2023-2024 Fantasy Basketball Mock Draft: 12-team, category league

It's fantasy basketball mock draft season, and things are no different here at Yahoo Sports. Our team recently conducted a 12-team, nine-category head-to-head mock draft with other fantasy basketball analysts, and all the picks are in.

Team-by-team results are at the bottom of the article — but first, here are some interesting findings about the draft's results.

Team 1: Raphielle Johnson, NBC/Rotoworld

Strengths: When you get the first pick of any fantasy basketball league, no matter the format, you follow in Raph's footsteps by selecting Nikola Jokić. Like any snake draft, the long, arduous wait for the second pick is brutal, but he did a great job on the turn, grabbing last year's breakout Lauri Markkanen and Fred VanVleet in the third.

He played it safe for the next two rounds, nabbing Zach LaVine and Walker Kessler close to their ADPs. I like that he scooped up one of my breakout candidates, Jalen Green, in the fifth round, six spots ahead of his ADP and paired him with an efficient 3&D guy like Cameron Johnson in the sixth.

Klay Thompson was his value pick of the draft at 96, going nearly 20 spots after his ADP.

Weaknesses: He made a conscious effort to get more scoring in the backend of the draft, with three of his last four being Bennedict Mathurin, RJ Barrett and Keldon Johnson. He already had five 20-points-per-game guys on his team before these picks, so addressing more rebounding and blocks would've been a better outcome.

Team 2: Adam Koffler, Rotoballer/Mojo

Strengths: He grabbed Luka Dončić and Desmond Bane at the top, but I'm digging what he did in the middle rounds to get steals and blocks without investing in a center. OG Anunoby, Jaden McDaniels (another of my breakout candidates) and Jabari Smith Jr. can get at least 1.5 stocks, respectively. This squad will have a reasonably low turnover rate despite having Dončić.

Weaknesses: There was buyer remorse in the third round, as Koffler "mistakenly" drafted the oft-injured and load-managed Kawhi Leonard. I don't mind it, but he wanted Cade Cunningham there, and I don't disagree. Kristaps Porzingis and Robert Williams III also pose some injury risks that will leave his team extremely thin in the frontcourt should that occur. His first move on waivers would be to claim a rebounder or potential low-end assist guy.

Team 3: Alex Barutha, Rotowire

Strengths: We have a winner for the best draft. I don't advise going big heavy, but I like that Alex pivoted with guards flying off the board in the first few rounds. He leaned into this approach so much that he didn't spend any draft capital on a guard until the fourth round (Jamal Murray).

He's punting assists, but he did a great job of reclaiming some 3s and steals in the mid-to-late rounds by picking Anfernee Simons and Marcus Smart. I see at least five categories where he will have an edge over this league.

Weaknesses: Picking Ben Simmons. Nah, I'm joking. And for as much as I'm off Simmons, he fits with his roster build because he only needs him for steals, assists and FG%. KAT's block rate went down playing alongside Rudy Gobert, so I expect he'll struggle to compete in that category.

Team 4: Nick Whalen, Rotowire

Strengths: Unlike his teammate Alex Barutha, Nick bypassed anything remotely close to a center until Round Five, which aligns well with my preferred draft strategy. You can wait on bigs this season, and he landed a fun and exciting young core of Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Mikal Bridges, Cade Cunningham and Jaylen Brown.

He has a very balanced roster with a lot of potential for racking up a ton of steals and selecting Onyeka Okongwu gives him some sleeper potential in the latter rounds. Steven Adams is a serviceably cheap rebounder as well.

Weaknesses: He executed a punt assists strategy well, so if he wants to be more competitive there, he'll have to trade or let go of one of his big men.

Team 5: Alex Burns, Rotoballer

Strengths: He compiled an impressive set of wings in the first four rounds, grabbing Jayson Tatum, Jimmy Butler and Scottie Barnes. Then, for some odd reason, Nikola Vucevic, a top-30 player for six consecutive seasons, went 53rd, almost 20 spots past his ADP. This was a great value, even if he sees some regression this season.

In the late rounds, Burns did a great job securing two high-upside sleepers — Markelle Fultz and Zach Collins. I have both players outperforming their ADPs this season. And who knows, Dereck Lively II could end up being a poor man's Tyson Chandler right out of the gates. One thing is certain: few teams will compete against him in the steals category.

Weaknesses: I respect the hustle, but it's a bold move to take James Harden at 20th overall. Sure, he's one of the best passers in the game. Unfortunately, his stance hasn't changed on wanting out of Philly. There's too much risk of him dogging at some point this season that I'd draft him over players like Mikal Bridges, Desmond Bane or Karl-Anthony Towns given what we know now. He's also light on reliable shot blockers. In his 15-year career, Brook Lopez swatted more than two blocks per game three times (including last season). And Vuc and Collins were under a block a game. Asking Lively to cover the difference is probably a stretch.

Team 6: Zak Hanshew, NBC/Rotoworld

Strengths: Zak's been a staunch Tyrese Haliburton supporter since I can remember, so I know he was hyped to land him at the six-spot. I'm all-in on the (Jordan) Poole party, but he assembled quite the block party. Jaren Jackson Jr. and Myles Turner, that's nasty. Plus, Tyrese Maxey. That's a helluva start through five rounds. Paul Reed is a fun sleeper outside of the top 120.

Weaknesses: 31% of his roster is made up of Indiana Pacers. I like them, too, but that's too much sauce. He'll also get crushed in rebounds and turnovers, but that's what happens when you decide to punt categories!

Team 7: Sloan Piva, The Sporting News/NBA Canada

Strengths: Piva assembled a safe, high-floor squad of proven veterans. He has excellent foundational pieces for category leagues in Stephen Curry, Donovan Mitchell and Jalen Brunson — a ton of scoring, threes and high free-throw percentages. Sloan got good value on Jonas Valančiūnas at 114, which was 20 spots lower than his ADP.

He hates rookies, too!

Weaknesses: I don't have the energy to clock the average age of this team, but it's geriatric. Patrick Williams is the only player on his squad with less than four years of service. LeBron James and Brandon Ingram have missed a combined 115 games in the past two seasons. I have similar concerns for Chris Paul.

Jrue Holiday joining the Celtics depressed Derrick White's value, so I was surprised to see White go off the board 66th when his ADP is in the low 70s and falling.

I'm all for waiting on bigs, but he might've waited too long because he was left with drafting an injured Draymond Green in the ninth round and Valanciunas in the 10th. There's little block potential.

Team 8: Noah Rubin, Rotoworld/Fantasy Basketball International

Strengths: Rubin deployed an effective punt free-throw strategy because after you draft Giannis Antetokounmpo and Domantas Sabonis with your first two picks, good luck. And that's totally fine because you're getting a perennial MVP candidate with one of the best rebounders and passing bigs in the league. Josh Giddey, Andrew Wiggins and Mitchell Robinson also align with a punt free-throw build. He did an excellent job finding other skill position players to fill the void for not having a true point guard on his roster.

Weaknesses: A trio of players from one team isn't ideal, but if you do it, the Thunder are a compelling choice. The playoffs for Yahoo public league run from Week 21 to Week 23 this season, and the Thunder's games played schedule is 3-3-4. Not the best. As a part of his punting free throws, he'll also be light on assists and 3-pointers made.

Team 9: Justin Henry, The Justin Henry Show

Strengths: I love this team because scared money don't make no money. Justin went all in, throwing caution to the wind. Another punt assists candidate; this squad loaded up on statue bigs (Rudy Gobert and Clint Capela) and freakish athletes (AD, Anthony Edwards, Victor Wembanyama and Zion Williamson). And he scooped Paul George in the fourth round?

9-1-1, I'd like to report a heist.

Bojan Bogdanovic in the 12th round is good value, considering he was a top-100 player before being shut down last season.

Weaknesses: He better have a medic on site because outside of Ant-man, there's a legitimate chance that four of his first five picks don't play more than 55 games apiece. Add in the fact that Ja Morant is already missing 25 games; he will be at a supreme disadvantage in games played if history repeats itself.

Team 10: Adam Stock, Elite Fantasy Basketball

Strengths: Adam did a great job building a very balanced unit. He formed an elite trio of guards in the first three rounds and used the mid-to-late rounds to sure up his frontcourt with picks like Jakob Poeltl in the seventh, Daniel Gafford in the eighth and Wendell Carter in the 10th round.

He also landed one of my breakouts in Devin Vassell. I'm still angry about that. More on that later.

Weaknesses: I see little risk with this unit, and this looks like a playoff-contending team.

Team 11: Dan Titus, Yahoo Fantasy

Strengths: I executed a similar strategy to Mr. Stock, going with a three-guard core in the first few rounds and addressing the big man depth in the mid-to-late rounds (Jalen Duren, Mark Williams and Bobby Portis).

This team has a lot of stock potential if things break right.

Weaknesses: I had a chance to pick Devin Vassell in the sixth round and ended up going with Alperen Sengun. I like Sengun a lot, but Vassell would've given my team another scoring option — an area of opportunity. Outside of Darius Garland, there aren't many high-assist guys. Trey Murphy III at 107 was a reach, and of course, anyone rostering Russell Westbrook will be a roller coaster of emotions.

Team 12: Jorge Martin, Yahoo Fantasy/Familia FFB

Strengths: Value. Value. Value. Jorge's strategy was to avoid reaching, and let the players fall to him. Similarly to Sloan Piva's team, he chose experience over everything. There's a healthy balance of efficient guards (Damian Lillard, Jrue Holiday, Bradley Beal) with defensive-minded bigs (Bam Adebayo, Nic Claxton, Al Horford).

Weaknesses: The Suns can't afford to have Kevin Durant and Beal miss games, and neither can Jorge. His frontcourt is leaning on Claxton too much to cover blocks and with Holiday and Lillard headed to situations with more talent surrounding them, I'd be concerned about tallying up assists in the long run.

Here are the team-by-team results of mock draft: