BallRanksNew: More accurate than ESPN and Yahoo in 7 of 8 head-to-head tests

The AI-powered draft board

Your league's rankings are stuck in 2019.

While they print out someone's top-150, Ball Ranks puts the latest AI models to work on real NBA history — and replays every prediction against 15 completed seasons before it touches your board.

The typical rankings site

Last season's averages, reheated
One ranking for every league type
Gut-feel 'expert' tiers
No way to ask about your own roster

BallRanks

Latest AI models projecting 2026-27
Backtested against 15 completed NBA seasons
Punt-aware boards for your exact build
A draft assistant that reads your roster
Our own fantasy basketball GPT

Explore the free rankings

Already ranked: Gilgeous-Alexander · Wembanyama · Jokić · Dončić · Maxey — and every other projected NBA player

AI-trained rankings

More accurate than the official boards.We bring the receipts.

Model Zero is free, battle-tested, and already excellent. Frontier AI models keep trying to beat it across real NBA history; only improvements that hold up make the board.

Seasons tested

1,438

Player comparisons

7 of 8

ESPN & Yahoo tests won

Explore Model Zero Read the receipts

How much we beat each board by

Bigger orange bars mean a bigger Ball Ranks win. The lone teal bar shows just how narrow the one loss was.

7/8

Boards won

Ball Ranks wonESPN or Yahoo won

Board-by-board results and values

Accessible summary of the Ball Ranks comparison with each archived ESPN and Yahoo board
Board	Winner	Ball Ranks miss	External miss	Players
ESPN 21-22	Ball Ranks	25.33	28.16	182
ESPN 22-23	Ball Ranks	27.58	28.47	188
ESPN 23-24	Ball Ranks	18.58	19.63	143
Yahoo 23-24	Ball Ranks	32.02	34.75	244
ESPN 24-25	Ball Ranks	21.26	28.25	140
Yahoo 24-25	Ball Ranks	32.59	34.10	233
ESPN 25-26	Ball Ranks	20.96	25.82	131
Yahoo 25-26	ESPN or Yahoo	29.81	28.82	177

Lower miss values are better. Each row compares the same matched players from one archived preseason board.

Want a preview of the overpowered Model One?

Model One pushes our already-proven rankings even further.

Preview Model One

Intelligent chat

Ask one question.Get the whole league.

ChatGPT and other AIs have a massive fantasy blind spot. Training cutoffs miss the latest news, broad web searches miss what matters, and they don't know your roster. Ball Ranks starts with a daily trusted-news brief, our player data, and your team, with direct insider updates and deeper league activity rolling out next—so its advice can fit your situation.

Open the assistant

ChatGPT + other AI

A massive fantasy blind spot.

A training cutoff, a broad web search, and no idea what is happening inside your league.

Ball Ranks Assistant

Starts with the whole picture.

Trusted reporting, Ball Ranks data, your roster, plus richer league and insider context as it rolls out.

Daily basketball brief

ESPN, Yahoo, and other trusted sources—distilled before you ask.

Direct insider updates

Rolling out

Shams, Woj, and the updates that can move rotations first.

Ball Ranks player data

Stats, projections, trends, ranks, and category value.

Your team & league

Roster live

Your saved roster is available now. External league settings and activity are coming next.

Ball Ranks Assistant

Current news · Ball Ranks projections · your roster

Neemias Queta is available. Does he fit the roster I saved in Ball Ranks, and who would I cut?

Your roster checkedBall Ranks projections checked

Yes. Compared with the roster you saved, his blocks fill a need and your build can absorb the free-throw risk. Your lowest-ranked center is the cleanest cut. Here's how the move changes your categories…

+ BLK

Fits your build

Available now

One answer, assembled from the whole picture.

Initials are illustrative, not profile photos. News sources shown as examples. Direct insider updates are rolling out and depend on source availability. Shams Charania and Adrian Wojnarowski are not affiliated with or endorsing Ball Ranks.

Every player has a story

Don't just see a rank.See how they got there.

Open any player and move through years of production, role, category value, and rank. The trend graph makes the leap—or the warning sign—visible before draft night.