This article is part of our NBA Draft Kit series.
As we continue to march towards the start of the NBA season, we are getting closer and closer to selecting our fantasy basketball squads. Let's focus on the center position and discuss some players who could be primed to provide value.
Alperen Sengun, Rockets
Get ready for plenty of fantasy hype around Sengun -- the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He only averaged 21 minutes per game last season, splitting time at the five with Christian Wood. Despite his limited workload, he provided 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
A key stat to look at with Sengun is his performance as a starter. In 13 starts, he averaged 12.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 blocks in 30 minutes per game. Wood was dealt to the Mavericks during the offseason, opening up Sengun to take over as the starting five. He doesn't have much quality depth behind him, either, in Boban Marjanovic and Willie Cauley-Stein.
Learning to stay out of foul trouble will be necessary for Sengun to reach his full potential, but even if he has a bit of a learning curve in that department, he is poised for a breakout campaign.
Ivica Zubac, Clippers
Injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George left the Clippers with a disappointing season, but Zubac had the best campaign of his career. He set career highs in multiple categories, including points (10.3), rebounds (8.5) and blocks (1.0) per game.
As we continue to march towards the start of the NBA season, we are getting closer and closer to selecting our fantasy basketball squads. Let's focus on the center position and discuss some players who could be primed to provide value.
Alperen Sengun, Rockets
Get ready for plenty of fantasy hype around Sengun -- the 16th overall pick in the 2021 draft. He only averaged 21 minutes per game last season, splitting time at the five with Christian Wood. Despite his limited workload, he provided 9.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.9 blocks per game.
A key stat to look at with Sengun is his performance as a starter. In 13 starts, he averaged 12.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.0 blocks in 30 minutes per game. Wood was dealt to the Mavericks during the offseason, opening up Sengun to take over as the starting five. He doesn't have much quality depth behind him, either, in Boban Marjanovic and Willie Cauley-Stein.
Learning to stay out of foul trouble will be necessary for Sengun to reach his full potential, but even if he has a bit of a learning curve in that department, he is poised for a breakout campaign.
Ivica Zubac, Clippers
Injuries to Kawhi Leonard and Paul George left the Clippers with a disappointing season, but Zubac had the best campaign of his career. He set career highs in multiple categories, including points (10.3), rebounds (8.5) and blocks (1.0) per game. He shot 62.6 percent from the field and 72.7 percent from the free-throw line.
LA didn't make any moves this offseason at center. Zubac should start again, with forwards Robert Covington and Nicolas Batum as his primary backups. If Zubac isn't on the floor, the Clippers will play small.
Given that Zubac set career highs in so many categories in only 24 minutes per game last season, he's proven that he doesn't need to be on the floor a lot to provide fantasy value. While he's not a flashy name for fantasy drafts, he's not someone who should be overlooked.
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Nicolas Claxton, Nets
The Nets have had a tumultuous offseason. Kevin Durant requested a trade following Kyrie Irving accepting his player option.
But Brooklyn rebuffed Durant's trade demands, and the two sides are reportedly set to move forward together. The Nets have a loaded roster, with Durant and Irving leading the charge. They also plan to get back Ben Simmons and have interesting supporting talent.
Read more: Brooklyn Nets Preview -- NBA Team Previews 2022-23
While the Nets are deep at multiple positions, they aren't at center. Andre Drummond, Blake Griffin and LaMarcus Aldridge are all gone, leaving the youngster Claxton set to take on a starting role. His main backups are Day'Ron Sharpe and Markieff Morris. Brooklyn could deploy Simmons there when they go small.
Over 19 games as a starter last season, Claxton provided 10.8 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 23 minutes per game while shooting 64.5 percent from the field. The downside to selecting him is that he's only shot 53.9 percent from the free-throw line for his career, and he'll likely have a low usage rate on such a talented roster. However, with his potential to play around 25 minutes per game, he's still someone to target if you don't want to use significant draft capital on the center position.
JaVale McGee, Mavericks
The Mavericks quickly addressed a frontcourt size issue, trading for Christian Wood from the Rockets and signing JaVale McGee away from the Suns. In a backup role behind Deandre Ayton, McGee averaged 16 minutes but still put up 9.2 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game.
McGee is expected to start at center with Wood coming off the bench, though it remains to be seen if that will be the case all season. Also, it would be a shock if Wood didn't still average close to 30 minutes per game while coming off the bench.
McGee likely won't see traditional starter minutes, but he's proven that he can be productive in limited playing time. He's averaged at least 20 minutes per game for three seasons of his career. In each of those three seasons, he averaged at least 10.1 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Be ready to pounce on McGee in the late rounds of drafts.
Want more sleepers? Read 2022-23 NBA Fantasy Sleepers: 5 Forwards to Target
Walker Kessler, Jazz
A lot is up in the air right now in Utah. Gone are Rudy Gobert and Donovan Mitchell, who were shipped out of town as the team decided to shift into a rebuild. They haven't completely stripped down the roster yet, though Mike Conley Jr., Bojan Bogdanovic and Jordan Clarkson are clearly on the trade block.
The Jazz sought draft capital in return for their two stars, receiving a ton of it. An intriguing young player Utah acquired is Kessler -- the 22nd pick in the 2022 Draft. He was a monster rim protector in college, averaging 4.6 blocks over 25 minutes per game last season for Auburn. His primary backups at the five are Udoka Azubuike and Jarred Vanderbilt, with Vanderbilt likely spending most of his time at power forward.
It would be wise to temper scoring expectations for Kessler, but with a path to playing 20 minutes per game, or more, Kessler should be a valuable contributor in rebounds and blocks who can be had in the late rounds of fantasy drafts.
