Fantasy Basketball Recap After Seven Weeks: Trae Young, Jamal Murray, Jalen Suggs and More

We are about a quarter into the NBA season, and a lot has transpired so far. Each of these games has given us valuable fantasy basketball insights for you owners.

Let’s hop straight into some of the biggest stories to start the 2024-2025 season.

Superstar Production

Atlanta Hawks guard Trae Young has been playing at an unbelievable level this year. The Hawks have committed fully to a heliocentric, all-Trae Young-type system this year and are reaping the benefits. He has been otherworldly as a playmaker and also is still finding ways to score all over the floor.

His name had previously been in trade talks, but I think that we can comfortably put those talks to bed now. The Hawks found a role that he can thrive in and are letting him loose in it. He is the Hawks franchise player and is certainly playing up to that level right now.

On the season, Young is averaging 21 points and a career-high 12 assists in 36 minutes per game. In his last three games alone, he has combined for 35 assists; he is essentially a double-double machine. He hasn’t been extremely efficient this year, but he also is the table setter for everything in this offense to work. He has easily been one of the best point guards and players in fantasy this year. If he keeps up this type of great production, I see no way he won’t finish as a top-10 fantasy player.

Early Slump

Denver Nuggets guard Jamal Murray has been one of the most disappointing players this year so far, in my opinion. After a lackluster performance and an even worse Olympic showing, many Nuggets fans were optimistic that he would come into the season motivated. Instead, once again, he showed up underconditioned, and it hurt his play this season.

He was rewarded with a max contract before the start of the season, so with that came more expectations. Head coach Michael Malone has consistently harped on him not being conditioned and simply not stepping up enough. Though he has shown flashes of brilliance this year, it still hasn't been enough.

His teammate Nikola Jokic is having a historic season, which might seem good in theory, but it's not. Most of that is because he's having to pick up the slack of others, one of those being  Murray. Currently, Murray is averaging 17.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.2 assists in 36 minutes of action per game. He has had too many underwhelming games as a fantasy player for me to trust him right now.

Maybe after he returns from his hamstring injury, he plays back to his standard. Right now time will only tell, so we just have to hope that this is just an early season slump.

Stepping Up

The Orlando Magic have been hit with some of the worst injury luck this year; only the New Orleans Pelicans can claim theirs has been more detrimental. At the start of the year, star forward Paolo Banchero was diagnosed with a torn oblique, which has caused him to miss multiple weeks. Now, their other star forward, Franz Wagner, was diagnosed with the same exact injury.

I was interested to see how Jalen Suggs would play during this timeframe as the main offensive engine. So far he has played up to the standard I've hoped. He has shown that he can score in various ways and create his shot when needed.

Not only is this a great sign for when the team is whole again, but it's also a great sign for Suggs' development as a player. In his past two games combined, he has scored a total of 57 points, and efficiently as well.

Suggs is known as a defensive player, but him being a table setter and shot creator for the time being has been fun. On the season, Suggs is averaging 16.6 points, 3.8 assists, and 1.6 steals in 30 minutes per game. He has been one of the most consistent fantasy guards, and I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has in store for him.

Perfect Fit

Oklahoma City Thunder center Isaiah Hartenstein has proved to be the perfect free agent acquisition for the team. He has brought an element of physicalness, rebounding, and secondary playmaking the Thunder didn't have last year.

They have only lost one game with him in the lineup, and he hasn't even got to suit up with Chet Holmgren yet. Hartenstein has helped propel the Thunder to the league's best defense while protecting the rim like a madman.

On the season, Hartenstein is averaging 11.6 points, 12.8 rebounds, and 4.3 assists in 29 minutes per game. That includes him recording seven double-doubles out of the nine games that he has suited up in. He has been productive as a fantasy player, and you can't ask much more of him; you just hope he keeps this up.