Paolo Banchero or James Harden: who to draft in 2026-27 fantasy basketball

Paolo Banchero wins 4 of the nine categories, James Harden wins 5.

Our board separates them by 5 picks; consensus ADP separates them by 3 picks, with Paolo Banchero going earlier in the room.
Against the 181 ranked players in this set, Paolo Banchero projects above average in 3 of the nine categories and James Harden in 5.
They do not fill the same slot: Paolo Banchero is PF, James Harden is PG.
The board grades Paolo Banchero "durable" for availability and James Harden "moderate".
Both rank inside the 181 players this comparison set is drawn from: Paolo Banchero 37th, James Harden 42nd.

Category by category

Projected per game for 2026-27, nine-category scoring. Turnovers count fewest-first.
Category	Paolo Banchero	James Harden	Edge
PTS	24.2	19.4	Paolo Banchero wins
REB	7.8	4.4	Paolo Banchero wins
AST	5.6	6.4	James Harden wins
STL	0.8	1.1	James Harden wins
BLK	0.6	0.5	Paolo Banchero wins
3PM	1.6	3.0	James Harden wins
TO	3.2	3.0	James Harden wins
FG%	46.0%	41.9%	Paolo Banchero wins
FT%	77.0%	86.9%	James Harden wins

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