In fantasy basketball, format determines strategy — and in High Score (points-based) leagues, raw production is king. This scoring system rewards players who pile up points, assists, rebounds and defensive stats, while ignoring traditional pain points like field goal percentage and turnovers.
The result? Players who are typically faded for their flaws suddenly become risers on draft boards.
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With the 2025–26 NBA season around the corner, here are four stars who should thrive in High Score.
Trae Young – Guard, Hawks
Surging assist rate + turnovers don’t matter
Young is built for High Score formats. Last season, the underappreciated All-Star averaged 24.2 points and a career-best 11.6 assists per game, leading the NBA in dimes and reaffirming his role as one of the game’s most dynamic playmakers. In category leagues, his value tends to dip to a second-round value because he has committed 4.1 turnovers per game for his career, while shooting 43% from the field. A couple of red flags that may cause one to punt in a category setting. In High Score, however, those fantasy warts are obsolete.
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With the Hawks sporting one of their deepest rosters in years, Young’s playmaking workload is both efficient and sustainable. Surrounded by improved scorers and shooters, he’s free to do what he does best — rack up stats without worrying about efficiency. I have him as a mid-first-round pick in High Score right now.
LaMelo Ball – Guard, Hornets
Injury risk subdued by scoring format
Ball has missed 141 out of 246 games the past three seasons. That’s over 57% of games missed due to injury over that span — quite concerning.
So how could he be a value in High Score?
Well, his ADP sits around the third round, even though he’s capable of putting up first-round type production in a scoring system that accounts for the single-best game each week and won’t factor in turnovers or FG percentage. In 47 games last year, Ball averaged 25.2 points, 7.4 assists, 4.9 rebounds, and 1.1 steals per contest while maintaining a career-high 35% usage rate — a number that’s climbed every season he’s been in the league. Even with his lowest true shooting percentage to date, the volume remains elite: over 20 field goal attempts, 11 3s, and five free throws per game.
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The Hornets’ retooled roster offers more potential assists — plus a softer Eastern Conference could help Charlotte push for a playoff spot. LaMelo has averaged 1.32 FPPM over the past three seasons, making him well worth the gamble in High Score. His output could make him a legitimate top-15 fantasy play when active.
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Zion Williamson – Frontcourt, Pelicans
Health = wealth
Williamson is one of the most efficient and productive fantasy players on a per-minute basis — and High Score scoring maximizes that strength. According to Cleaning the Glass, Zion ranked in the 100th percentile in both usage rate and assist percentage at his position last season. People forget he managed to play 70 games just a couple of seasons ago. But now there’s much more on the line.
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Williamson’s salary over the next few seasons is tied to his meeting weight, body fat and availability requirements. It’s why he’s arguably in the best shape of his life. Fantasy managers should take notice because he’s literally playing for his money. And when he’s on the court, only a handful of players are reaching his efficiency at 1.56 FPPM last season.
In High Score formats, where you don’t get docked for his limited 3s, low block totals, or middling free-throw percentage, Williamson’s unique mix of inside scoring and facilitating translates to a high-valued asset in High Score and points leagues outright. He’s capable of repeating last year’s production at 25/7/5.
Joel Embiid – Frontcourt, 76ers
A window into returning to MVP-form
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The Sixers haven’t provided a timeline for Embiid’s return. Still, he participated in the Sixers’ blue and white scrimmage (something he doesn’t typically do) in the preseason, looking slender and moving fluidly. I’m buying into the slimmed-down version of Embiid, and relative to cost, you should, too.
Embiid is on many no-draft lists, but in Round 5 — in High Score — he has the most boom potential of anyone being drafted in that range. Even if he sees a reduction in minutes upon his return, he puts in work on a per-minute basis. Somehow, Embiid managed to average 23.8 points, 8.2 rebounds, and 4.5 assists and 1.4 FPPM on one leg last year.
Last year was a disaster. Embiid was never healthy after his Olympics run; he returned too early, and it showed. Now, with plenty of time off and the ability to rehab and get his body right, the former MVP seems to be trending in the right direction. The baked-in rest and maintenance days won’t impact your fantasy lineup as much in High Score since you’ll technically need him for just one boom performance each week.
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Like LaMelo and Zion, the ceiling outcomes outweigh the injury risk, especially where Embiid is going in drafts this season.
