Will Riley Headlines the Slate

The April 9, 2026 slate was led by a ceiling game from Will Riley and a handful of category leaders who shaped the night. This recap breaks down who led the slate in fantasy production, raw stats, free-throw pressure, turnovers, and who landed far above or below expectation.

Slate Snapshot

  • Date: April 9, 2026
  • Games: 6
  • Players logged: 120

Slate MVP: Will Riley Owned the Night

No player defined the slate more than Will Riley.

He finished with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks, and 1 made threes, good for a slate-best 59.3 fantasy points.

That was the clear slate-breaking performance. The scoring, peripherals, and defensive stats all hit at once, and no one else matched the total package.

Fantasy Leaders

After Will Riley set the pace, the rest of the fantasy leaderboard was filled with strong all-around production. Brandon Ingram finished second with 58.9 fantasy points, and the rest of the top tier was filled with players who contributed across multiple categories.

  1. Will Riley — 59.3 FPTS
  2. Brandon Ingram — 58.9 FPTS
  3. LeBron James — 57.1 FPTS
  4. Bam Adebayo — 54.2 FPTS
  5. Jayson Tatum — 51.6 FPTS

Scoring Leaders

The scoring leaderboard was topped by Brandon Ingram at 38 points. The rest of the top scorers mixed volume shot creation with strong supporting stat lines.

  1. Brandon Ingram — 38
  2. Tre Jones — 31
  3. Kevin Durant — 29
  4. Collin Sexton — 27
  5. E.J. Liddell — 26

Rebounding Leaders

The top rebounding performance belonged to Andre Drummond, who pulled down 15 boards. Rebounding remained a major fantasy driver across the slate.

  1. Andre Drummond — 15
  2. Julian Reese — 15
  3. Micah Potter — 14
  4. Charles Bassey — 13
  5. Jayson Tatum — 13

Assist Leaders

No one controlled the passing category more than Davion Mitchell, who finished with 11 assists. Several players pushed into high-end creation territory, and those assist totals mattered in a big way for overall fantasy output.

  1. Davion Mitchell — 11
  2. LeBron James — 11
  3. Jalen Brunson — 10
  4. Bam Adebayo — 8
  5. Jarace Walker — 8

Defensive Stat Leaders

Defensive stats helped separate elite fantasy lines from merely good box scores. Luke Kennard led the slate in steals with 4, while Dominick Barlow paced the rim protection category with 4 blocks.

Steals Leaders

  1. Luke Kennard — 4
  2. Amen Thompson — 3
  3. Collin Sexton — 3
  4. Jake LaRavia — 3
  5. Jamir Watkins — 3

Block Leaders

  1. Dominick Barlow — 4
  2. Jay Huff — 3
  3. Will Riley — 3
  4. Charles Bassey — 2
  5. Drake Powell — 2

Three-Point Leaders

The top perimeter shooting eruption came from Baylor Scheierman, who knocked down 6 threes. Long-range volume helped shape the slate and boost several already strong fantasy performances.

  1. Baylor Scheierman — 6
  2. Josh Hart — 5
  3. Tyrese Maxey — 5
  4. Bub Carrington — 4
  5. Jake LaRavia — 4

Free Throw Leaders: Who Got to the Line

No one put more pressure on the rim than Tre Jones, who led the slate with 12 free throw attempts. Getting to the line added easy scoring and helped stabilize several fantasy lines.

Free Throw Attempts

  1. Tre Jones — 12
  2. Brandon Ingram — 11
  3. Anthony Gill — 10
  4. Jayson Tatum — 10
  5. RJ Barrett — 10

Free Throws Made

  1. Tre Jones — 12
  2. Brandon Ingram — 10
  3. RJ Barrett — 9
  4. Anthony Gill — 8
  5. Jayson Tatum — 8

Turnover Leaders: Who Was Loose With the Ball

Turnovers do not erase a big fantasy night on their own, but they can drag down otherwise strong box scores. Jayson Tatum led the slate with 6 turnovers.

  1. Jayson Tatum — 6
  2. Rob Dillingham — 6
  3. Amen Thompson — 5
  4. Julian Reese — 5
  5. Draymond Green — 4

Best All-Around Lines of the Slate

The strongest overall fantasy lines came from players who filled up multiple categories instead of relying on pure scoring. These were the stat lines that translated best to fantasy scoring and gave lineups real ceiling.

  • Brandon Ingram — 38 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steals
  • LeBron James — 26 points, 8 rebounds, 11 assists, 2 steals, 1 blocks
  • Will Riley — 23 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists, 3 steals, 3 blocks
  • Jayson Tatum — 24 points, 13 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steals, 1 blocks
  • Bam Adebayo — 24 points, 11 rebounds, 8 assists, 1 steals, 1 blocks

Double-Double Tracker

Several players hit double-double territory, and those performances helped define the slate's fantasy leaderboard.

  • LeBron James — Double-double: 26 points, 11 assists
  • Bam Adebayo — Double-double: 24 points, 11 rebounds
  • Jayson Tatum — Double-double: 24 points, 13 rebounds
  • Leonard Miller — Double-double: 26 points, 11 rebounds
  • Karl-Anthony Towns — Double-double: 16 points, 12 rebounds
  • Jalen Brunson — Double-double: 25 points, 10 assists
  • E.J. Liddell — Double-double: 26 points, 10 rebounds
  • Micah Potter — Double-double: 18 points, 14 rebounds

Triple-Double Watch

No players recorded a triple-double on this slate.

Overperformers vs Baseline

These players beat both their season baseline and recent form the most. The blended comparison uses season average plus the player's prior last 3, last 7, and last 10 fantasy-point averages.

  • Will Riley — 59.3 FPTS. Season avg 18.0, last 3 36.5, last 7 31.5, last 10 28.7, blended delta 31.5.
  • Leonard Miller — 47.7 FPTS. Season avg 4.5, last 3 26.4, last 7 25.1, last 10 24.5, blended delta 29.5.
  • Brandon Ingram — 58.9 FPTS. Season avg 35.7, last 3 32.4, last 7 28.3, last 10 28.1, blended delta 26.8.
  • E.J. Liddell — 38.5 FPTS. Season avg 10.3, last 3 20.9, last 7 13.6, last 10 14.4, blended delta 23.8.
  • Ethan Thompson — 35.4 FPTS. Season avg 13.2, last 3 11.5, last 7 15.6, last 10 16.2, blended delta 21.8.

Underperformers vs Baseline

These players finished well below their normal level relative to season average and recent form.

  • Paul George — 12.3 FPTS. Season avg 34.1, last 3 38.3, last 7 45.7, last 10 42.4, blended delta -26.6.
  • Norman Powell — 5 FPTS. Season avg 31.7, last 3 24, last 7 26.9, last 10 27.0, blended delta -22.7.
  • Scottie Barnes — 20.8 FPTS. Season avg 42.0, last 3 35.0, last 7 42.7, last 10 42.4, blended delta -19.3.
  • Andrew Wiggins — 11.2 FPTS. Season avg 30.5, last 3 29.4, last 7 29.5, last 10 28.5, blended delta -18.5.
  • Jakob Poeltl — 11.9 FPTS. Season avg 26.0, last 3 27.2, last 7 29.0, last 10 27.8, blended delta -15.3.

Top Slate Surprises

These were the players who beat expectation the most without simply restating the obvious star outcomes. The goal here is to surface the night’s biggest unexpected jumps.

  • Will Riley — 59.3 FPTS on the slate versus a blended baseline of 27.8, beating expectation by 31.5.
  • Leonard Miller — 47.7 FPTS on the slate versus a blended baseline of 18.2, beating expectation by 29.5.
  • E.J. Liddell — 38.5 FPTS on the slate versus a blended baseline of 14.7, beating expectation by 23.8.
  • Ethan Thompson — 35.4 FPTS on the slate versus a blended baseline of 13.6, beating expectation by 21.8.
  • Josh Okogie — 27.2 FPTS on the slate versus a blended baseline of 7.8, beating expectation by 19.4.

Final Takeaway

The player side of this slate starts with Will Riley as the clear headline performance. Beyond that, Davion Mitchell drove the assist category, Andre Drummond controlled the glass, Tre Jones lived at the line, and Baylor Scheierman delivered the biggest perimeter shooting burst.

The added baseline sections help separate who simply had a good raw box score from who actually crushed expectation — and who fell well short of it.