Fantasy basketball players who can make or break your draft

There are many types of risk to be aware of when it comes to evaluating NBA players in fantasy basketball, whether it be a player’s age, injury history, role in the rotation or perhaps a statistical shortcoming you’ll have to build the rest of your team around.

As you put together your fantasy basketball roster, the size and competitiveness of your league will help you determine how many risks you need to be willing to take to position yourself for a true shot at the championship.

In this column, we will focus on 10 of the biggest risk/reward players who can make or break your team in 2022-23.

Anthony Davis, PF/C, Los Angeles Lakers

Davis is one of the league’s most dominant power forwards when he’s on the court, and he averaged 23.2 points, 10.0 rebounds, 1.2 steals and 2.3 blocks per game last season. The question with Davis, as has seemingly been the case since he entered the league in 2012-13, is whether he can stay healthy. He played in just 40 games last season after logging 36 games in 2020-21, and has reached the 70-games-played mark only twice in 10 NBA seasons (2016-17 and 2017-18). With a 25.6 average draft position in ESPN leagues, Davis is going in the third round in most 10- and 12-team leagues, and he might slide to the fourth round in eight-team leagues, making him a steal if — and it is a big if — he can stay on the court.

Tyrese Haliburton, PG/SG, Indiana Pacers

The secret is out about Haliburton, a savvy midround selection last year who is now a high second-rounder in most leagues (13.5 ADP). He takes over as the primary ball handler in Indiana with Malcolm Brogdon now in Boston, and there’s reason to believe that the well-rounded 22-year-old can improve upon the…