Fantasy Basketball Small Forward Rankings: 2025-26 Tiers

Compare the top fantasy basketball small forwards for the 2025-26 NBA season with our tiers, featuring LeBron James, Jalen Williams, and more.

September 9, 2025

Fantasy Basketball Small Forward Rankings: 2025-26 Tiers

By:

Juan Pablo Aravena

September 9, 2025

Player Rankings

The small forward position has always been a steady source of talent in the NBA, and that will also be the case in the 2025-26 campaign of The Association. Even though dazzling playmakers and do-it-all centers garner most of the attention, both in fantasy and real life, there's still a fair share of talent at the small forward position.

Here are our fantasy tiers for the top 20 small forwards ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to RotoWire's NBA News or follow @RotoWireNBA on X.

Top Small Forwards for the 2025-26 Fantasy Basketball Season

Tier 1

LeBron James will turn 41 before the end of the calendar year, but the star forward continues to be the gold standard for excellence and longevity. Even though James is past his prime, he remains an elite player at the position, and it wouldn't hurt to invest a first-round pick in some fantasy formats. James will return for a record-setting 23rd NBA campaign in 2025-26, but even though this is Luka Doncic's team now, James continues to play at an extremely high level. He averaged 24.4 points, 8.2 assists, 7.8 rebounds and 1.0 steals across 34.9 minutes per game in 70 regular-season appearances in 2024-25.

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Jalen Williams played a huge role in the Thunder's title run, and there's a strong argument to say

Here are our fantasy tiers for the top 20 small forwards ahead of the 2025-26 NBA season.

For up-to-the-minute updates on injuries, lineups, roster changes and more, head to RotoWire's NBA News or follow @RotoWireNBA on X.

Top Small Forwards for the 2025-26 Fantasy Basketball Season

Tier 1

Check out where all the players on your fantasy basketball team fit into RotoWire's Fantasy Basketball Cheat Sheet!

Jalen Williams played a huge role in the Thunder's title run, and there's a strong argument to say he was the second-best player on the league's best team after the reigning MVP, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Williams is firmly established as a do-it-all forward who can take over games when needed, and he's coming off the first All-Star season of his career. Williams averaged career-high numbers during the 2024-25 regular season in points (21.6), rebounds (5.3), assists (5.1) and steals (1.6) per game while shooting 48.4 percent from the field and 36.5 percent from three-point range.

Jaylen Brown can play both as a shooting guard and small forward, but the recent roster movements made by the Celtics seem to suggest he'll play the three while Derrick White and Anfernee Simons populate the backcourt. Brown could very well be in line for a career-best season in 2025-26, as Jayson Tatum (Achilles) will miss the entire season while the likes of Jrue Holiday and Kristaps Porzingis are no longer in Boston. This means Brown should enjoy a career-high usage rate, and more often than not, that translates to a career-best season.

Find out who to target the rest of the way with RotoWire's NBA Projections!

Tier 2

Our Tier 2 features players who are either All-Stars past their prime with one big flaw, or players who are simply a full season away from taking that final step to superstardom status. When it comes to former All-Stars who are no longer Tier 1 players, Kawhi Leonard and Kevin Durant fit that mold. Leonard simply can't stay healthy, and that limits the impact he can have in fantasy, especially considering he tends to miss games due to rest-related reasons quite often. As for Durant, he's played 75 or more regular-season games just once in the last five years, and that's not expected to happen in the future since the star forward is already 37 years old. Durant remains an elite scorer when at his best, but injuries are slowly beginning to catch up to him.

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When it comes to players who are an inch or two away from being Tier 1 small forwards, the likes of Scottie Barnes, Franz Wagner and Jalen Johnson are perfect examples of that. Hadn't either of them missed considerable time in 2024-25, there's a strong argument to say either could have made the All-Star Game -- especially Johnson, who was having a second straight breakout season in Atlanta, and Wagner, who had established himself as the go-to option on offense in Orlando when Paolo Banchero (oblique) was out. Either of these Tier 2 players could easily be solid picks around the late-second or early-third rounds in most formats.

Tier 3

A step or two below the borderline All-Stars, there are players who would be outstanding value picks in most of the standard formats, although for different reasons. Josh Hart is one of the best rebounders in the NBA and is known for his versatility after averaging 13.6 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.5 steals in 37.6 minutes across 77 regular-season contests in 2024-25.

Jimmy Butler and DeMar DeRozan could also fit this category, but this is not a reflection of how impactful they can be in today's NBA. DeRozan remains an elite scorer and Butler is more than capable of playing a big role for the Warriors. Still, both have been relegated to secondary roles in their respective teams, ultimately limiting their fantasy upside.

And yes, we have Cooper Flagg here. While it might be a stretch to rank a player who's yet to play a competitive game in the NBA in such a high tier, this is a statement to his untapped potential and unicorn-level ability. Flagg drew praise when training with Team USA before the 2024 Olympics and was dominant in his lone college season at Duke, so there's no reason to think he couldn't be successful at the next level as well. He's expected to open the season as the Mavericks' starting forward, and he should find a way to be productive as long as he gets enough playing time.

Tier 4

If we could define our "Tier 4" players, we could say they're dependable options to roster in all fantasy formats, but they're not players who are going to be difference-makers in a championship-caliber team. They're good enough to be selected in mid-to-late rounds, and if by any chance either of these players lands on the waiver wire, do your best to scoop them up immediately.

Each of these players brings something different to the table, though. Trey Murphy is an all-around player who can make an impact on both ends of the court, while OG Anunoby is a defensive stalwart who has been thriving when given more offensive responsibility in New York. Andrew Wiggins has bounced around the league a bit in recent years, but he remains an solid scoring option regardless of where he's playing.

Deni Avdija was one of the most improved players of the 2024-25 season and was the best player for the Trail Blazers during the second half of the campaign. He should be ready to take over games even more now that Anfernee Simons is no longer in Portland. Cameron Johnson's trade from the Nets to the Nuggets will likely negatively impact his fantasy stock. He went from being the second-best option on a rebuilding team like the Nets to being the third-best option (in a best-case scenario) on a contending squad. However, Johnson should benefit from playing alongside Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray.

Tier 5

Last but not least, we have the fifth tier of fantasy talent when it comes to small forwards. Jaden McDaniels has excelled in a starting role for the Timberwolves and has taken huge leaps in his game over the last two seasons. Still, he continues to have a minor role from a statistical perspective in Minnesota. De'Andre Hunter probably wouldn't have made this list, but since he's expected to move into a starting role in Cleveland to begin the 2025-26 campaign, he might be worth a look in late rounds if you're not looking for an upside pick. Speaking of upside, Zaccharie Risacher brings a lot of upside to the table and is worth a late-round flyer, but he's not expected to have a sizable role in Atlanta following the addition of Kristaps Porzingis to the Hawks roster.