent from deep across three appearances. He dominated lesser competition again at Summer League, totaling 46 points and eight steals in two contests before being shut down. Sheppard played at least 20 minutes in only five NBA games as a rookie, but he posted promising results, averaging 16.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 2.6 steals. Given his upside and projected rise in minutes in the aftermath of VanVleet's injury, Sheppard will probably go higher than his ADP in most drafts, and there's no reason he should fall past pick 150. He'll likely need to have a strong showing in training camp for the Rockets to trust him with a starting role to begin the campaign, as they are in win-now mode.
