Five breakout candidates to watch in fantasy basketball this season are Matas Buzelis, Desmond Bane, Andrew Nembhard, Kevin Porter Jr., and Sam Hauser. Buzelis Michał‑style growth could push him into a steady starting role with Chicago, especially with the Bulls balancing a playoff push and developing his outside shot. Desmond Bane could see a higher usage bucket after roster moves, while Nembhard and Porter Jr. stand to benefit from increased minutes and multi‑category production. Hauser offers late‑round threes and rebounds with strong shooting history and a path to bigger minutes in Boston.

The piece emphasizes role shifts, longer seasons, and the potential for career-best numbers as rookies mature and veterans adapt to new supporting casts. It also notes how air-tight shooting and multi‑cat contributions can unlock value in adjacent categories, making these players appealing targets late in drafts and in daily fantasy leagues.

Nikola Jokic is in Europe for EuroBasket, turning Serbia into one of the gold favorites as the calendar flips to late August. The tournament runs Aug. 27 through Sept. 14 across four groups of six, with Serbia headline Group A alongside Czechia, Estonia, Latvia, Portugal, and Turkey. Serbia’s path should be manageable, but the 24-team field is deep, demanding top-tier performances from Jokic and a cohort of EuroLeague veterans and NBA role players to survive the round-robin and the knockout grind. Courtside 1891 and FIBA YouTube will carry the action, giving fantasy enthusiasts a steady stream to monitor Jokic’s usage and his teammates’ rising impact.

Beyond Jokic, Serbia benefits from a staff deeply intertwined with the Nuggets—assistant coach Ognjen Stojakovic and athletic trainer Jason Miller are on Serbia’s sideline. The roster also features Jokic teammates and peers who could swing fantasy levers: Bogdan Bogdanovic, Nikola Jovic, and Nikola Topic join Jokic in shaping Serbia’s attack, while other European standouts and a newly added Nuggets presence add intrigue. The group stage introduces notable clashes—Latvia’s Kristaps Porzingis headlines a Group A that tests Serbia’s depth, and Turkey’s Alperen Sengun poses a direct Jokic-sized matchup, raising intriguing dynamic questions for fantasy managers tracking minutes, usage, and matchup-driven ceilings.

EuroBasket’s depth is built to test rosters and expose sleepers: Lauri Markkanen and Germany’s Franz Wagner anchor Group B; Giannis Antetokounmpo brings Greece’s star power in Group C alongside a younger Spain and rising Italians, with Domantas Sabonis and Jonas Valanciunas squarely in the mix for Lithuania and New Orleans. The mix of NBA stars and Euro stars means daily fantasy managers should keep a close eye on minutes allocations, rest days, and the tactical emphasis each nation brings to the court. Jokic’s Serbian run is as much about preserving pace and health for Nuggets fans as it is about adding a high-variance, high-ceiling narrative to late-summer rosters.

Michael Nee, Glenbard East’s 6-2 guard, has transformed from an underrated recruit to one of Illinois’ premier shooting talents. He drilled 98 threes as a junior, hitting 47% from beyond the arc, and crossed 1,000 career points before his senior year. His persistence paid off with multiple Division I offers and a commitment to South Dakota after an impactful official visit, where the staff and small-town vibe clicked. Nee will join Hinsdale Central’s Vince Buzelis at South Dakota, adding a shyly rising Illinois pipeline to the Coyotes. Nee’s floor-spacers’ gravity could seed immediate offensive upside, provided he can defend and handle more ballhandling duties in a college system. The Breakaway Adidas circuit helped him showcase elite range, and his growth arc suggests a breakout college season with real fantasy leverage for shooters.

The recruiting arc emphasizes not just Nee’s shooting, but the broader narrative: a program that values shooting versatility and a coaching staff that actively pursued him early. The connection to Vince Buzelis, and the familial link to Matas Buzelis of the Bulls, adds a compelling storyline as Illinois prospects feed into the Coyotes’ roster. South Dakota’s embrace of these under-the-radar Illinois talents signals a trend where prolific shooters find college homes that maximize their floor-stretching skills, setting the stage for a potential fantasy-friendly run if Nee can scale his defensive and playmaking responsibilities in his first year.