After yet another seemingly endless NBA offseason, one that filled podcasts and social media feeds with content from the Finals through training camp, it can feel like we're overloaded with NBA information.
With fantasy drafters sharper than ever, do sleepers still exist?
Yes, yes they do. But finding them -- those players who are underrated and undervalued -- has become more challenging. This doesn't mean we can't or shouldn't try to hunt for value each and every new season.
It's a blend of timing, talent, circumstance, luck and flat-out waiver-wire magic that combines to keep this concept evergreen.
If sleepers were truly extinct, it would be difficult to explain how Ryan Rollins, who went undrafted in most leagues last season, finished ahead of stars such as Devin Booker and Keyonte George on the ESPN Player Rater, thanks to a rewarding creation role in a Milwaukee Bucks offense that leaned on him far more than anyone expected. It appears nearly everyone, save for maybe Doc Rivers, slept on Rollins last season.
In addition to leveraging the potential gems listed below, be sure to also check out our staff's roundtable on sleepers, breakouts and busts, which canvasses several strong sleepers, including my selection of the Orlando Magic's Anthony Black.
For the following list of notable sleepers, the focus is only on players found outside of the top 100 picks on average in ESPN live draft trends.
Ajay Mitchell, PG/SG, Oklahoma City Thunder
A Most Improved candidate after a breakout second season as a playmaker in Oklahoma City, this 2024 second-round pick out of Belgium leapt from fringe role player to potential core building block in a single year. The runway is cleared for another takeoff for Mitchell; the team's tighter cap sheet led to some talent shedding this summer, which could result in a more concentrated rotation for Mark Daigneault this season.
If the playoffs are the ultimate proving ground, Mitchell is now certified; he went from roughly eight minutes a night in the Thunder's 2024-25 title run to 28.8 in 2025-26. In just over 100 playoff minutes without Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on the floor, he averaged 26.5 points and 7.8 assists per 75 possessions. In a drubbing of the Los Angeles Lakers, Mitchell became the first player in Oklahoma City franchise history to post at least 20 points and 10 assists with zero turnovers in a playoff game. Don't leave drafts without him.
Zach Edey, C, Memphis Grizzlies
Availability is the entire question, although the risk appears to be baked into his draft position. Though he played just 11 games last season, Edey's elite production and evident growth as a player was undeniable. Emerging as one of the league's best interior scorers and rim protectors in an era that now celebrates size and its role in winning possessions, Edey and Cameron Boozer could become the next Marc Gasol and Zach Randolph of this new "Grit and Grind" formula.
Peyton Watson, SF/PF, Cleveland Cavaliers
Small samples can lead to big contracts. Watson thrived as a featured wing for a few weeks last season for the Denver Nuggets with Nikola Jokic sidelined. The rare wing with a center-like block rate, Watson's ability to deliver fun defensive rates should surface in Cleveland. His career 4.6% block percentage would rank around the top 10 in the league in most seasons if he qualified with enough minutes. If he can develop a rapport with James Harden akin to the chemistry he enjoyed with Jokic, Watson might just show last year's surge as a trend and not an aberration.
Cameron Johnson, SF/PF, Denver Nuggets
A disappointing debut season in Denver saw Johnson's 3-point volume dip by 31% per 36 minutes from his prior three seasons in the league. Looking to Year 2, he's due for a boom in playing time and shooting volume, especially in the wake of Tim Hardaway Jr. (10th in the NBA in makes and 17th in total takes from deep) taking his talents to South Beach. Johnson's ability to produce steals and blocks also helps him escape the specialist archetype. If he stays healthy after playing just 54 of 82 games last season, he has the volume and versatility to be a major value.
Keegan Murray, SF/PF, Sacramento Kings
Imagine a modernized Tobias Harris. Or, well, just Tobias Harris. Jokes aside, the similarities are quite real; jack-of-all-trades, master of none type of skill sets. Harris has long been known as somewhat boring and predictable, but also valuable and dependable -- a spot Murray can capably fill. Only, there is unrealized potential for Murray to break out with not just more shooting volume and success, but as a sneaky 3-and-D candidate who has quietly averaged 1.1 blocks over his past two seasons (99-game sample). If either Domantas Sabonis or Zach LaVine is traded or sidelined, Murray's perch as a high-minute, high-floor option could convert into a player with a higher ceiling than the market anticipates.
Ayo Dosunmu, PG/SG, Minnesota Timberwolves
A star role player ever since coming to Minnesota by way of the Chicago Bulls last winter, Dosunmu has actual star potential if or when LaMelo Ball or Anthony Edwards miss any time. Expected to run second units and consume a robust usage rate in that capacity, Dosunmu will be one of the busier complementary wings in the league. He also has an adaptive game that can scale to really high levels, as his 43-point opus off the bench in last year's playoffs confirms.
Collin Murray-Boyles, PF, Toronto Raptors
A Jakob Poeltl injury or demotion away from potential fantasy stardom, "CMB" checks many traditional sleeper boxes. As a top-10 pick in a loaded 2025 NBA draft, Murray-Boyles has the pedigree and the elite defensive production -- 3.3 combined steals and blocks in 22 games as a starter last season -- to emerge as a difference-maker in fantasy leagues.
The Raptors are building a dynamic and potentially devastating defensive roster, one that Murray-Boyles could potentially anchor in smaller lineup looks. We will likely even see a good bit of exposure for Murray-Boyles next to Poeltl.