LaMelo Ball or Jalen Duren: who to draft in 2026-27 fantasy basketball

Net Prophet ranks LaMelo Ball 34th and Jalen Duren 38th for the 2026-27 season, 4 picks apart. A category counts as won only when the projected gap clears 0.25 standard deviations of that category across the 177 ranked players this comparison is drawn from.

LaMelo Ball wins 4 of the nine categories, Jalen Duren wins 4, and 1 is too close to call.

Our board separates them by 4 picks; consensus ADP separates them by 28 picks, with LaMelo Ball going earlier in the room.
Jalen Duren leads in REB, 4.6 to 10.5 per game as the board projects them.
They do not fill the same slot: LaMelo Ball is PG, Jalen Duren is C.
The board grades both "durable" for availability.
Both rank inside the 177 players this comparison set is drawn from.

Draft position

Where each is ranked and where the room is taking them (2026-27).
Measure	LaMelo Ball	Jalen Duren
Net Prophet rank	#34	#38
Consensus ADP	#30	#58

Category by category

Projected per game for 2026-27, nine-category scoring. Turnovers count fewest-first.
Category	LaMelo Ball	Jalen Duren	Edge
PTS	18.8	19.7	too close to call
REB	4.6	10.5	Jalen Duren wins
AST	6.0	2.1	LaMelo Ball wins
STL	0.9	0.8	LaMelo Ball wins
BLK	0.3	0.9	Jalen Duren wins
3PM	2.9	0.0	LaMelo Ball wins
TO	2.6	1.8	Jalen Duren wins
FG%	41.1%	65.0%	Jalen Duren wins
FT%	86.7%	74.7%	LaMelo Ball wins

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