Fantasy NBA draft tips: 3 Aussie stars you can grab for a bargain

You're starting to plan for your NBA Fantasy draft. You've done the research, know which players are hurt and who has changed teams, set the draft time, you're ready to go.

But you want to add some local flavour to your team. You need to represent the green and gold, as you draft in your Patty Mills Boomers jersey.

So which Aussie NBA stars should you target in your fantasy draft?

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1. Ben Simmons

The obvious one is Simmons. We don’t know which team he will play with, but it looks like it won’t be at the Philadelphia 76ers.

Last season was the worst of Simmons’ career, after three straight top 20 fantasy seasons.

He barely scraped into the top 50 last season, averaging 36.93 fantasy points per game, down from 42.25 the year prior.

I think no matter where Simmons goes, he will perform more like 2019-20 than 2020-21, so grabbing him in Round 4 could be a huge steal.

2. Josh Giddey

Amazingly, the next Aussie off the board should probably be the Oklahoma City Thunder’s rookie Josh Giddey.

I expect Giddey to start very early on for the Thunder and he has a chance to crack the top 100 for fantasy leagues.

Under no circumstances would I draft Giddey in the top 100, but at his ADP of 136, there might be a chance to grab the rookie in the last 2 or 3 rounds of your draft.

3. Joe Ingles

After Giddey and Simmons, the next option is Ingles.

Now, in most default Yahoo points league drafts, I don’t think I would bother drafting Ingles.

Last season, Ingles averaged 24.39 fantasy points, and that was good enough for 140th.

However, in the last rounds of my draft, I am looking for upside and at 34 years old, I’m not sure Ingles is going to be getting better or getting more minutes.

Other Aussie NBA stars?

Unless you want to count Kyrie Irving as an Aussie, there aren’t any other Australians who would merit being selected in a standard 12 team Yahoo fantasy league (Kyrie should be going in the third round).

Players like Matisse Thybulle and Patty Mills, while serving very important roles on their title-contending teams, don’t do enough to merit top 200 consideration for fantasy points leagues.

And Josh Green and Jock Landale aren’t any sort of guarantee to be players who play every night.

Dante Exum looks like he is re-signing in Houston to compete for the 15th roster spot after the news of John Wall’s Rockets tenure coming to an end.

But, Exum has notoriously been a poor fantasy performer and don’t see him being an option this season.

So show your Boomer spirit in your fantasy draft by grabbing Giddey late or getting a steal on Simmons.

But, the most important thing is to bring what Patty brings when he pulls on the Green and Gold, which is an unbreakable competitive spirit to ensure you won’t lose your draft night.

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