Expect Angel Reese and Kamilla Cardoso to keep producing in fantasy basketball

When the Chicago Sky chose center Kamilla Cardoso and forward Angel Reese in the 2024 WNBA Draft, it was widely assumed that the pair of collegiate stars would be the franchise’s frontcourt of the future. It was more of a question of when they’d get their big opportunity, not if.

Injuries to the Sky’s veteran frontcourt players have accelerated that process, and it’s made the rookies valuable assets in fantasy basketball. Reese was named a starter right out of the gate as Isabelle Harrison rehabbed a knee injury suffered in 2023, and she’s been highly productive, averaging 12.2 points, 10 rebounds and 1.8 steals on the season. That’s good for 27.8 fantasy points per game in standard ESPN leagues, and while the hype around Reese ensured that she was one of the earliest-drafted rookies in most leagues (33.7 average draft position), her fantasy production has been well worth it.

Cardoso has been getting her shot as of late, too. She’s been starting since Elizabeth Williams went down with a torn meniscus, and while the Sky have remained mum about a possible timeline for Williams’ recovery, it’s safe to assume that Cardoso will be in the starting lineup for the rest of the season. Cardoso has scored in double-figures in each of her three games as a starter and is averaging 20.7 fantasy points during that span.

Why should fantasy basketball managers be high on the duo of Reese and Cardoso? Beyond what the Sky invested in drafting them, trends suggest that they don’t have much competition elsewhere on the team. Brianna Turner has played very sparingly in the month of June (2.4 minutes per game), and Sky head coach Teresa Weatherspoon hasn’t seemed very interested in playing Michaela Onyenwere at power forward, typically opting for a three-player frontcourt rotation of Reese, Cardoso and Harrison in recent games.

Identifying trends like these is important for fantasy basketball managers, but so is projecting just how long those trends are expected to last. For a rebuilding team like the Sky, things can be pretty clear-cut from a fantasy perspective; for other teams, it may not be as simple.

Which Wings can be relied upon?

It’s been a disappointing season in Dallas thus far, and while players like Arike Ogunbowale and Teaira McCowan have been their usual dependable selves in terms of fantasy basketball production, long-term absences from key forwards Satou Sabally and Natasha Howard have shaken things up elsewhere on Dallas’ roster.

Monique Billings has been excellent while filling in for Sabally and Howard on an emergency hardship contract, and second-year forward Maddy Siegrist (22.5 fantasy points per game) has taken quite a leap with the expanded role she’s been given, but it’s the Wings’ backcourt situation that has confused more than a few fans. Rookie Jacy Sheldon, who Dallas drafted at No. 5 overall, is going through some of the struggles typical of first-year WNBA guards, though she isn’t getting much of a chance to work through them, averaging 11.5 minutes played while Sevgi Uzun continues to start and play 30.9 minutes. It’s made Uzun a perfectly capable waiver-wire pickup, as she wasn’t on many people’s radars prior to the season, but playing next to the ball-dominant Ogunbowale makes her a risky bet for fantasy production.

Photo by Michael Gonzales/NBAE via Getty Images

There are a couple things to consider here. For one, Howard is expected to return in the next two or three weeks, which means the Wings will have to release Billings and that Siegrist’s production will also take a hit.

The Wings will also be desperate to start winning some games, meaning that young players like Sheldon and Lou Lopez Sénéchal (who has been a virtual non-factor to this point) may have an even harder time seeing the court. Dallas head coach Latricia Trammell was similarly harsh on her young guards down the stretch in 2023, and that was when the Wings were playing well; if they want to make the playoffs this season, their rotations could become even tighter as their veteran players get healthy.

Sykes’ setback the latest of Mystics’ misfortunes

Speaking of injuries opening up opportunities for other players, Brittney Sykes has had downright terrible luck for the Washington Mystics, missing 10 games at the beginning of the season with an ankle injury and sustaining a new foot injury in her first game back. Sykes is expected to be out for at least two weeks.

Unlike the Wings, Washington probably isn’t trying to make the playoffs. The Mystics won just their second game of the season this past Friday, and general manager Mike Thibault has said that the Mystics are going to focus on acquiring young players who have upside.

Photo by Stephen Gosling/NBAE via Getty Images

Quotes like those are fantasy basketball gold when it comes to deciding which players to target in your leagues. In Sykes’ stead, expect guards Julie Vanloo and Jade Melbourne to continue getting the bulk of the minutes; though both are technically rookies, Vanloo is considerably more experienced, and Melbourne is still a threat to get pulled from games if she makes too many mistakes.

Elsewhere on the Mystics’ roster, center Shakira Austin continues to miss time with a hip injury. She’s an important part of the team’s future, and while this setback is undoubtedly frustrating (and not just for fantasy basketball enthusiasts), it’s in Washington’s best interest to ensure that Austin takes her time while recovering. Rookie forward Aaliyah Edwards is taking full advantage of her larger role in the frontcourt, however, averaging 28.4 fantasy points over her last five games; Edwards’ rebounding and defensive playmaking makes her a solid all-around fantasy contributor, and she’ll be a popular choice in snake drafts next year.

For the purposes of this article, “fantasy points” refer to standard ESPN fantasy league scoring, in which points, 3-pointers, rebounds and assists are each worth one fantasy point and steals and blocks are each worth two fantasy points.